NEW YEAR's Tteokguk or sliced rice cake soup

Tteokguk or sliced rice cake soup is a traditional Korean dish eaten during the celebration of the Lunar New Year. This dish consists of a soup/soup with thinly sliced rice cakes. Tteokguk is sometimes eaten as the first food of the new year because the long, white shape of the rice cake means 'purity' and 'longevity'.

Ingredients and Servings (Serves 4)

sliced rice cake 500g, brisket 100g with chicken/bone broth or veggie broth 6cups, 2 eggs, sliced green onion 3 heads (30g), minced garlic 1T, soy sauce 4 tsp, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper powder (personal preference)

1. Soak sliced rice cake in cold water for about 10 minutes.

2. Soak the beef in cold water for about 30 minutes to drain the blood and cut it into flat pieces according to the grain.

3. Pour 6 cups of broth into a pot and when it boils, add the cut meat and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Skim off the fat and foam that floats on top. (You can omit these 3 steps)*

4. Scramble the eggs in a small bowl with a pinch of salt.

5. Cut the green onion diagonally. When the rice cake is well cooked, add the chopped green onion, sprinkle the scrambled eggs evenly, and boil again.

6. Add soy sauce and salt to the boiling broth, season to taste, add washed rice cakes and minced garlic, and simmer for 5 minutes.

7. Serve the rice cake soup in individual bowls. You can add black pepper powder according to your taste.

The unique chewy taste of rice cake soup disappears. You can boil it right away and eat it at the right time.

* When making rice cake soup, beef broth is mainly used, and in some cases, number 3 is omitted and chicken, seafood, or vegetable broth is used according to the preference. A dish in which dumplings are added to tteokguk.