Lunar New Year Korean Rice Cake Soup

Pinterent    Februari 20, 2024    Comment   

Tteokguk is a popular Korean rice cake soup enjoyed by many for Korean New Year’s Day. Soft and chewy rice cakes are simmered in a rich, flavorful broth of beef and vegetables. This traditional Korean soup is the ultimate comfort food, and perfect for any time of the year.

My fondest childhood memories of New Year’s Day in Korea always started a few days before the actual New Year. We would begin our celebrations by preparing a special dish, tteokguk, a Korean rice cake soup, a couple of days in advance

Each year, my mother would take a hefty bag of rice to our local mill. Hours later, she would come back with these hot, log-like rice cakes called garaetteok (가래떡). She’d place them in a large bucket, balance it on her head, and carefully walk home.

Best Vegan Tteokguk (korean Rice Cake Soup) Recipe & Video!

I loved eating these garaetteok when I was a kid. They were best fresh with a bit of honey – so chewy and yummy.

She would let the rice cakes harden for a couple of days, making them easier to slice. Then, on New Year’s Day, we cut them into thin rounds. These rice cakes were then used to make a savory beef tteokguk, a soup that is a New Year tradition in most Korean households.

Tteokguk, also known as ddukguk (떡국), is a beloved Korean soup using thin, oval rice cake slices from garaetteok, a type of long, cylindrical rice cake.

Celebrating The Lunar New Year With Korean Rice Cake Soup

This special New Year’s soup varies throughout Korea due to regional and family traditions. In the north, it’s made with a rich beef broth or bone-marrow broth. The south prefers a seafood-based stock, often using anchovy stock with dried sea kelp, or sometimes oysters.

Koreans eat tteokguk as it represents a new beginning of Seollal (Korean New Year, 설날). The white, oval shape of the rice cakes symbolizes health and prosperity for the new year. Also eating a bowl of tteokguk on this day is believed to add a year to one’s age, marking personal growth and renewal.

Both are popular Korean dishes that feature rice cakes (tteok) but they are quite different in flavor and preparation. Tteokbokki uses cylindrical rice cakes cooked in a fiery, sweet, and savory gochujang-based sauce, popular as a street food or snack in Korea.

Korean Rice Cake Soup (tteokguk)

On the other hand, tteokguk is a soup made with thinly sliced rice cakes. You typically prepare it in a savory broth flavored with beef or anchovies and garnish it with eggs and seaweed. Its comforting, mild flavor makes it a celebrated dish of tradition

This recipe for Korean rice cake soup stands out because it ensures a clear and flavorful broth, unlike the usual method where rice cakes are cooked directly in the beef stock. Cooking them this way often leads to a cloudy and starchy soup, as the rice starch from the cakes muddles the broth’s taste.

To savor a traditional tteokguk with a rich, clear broth, boil the rice cakes separately. After straining them, add them to your serving bowl and pour the hot beef broth over them. This simple step keeps the savory beef broth translucent and lets you enjoy an authentic Korean rice cake soup experience.

Tteokguk, Dduk Gook, Korean Rice Cake Soup

This technique is easy and only requires one extra pot for boiling the rice cakes. The result? A soup that not only looks more appealing but also tastes superior.

As soon as the stock starts boiling, it’s crucial to take out the sea kelp and throw it away. Then, let the remaining ingredients simmer for 45-60 minutes on low heat.

After simmering, remove the beef and vegetables from the stock. Keep the stock and the beef, but discard the vegetables. Allow the beef to cool down for 10 minutes.

Let's Cook Together! 우리 같이 요리하자! — Adopteebridge

Flavor the broth to your liking with Korean soup soy sauce (guk ganjang), Korean tuna sauce, and a pinch of salt. Then, keep the broth warm until ready to serve.

Tear the beef into shreds and place them in a mixing bowl. Combine with Korean soup soy sauce, minced garlic, black pepper, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds. Mix everything thoroughly and set aside.

