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Tteok guk (떡국) – Korean rice cake soup

Every New Year’s day, Koreans make Dduk Guk/Tteok Guk and share it with their family and guests who visit their homes. During the New Year holiday, many Koreans travel back to their hometown. You can use chicken stock or beef stock instead of anchovy stock.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
45 mins
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 264 kcal
Course: Main Course , Soup
Cuisine: Korean

Ingredients

  • 1 lb rice cake slices/ovalettes for soup (떡국떡 Tteok guk tteok)
  • 8 cup anchovy stock (see my tips page for making anchovy stock)
  • 2 green onions (sliced thin)
  • 1/2 sliced onion (optional)
  • 1 julienned carrot (optional)
  • 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
  • 1 Tbsp soup soy sauce (guk ganjang 국간장)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • black pepper
Toppings
  • 1 roasted seaweed (gim 김) sheet (crumbled or cut into strips)
Ground Beef
  • 1/2 lb beef stew meat/brisket or ground beef (optional)
  • 4 tsp soy sauce (jin ganjang 진간장)
  • 4 tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp rice cooking wine
  • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic 
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Egg Garnish
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp oil for frying
  • 1 pinch salt

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Prepare the anchovy stock - see My Tips page (under Korean Ingredients menu) on how.
  2. Rinse and soak rice cake in cold water (especially if the rice cake is frozen) for 5 to 10 minutes.
  3. Whip 2 eggs in a bowl and season with some salt and pepper.
  4. Drizzle oil in a non-stick frying pan and heat on medium high heat. Pour egg into the pan and immediately lift the pan off the heat. Swirl egg around the pan to spread it evenly to make a thin crepe like 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.
  5. 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.
  6. If you are working with a piece of brisket or stew meat, slice the meat into thin strips and season it with soy sauce, sugar, mirin, garlic, pepper and sesame oil. Mix it well.
  7. You can also use ground beef instead – this will save you the extra work of slicing the beef. Cook the beef in a frying pan on medium high heat until fully cooked. No need to add any extra oil.
  8. Heat anchovy stock in a pot over medium high heat. Season soup by adding salt, gook kanjang 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.
  9. Drain rice cake slices and add to the boiling soup. Cover pot and cook for few minutes. When 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.
  10. Taste soup and adjust seasoning if needed. Add more salt if needed. Ladle rice cake soup into a bowl. 
  11. Garnish with beef, egg, green onions and roasted seaweed. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and extra black pepper if you’d like and there you go!

Notes

  • WHERE TO BUY Rice Cake Slices for Tteokguk - besides buying them from Korean grocery stores, you can now buy rice cake slices from Trader Joe's. 
  • The traditional and more formal way is to prepare garnishes with eggs and meat. You can skip the garnish if you want to.
  • If using anchovy stock, I would recommend that you at least make the meat garnish because it adds a lot more flavor to the soup.
  • For New Year's, try making more from my New Year's menu.

Nutrition Information

Calories 264kcal (13%) Carbohydrates 10g (3%) Protein 14g (28%) Fat 18g (28%) Saturated Fat 5g (25%) Cholesterol 122mg (41%) Sodium 921mg (38%) Potassium 281mg (8%) Sugar 6g (12%) Vitamin A 2725IU (55%) Vitamin C 4.3mg (5%) Calcium 42mg (4%) Iron 1.8mg (10%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4people

Amount Per Serving

Calories 264

% Daily Value*

Calories 264kcal 13%
Carbohydrates 10g 3%
Protein 14g 28%
Fat 18g 28%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 122mg 41%
Sodium 921mg 38%
Potassium 281mg 6%
Sugar 6g 12%
Vitamin A 2725IU 55%
Vitamin C 4.3mg 5%
Calcium 42mg 4%
Iron 1.8mg 10%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.