Korean Rice Cake Soup - Tteokguk for New Year! (2024)

Tteokguk is Korean Rice Cake Soup that is a must for Koreans on New Year’s Day. This hearty warm soup has a delicious savory broth and chewy rice cake rounds that makes it the ultimate comfort food any time of the year!

What is Tteokguk?

Tteokguk is a traditional Korean soup that is made with a savory broth (usually beef or anchovy) with round rice cake slices cooked in it. It’s eaten year-round but on New Year’s day,it’s a must for Koreans to have at least a bowl of Tteokguk/Ddukguk (떡국).

During the New Year holiday (especially during Seollal 설날 – Korean Lunar New Year), many Koreans travel back to their hometown. They visit their parents and elderly relatives to pay their respects by bowing (Saebae 세배) to them, wishing them health and good fortune. Children receive blessings and words of wisdom from the elders, as well asmonetary gifts called Saebaedon (세배돈).

This was my favorite time of the year because it meant that if I did good, I would have enough money to buy myself goodies throughout the whole year! (or at least until my birthday in the summer.. )

Oh, but there was something that I did not like – we all had to wear traditional Korean clothes (Hanbok 한복) all day and they were pretty but quite uncomfortable. The traditional way to wear hanbok is to wrap the skirt around your chest and tie it very, very tight. I mean really tight.. so tight I thought I was going to die because I couldn’t breathe!

Why do Koreans eat Tteokguk (rice cake soup) for New Year’s?

No one knows for sure exactly why Korean Rice Cake Soup (Tteok Guk) became a traditional Korean food to eat at home on New Year’s day. Theory 1: Because rice was harvested in the fall and in the old days there were no means of storing it long-term, making rice cake was a way of using up old rice.

Theory 2:Based on customary beliefs, it has to do with yin and yang and that New Year’s day represents the yang (positive) energy and also so does the rice cake. Don’t ask me why exactly rice cake represents yang energy…

With the earliest records of tteokguk dating back to the Joseon dynasty, the origins of Tteokguk tteok (rice cake ovalettes) and Garaetteok 가래떡- which the round oval rice cakes are cut from- are very interesting. It is said that the ‘white’ color of the rice cakes symbolized ‘brightness’, for a bright and clean start to a New Year.

The round shape of the rice cakes also represented the sun and the long continuing baton like shape of Garaetteok represents ‘continued wealth’. As well as the round disc-like shapes being similar to old Korean coins – again symbolizing wealth and prosperity.

This type of rice cake slices are called Tteokguk Tteok 떡꾹떡 meaning “rice cake made for soup”.

Tteokguk Variations and Tips

A long time ago, the stock for the rice cake soup was made from pheasant meat. In more modern times, Tteokguk with Beef Broth using beef stock has become the standard. Our family favorite growing up was one with Mandu (dumplings) added which then you call Tteok Manduguk 떡만두국 (Beef Rice Cake Soup with Dumplings). And Northern Korean style is to add Kimchi Mandu to it.

You can also use anchovy stock (like in THIS RECIPE) or even chicken stock or vegetable stock. Anchovy stock is not as rich tasting as beef stock but it is easier, quicker and has a cleaner taste. It is also lower in calories, so I like using anchovy stock for everyday Tteokguk.

If you want to make an easy and quicker version, try my Instant Pot Tteokguk Recipe using simple beef stew meat or try my BEEF broth and dumplings rice cake soup recipe.

HOW TO STORE RICE CAKES

Rice cakes will usually start to mold after few days in the refrigerator so keep any leftover uncooked tteokguk tteok in the freezer and they will keep for months. Thawing rice cake is quick and easy (just soak it in cold water for few minutes) and freezing it also does not affect the taste- so no worries!

Garnish (Topping) for Tteokguk

The way you garnish your tteokguk is all very much a personal preference. At minimum, top it with some fresh green onions (chopped or sliced). The next level up, you can whip an egg and swirl it into the broth right before serving. What I like to do is make Gyeran jidan and sauteed ground beef (see recipe below). Some like to make yellow and white gyeran jidan separately by separating egg yolks and egg whites but I think that’s more for just looks than flavor so I usually don’t do it.