Start by boiling a pot of water to cook the rice cakes over medium-high heat. Once boiling, add the rice cakes and boil them until they soften, which should take about 5 minutes. Then, use a mesh strainer to drain them and transfer the rice cakes into a serving bowl.

Quick Dduk Guk (korean Rice Cake Soup)

Typically Koreans like to garnish tteokguk with egg white and egg yolk topping called jidan (지단) for a better presentation. It’s optional and it won’t affect the taste of the soup. However garnishing with it will surely make your soup more appetizing and authentic.

First, separate the egg white and yolk. Using a fork, lightly beat each part. Heat a nonstick skillet with a bit of oil over medium-low heat.

Gently pour the egg whites into the skillet, forming a thin layer, and spread it evenly with a spoon. Cook each side for about 1 minute, making sure not to brown the egg. Once done, set the cooked egg whites aside and repeat the process with the egg yolks.

Tteokmanduguk (rice Cake Soup With Dumplings) Recipe

If you prefer an easier egg garnish, simply beat the eggs in a bowl then pour it in a circular motion to the boiling soup at the end and heat through–similar way of making egg drop soup.

Place the rice cakes in a bowl and ladle the hot beef broth over them. Top the soup with beef, egg strips, and chopped green onion.

Crumbled roasted seaweed is also a favorite topping for tteokguk. Finish by drizzling a few drops of sesame oil and a sprinkle of black pepper.

Beef And Korean Rice Cake Soup Recipe

Explore popular Korean New Year Foods celebrated during the festivities. While some dishes require advanced cooking skills, most are easy to prepare at home.

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Tteokguk is a popular Korean rice cake soup enjoyed for Korean New Year’s Day. Soft and chewy rice cakes are simmered in a rich, flavorful broth of beef and vegetables. Perfect comfort food any time.

Korean Rice Cake Soup Recipe

Calories: 755 kcal , Carbohydrates: 128 g , Protein: 31 g , Fat: 12 g , Saturated Fat: 3 g , Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g , Monounsaturated Fat: 5 g , Trans Fat: 0.01 g , Cholesterol: 101 mg , Sodium: 636 mg , Potassium: 798 mg , Fiber: 7 g , Sugar: 3 g , Vitamin A: 122 IU , Vitamin C: 4 mg , Calcium: 71 mg , Iron: 4 mgWith many different spellings but one amazing homey flavor, Korean Duk Guk is a traditional soup eaten on Korean​New Year's Day. Soothing, simple, and easy to make, this white soup symbolizes a fresh start to the year and its round rice coins represent the prosperity and wealth of the year to come.

Korean rice cakes aren't the crunchy rice cakes we know in the U.S., but instead steamed grains formed in cylinder-shaped tubes that are sold complete or sliced into oval coins. The plain rice cake can be used in many different recipes, from spicy to savory to sweet. Its primary ingredient is glutinous rice. It can also be found with many different flavors and added ingredients like beans, fruits, legumes, and nuts.

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2, 000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Judy Joo's Rice Cake And Dumpling Soup (dduk Mandu Guk) Recipe

I don't like this at all. It's not the worst. Sure, this will do. I'm a fan—would recommend. Amazing! I love it! Thanks for your rating!

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Store and/or access information on a device. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising. Create profiles to personalise content. Use profiles to select personalised content. Measure advertising performance. Measure content performance. Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources. Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content.Growing up, Korean Rice Cake Soup, or Dduk Guk (떡국) was a classic comfort dish I ate frequently so I had to take a stab at making a Vegan Dduk Guk. Traditionally, the recipe is actually quite simple. It is made with a light broth of either anchovy or beef with chewy Korean rice cake, sliced egg and seaweed to top. It’s commonly enjoyed to celebrate the Korean New Year, but it’s also one of those dishes that my halmoni (Korean grandma) would whip up for me whenever I was in need of a simple, satisfying dish.

Why Koreans Eat Tteokguk(rice Cake Soup) On Lunar New Year's Day?

Making it vegan is actually quite simple! The only challenge is veganizing the broth, and to nail that, it’s important to create that umami, rich flavour. I substituted using sea