Tteokguk
Tteokguk is eaten on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year in nearly every South Korean household, followed by the traditional question 'how many bowls did you eat?' — because, the old belief goes, each bowl makes you a year older. The white colour of the rice cakes symbolizes a clean new beginning, and their round shape, sliced thin like old coins, carries a wish for prosperity. The detail that lifts the dish from everyday food to something festive is jidan — the thin strips of egg yolk and white fried separately. The technique seems fussy, but the colour contrast between gold and white creates a visual cue Koreans instantly associate with celebration, the way woodsmoke evokes winter. The rice cakes need to simmer just long enough to soften and float; too long in the broth and they break down into a sticky mush.
Oval rice cake slices
Cut thin like coins
Clear beef broth
Simmered with garlic and onion
Yellow and white egg strips
Fried separately, sliced thin
A Lunar New Year staple
Eating a bowl marks another year
Ingredients 4 servings
- 1.5 l beef stock (from bones or brisket)
- 400 g beef sirloin, thinly sliced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 500 g garae tteok (oval rice cake slices), frozen or fresh
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 eggs, yolks separated from whites
- 1/2 sheet nori (dried seaweed)
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Vegetable oil, for the egg sheets
How to make it
- 1MAKE THE EGG STRIPS: separate the eggs into two bowls, keeping the yolks and whites apart — any yolk that sneaks into the whites will keep them from setting properly.
- 2Warm a non-stick pan over the gentlest heat with only a trace of oil, pour in the yolks and swirl the pan so they spread into one thin, even round rather than a thick blob; the low heat is what keeps the colour bright rather than browned.
- 3Once the top looks dry rather than glossy, flip it briefly, then turn it out onto a board to cool before slicing it into fine matchsticks.
- 4Wipe the pan clean and do the same with the whites.
- 5TOAST THE NORI: pass the sheet back and forth just above the surface of a dry, hot pan rather than resting it flat, keeping it moving so no one spot scorches; a few seconds is all it takes for the colour to deepen and the texture to turn brittle, and then it's ready to be snapped or cut into narrow strips.
- 6SOAK THE TTEOK: if the rice cakes are frozen, soak them in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain well — this stops them staying hard in the soup.
- 7SIMMER THE BROTH: bring the beef stock to a boil in a large pot, add the sliced beef, onion and garlic, and simmer 10-15 minutes until the meat is tender and the flavours meld.
- 8ADD THE TTEOK: lower the rice cakes into the simmering broth along with the soy sauce, and let them cook for 5-8 minutes, giving the pot an occasional stir so nothing settles on the bottom; they're ready once you can bite through one without resistance and they've begun drifting upward instead of sitting at the bottom.
- 9SEASON AND SERVE: taste and adjust with salt and pepper, ladle the soup into deep bowls, scatter over the yellow and white egg strips, the nori strips and the sliced spring onion, then serve hot.
Nutritional info
per serving (~400 ml)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
