Korean Rice Cake Soup (Tteokguk) - Chef Chris Cho (2024)

Tteokguk is a traditional Seollal (Lunar New Year) food. It’s made up of warm and comforting beef broth, beef and egg pieces, and the star of the dish — rice cakes.

Lunar New Year Tradition

In some parts of Asia, we follow the Lunar calendar because it had great significance in agricultural activities throughout history. Naturally, we celebrate its first day or the beginning of another Lunar Year.

When I was growing up, my mom used to tell me that if we drank one bowl of rice cake soup, we would grow up one year older.

As a child, I asked, “If I drink two bowls, will I grow up two years older?” And I would proceed to ask for two to three more bowls because I wanted to grow up quickly.

Aside from this tradition, Koreans would also visit their hometowns to spend time with family and pay their respects to elders.

We would say “Saehae bok mani badeuseyo” which means “Please receive a lot of good fortune for the New Year” while bowing down to elders as a sign of respect. We then catch up over other foods such as Jeon, Japchae, Galbi Jjim, Bulgogi, and Kimchi.

Rice Cakes for Tteokguk

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Rice cakes are not a common pantry item in America. This can even be mistaken for the puffed rice cake crackers that are crunchy and used as a snack or dessert.

Korean Rice Cakes or garaetteok are different. These are usually long and cylindrical cakes made from glutinous rice flour. Commonly, it is found in dishes like Tteokbokki, Rabokki, or Tteokkochi. Tteok can also be sliced diagonally and coin-shaped to be used in soup dishes like Tteokguk!

It is unsweetened or a bit bland but takes on the sauce or the soup you cook it with. It is a bit chewy like a warm Japanese Mochi or Chinese Nian Gao. Normally, you’d find it in the frozen section of Hmart or some Asian grocery stores.

There is no alternative for this ingredient and it is very essential to the whole recipe.

We believe that having this during the Lunar New Year is a symbol of a new beginning (because of the white color) and prosperity (because of the coin shape). Nowadays, we also practice drinking rice cake soup even on Western New Year.

Proper Rice Cake Storage and Prevention from Breaking

When you get to chance upon this at any store, it may come fresh or frozen, vacuum-packed.

This is stored in the freezer after you buy them. Once opened, transfer to an airtight container. It’s very important to do so because once it dries out, it might break and turn into pieces.

When ready to use, thaw it out covered and do not put it back to freeze. Cook up any thawed-out rice cakes as soon as you can.

Freezing allows you to store them for several months, but I still highly recommend consuming them as soon as you can so they keep their best state.

Secret to Making Tteokguk: The Broth

Since the rice cake is bland, the main thing you need to focus on is the broth.

Traditionally, we use beef broth and we sprinkle the beef pieces all over the soup to make it tasty. However, here are several things out can do to make it easier to recreate this recipe.

1. Use any beef broth (homemade or packaged) that you really like.
2. Use beef short rib bones to make the soup base and combine with its sautéed trimmings to make it tastier.
3. What I personally did was make a base from dashi packet and combine it with sautéed beef pieces to make a hearty broth.

Nevertheless, you can also use chicken, pork, seafood, or vegetable broth according to your preference.You can even use my Korean Oxtail Soup or kkori gomtang recipe to use as the broth!

How to make Easy Rice Cake Soup?

First off, soak the rice cakes for 30 minutes and then make a soup base. Choose among the steps I shared above.

Next, sauté beef pieces in sesame oil and garlic. When fragrant, add your broth. I opted to use a broth made with dashi packet because I find it easier to use and it’s just as tasty.

TIP: Dashi packs are like tea bags but for seafood broth. Boil it for 10 minutes and combine it with sautéed beef to make a fresh and hearty broth for tteokguk!

Then, add rice cakes, scallions, and scrambled eggs. Adding this will create ribbons of egg across the soup for more protein. You can also add dumplings or mandu if you want more elements in your soup.

Season it with soy sauce or fish sauce, salt, and pepper to taste. Done! Top with scallions and seaweed paper. You now have a thick and delicious soup!

With how easy this recipe is, you can actually make it any time, not just during special occasions. Finish your bowl as it does not keep well in the fridge. Enjoy!

Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me onFacebook,Instagram, orTiktokwhen you chop them up! Yeobosayo!

Posted By: Chef Chris Cho · In: Classic Korean Dishes, Korean Holiday Recipes, Non-Spicy, Rice, Rice Cakes, and Noodles, Soups and Stews