Beginner
Korean
Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)
Source: Traditional
30 min3420 kcal
Dairy-free🌶️🌶️
Tteokguk (Rice Cake Soup)
Coin-sliced rice cakes simmered in a clear beef or anchovy broth, topped with egg, seaweed and green onion — the soup that welcomes the Korean New Year.
Source
Recipe by Korean home kitchens · 🏺 Traditional
Korean home-style / 한국 가정식 — Tteokguk is the soup Koreans eat on Seollal, the Lunar New Year. Thin coins of white rice cake in a clear broth symbolise a fresh, bright start to the year, and a bowl is traditionally tied to turning a year older. Broths range from beef to anchovy depending on the region and household.
Watch it being made · 3 videos
⏱ 30 min🍽 3 servings🔥 380 kcal🇰🇷 South Korea
Dairy-free
Steps
If the rice cakes are hard or dried, soak them in cool water 20–30 minutes so they cook evenly.
Simmer the beef in the water with the garlic for 20–30 minutes to make a clear broth, then lift out the meat, shred it and season with a little soy.
💡 No beef? A quick anchovy-and-kelp stock makes an equally traditional, lighter base.
Make a thin egg garnish (jidan): separate the egg, fry each part into a flat sheet, and slice into ribbons.
Season the strained broth with soy sauce, salt and pepper and bring it back to a strong boil.
Add the drained rice cakes and cook 4–6 minutes until they float and turn soft and glossy.
Ladle into bowls and top with the shredded beef, egg ribbons, crumbled seaweed and green onion.
💡 Tips
- Stir gently once the rice cakes go in so they do not stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Eating a bowl of tteokguk on New Year's Day is said to add a year to your age — a cherished Korean custom.
- Add a handful of mandu (dumplings) to turn it into tteok-manduguk.
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