떡국 Rice cake soup

Tteokguk(떡국)

Tteokguk is a must have food on New Year’s Day in Korea.

Most of Korean people still exchange their NYD greetings that “Did you have a bowl of tteokguk today?” along with “Happy New Year”.

"Tteok" means rice cake, and "guk" indicates soup. The type of rice cake used for this soup is called garaetteok, which is unsweetened and looks like a white water hose. But nowadays you can get already sliced garaetteok (rice cake) from any Korean grocery shop; even in Korea, making the soup preparation much easy.

chopping garaetteok 가래떡 썰기

Often, Koreans add mandu (Korean dumplings) to tteokguk, in which case the soup is called tteok-manduguk. You can use any kind of mandu in the soup.

Korean dumplings 한국 만두

This starchy and soothing bowl of soup is not only a New Year's tradition but is classic comfort food any time of the year!

There are many different ways to make Korean rice cake soup for new year’s day. It varies not only based on your family’s tradition and preference but also based on the region. For example, in Gangwon province they typically add dumplings in their rice cake soup. In the south east coast of Korea, they add some fresh oysters in their rice cake soup.

rice cake & dumplings soup 떡만두국

1. Put the water, black peppers, onion and green onion into a large pot and boil on medium high heat with a lid on. Once the water starts to boil, add the meat. Boil them on medium high heat for a further 5 mins then reduce the heat to medium. Boil them further for about 50 mins. (You would have boil the water for a total of 1 hr – approx.) This should give you about 4 cups of beef stock.

2. Sieve the water (stock) through a cheese cloth. Discard the vegetables but keep the stock and the meat. Cool the meat down for about 10 mins then shred the meat using a knife and/or hands. Season the meat with salt and sesame oil.

3. While the meat is cooling down, soak the rice cakes in cold water for 15 to 20 mins to soften. Drain the water. Prepare the other toppings while waiting. (Instructions are mentioned in the above ingredients section.)

4. Boil the stock in a clean pot on medium high heat and once it starts boiling, add the minced garlic and the soy sauce. Add the rice cakes and cook until softened (about 2 to 3 mins). Do not overcook the rice cakes as they can turn mushy.

5. Serve the soup in a bowl and garnish with the toppings. Enjoy!