How To Cook Tteokguk

Tteokguk is a very well-known Korean dish for the celebration of the New Year Day. It is predicted that people have to eat Tteokguk because it is predicted to give the luck for the forthcoming year and for him or her to supposedly gain an additional year of life. Eating one bowl of Tteokguk in the morning of New Year’s Day signifies that you get one year older. The first day of the New Year is the new beginning for all establishments. People start eating Tteokguk cooked from white rice cake (Tteok) to signify the day’s pure and solemn nature. Why is rice cake round? Some people say it was shaped after coins to bring people prosperity and some people say it shaped after the sun. According to a 19th century handbook on traditions, the tradition of eating rice cake soup dates back to the late 18th century.

It is significant to make a good broth for this dish to be tasty. Beef brisket is boiled for a couple of hours and the stock is strained to clarify the broth. Long rice cake sticks are cut diagonally and boiled in the clear beef broth. The rice cake slices should be cooked until they’re very tender. Make sure you place the egg to room temperature before you beat it and add it to the broth. An egg that just came out of the refrigerator will make the broth murky instead of smooth and thin ribbons.

It is very easy to make Tteokguk nowadays because most of the Korean grocery stores sell rice cake pieces.

This is how to cook Tteokguk:

INGREDIENTS (For 4 people)

5 cups BEEF BROTH.

1 lb/455 g sliced “GARAETTEOK” (rice cake), soaked in water for 2 hours

1 EGG, beaten

2 sheets of “GIIM” (seaweed), toasted slightly

SOY SAUCE to adjust seasoning

2 SCALLIONS, cut diagonally

BLACK PEPPER

1. Prepare the beef broth early on. Prepare GARAETTEOK (rice cake) slices and remove the egg from the refrigerator and leave it alone in room temperature.

2. Bring the broth to a boil, then add the rice cake slices. Gently simmer until it gets soft. Now, lightly toast the seaweed on a toaster. Cut the seaweed into 4 pieces with scissors and then into strips. Put it aside. Adjust the soup seasoning with soy sauce and add the scallion.

3. Stir the soup with chopsticks while putting in the beaten egg as a stream. Separate the soup into individual bowls and put a layer of crumbled seaweed over them.

All kinds of Tteokguk have been enjoyed in the northern part and southern part of Korea, which are different in climate and types of farming. In the north, the farming of rice is uncommon; people added Mandu (Korean style Dumpling) to Tteokguk and enjoyed Tteokmanduguk.

Tteokguk is sold in many Korean restaurants all year around. Many people order tteokguk in a Korean restaurant.

John Lee is a freelance writer and developer for Korean restaurants locator.