STORAGE

DON’T COOK or LET IT SIT TOO LONG – Unfortunately leftover rice cake turns into one giant glob of rice paste. The rice cake will start to get very mushy and the soup will become very thick. Some people actually enjoy this but I don’t. So it’s best not to have any leftovers and if you do, drain the soup so you can keep the rice cakes and the soup separate.

MORE ABOUT TTEOK

What is Tteok? The word “Tteok (떡) or Dduk” refers to a general class of Korean rice cakes that is made by mixing rice flour (can be either sweet or plain rice) with water and steaming them. Various ingredients such as mugwort (쑥 suk), pumpkin (호박 hobahk) and red bean (팥paht) can be added to it. They are called suk dduk (쑥떡), hobahk dduk(호박떡) and paht dduk(팥떡), respectively. You can see how the naming works.

Korean Rice Cake Soup – TteokGuk Recipe

Prep Time: 10 min. Cooking Time: 35 min. Servings: 4

Ingredients for anchovy stock

• 1 lb rice cake slices/ovalettes for soup (떡국떡 Tteokguk tteok)
• 8 cup anchovy stock (see my tips page for making anchovy stock)
• 2 green onions
• 1/2 sliced onion (optional)
• 1 julienned carrot (optional)
• 1 T chopped garlic
• 1 T guk kanjang (국간장) – Korean Soup Soy Sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• black pepper

For garnish

• toasted seaweed (gim 김) crumbles or strips
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vegetable oil for frying
• 1/2 lb beef stew meat or beef brisket or ground beef (optional)
• seasoning for the beef:
  • 4 tsp soy sauce (Kikkoman)
  • 4 tsp sugar
  • 1 T rice cooking wine
  • 1 T sesame oil
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Step by Step Instructions

1. Prepare the anchovy stock. Read my 4 Anchovy Broth Recipespage on how to make anchovy stock.
2. Rinse and soak rice cake in cold water (especially if the rice cake is frozen) for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Make EGG JIDAN TOPPING.
   • Whip 2 eggs in a bowl and season with some salt and pepper. Drizzle some vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan and heat on medium-high heat. Pour the egg into the pan and immediately lift the pan off the heat. Swirl the egg around the pan to spread it evenly to make a thin crepe like a pancake. Put the pan back onto the heat, lower the heat to medium and when the egg is almost cooked like the picture below, turn it over.
   • When the egg is all cooked, take it out of the pan and let it cool on your cutting board. When it is cool enough to handle, fold it into overlapping thirds (tri-fold). This way, you can cut the strips more uniformly.
4. ALTERNATIVELY, you can just swirl in the egg – like making egg drop soup.
5. BEEF TOPPING – If you are using brisket or stew meat, slice the meat into thin strips first. Season sliced beef or ground beef with soy sauce, sugar, mirin, garlic, pepper and sesame oil. Mix it well.
6. Cook the beef in a frying pan on medium-high heat until fully cooked. No need to add any extra oil.
7. Heat the anchovy stock in a pot over medium-high heat. Season the soup by adding salt, Guk Ganjang and chopped garlic. You can also add sliced onions and carrots to the soup to add some color and additional nutrients. Bring to a boil.
8. Drain the rice cake slices and add to the boiling soup. Cover the pot and cook for few minutes. When the rice cakes float to the top, they are now cooked and ready to eat. Turn off the heat, sprinkle some black pepper and add sliced green onions.
9. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add more salt if needed. Ladle the rice cake soup into a bowl and garnish with some beef and egg prepared above. Sprinkle some sesame seeds if you’d like and there you go!

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

In the minimum, serve with some kimchi. For New Year’s, try making more from my New Year’s menu. Enjoy!

How to make Tteokguk video!

Enjoy!

XOXO ❤️

JinJoo