[2] One story says the dish was created because it was not befitting for kings to gnaw on galbi-gui (grilled short ribs).

[2] In modern South Korea, tteok-galbi is also made with ingredients mixed with or other than beef, such as pork and duck.

[6] The marinated meat is shaped and attached back to the rib bones using a small amount of wheat flour as glue, and char-grilled over oak.

[6] Songjeong tteok-galbi is made by shaping a mixture of beef and pork into rectangles and grilling.

[2] The recipe of Choe Jeo-ja calls for hand-kneading the meat for a long time in a seasoning made from nearly 20 ingredients including dasima (kelp), pear and honey.