Korean Rice Cake Soup (New Year Sliced Rice Cake Beef Broth)
Quick answer
Tteokguk is the soup that marks the Korean New Year - eating a bowl is said to add one year to your age, and no Lunar New Year table is complete without it.
What makes this special
- Diagonally sliced rice cake releases just enough starch to cloud the liquid slightly.
- Diagonally sliced rice cake releases just enough starch to cloud the broth slightly
- Clear broth seasoned only with soy sauce and salt in traditional style
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Soak 300 g sliced rice cakes in cold water for 15 minutes, then drain them well.
- 2 Cut 150 g beef into bite-size pieces and coat it with 0.5 tablespoon soup soy sauce.
- 3 Put 1000 ml water and the beef in a pot and bring it to a boil over high heat.
Tteokguk is the soup that marks the Korean New Year - eating a bowl is said to add one year to your age, and no Lunar New Year table is complete without it. Thinly sliced oval rice cakes made from garaetteok, a long cylindrical rice cake, are dropped into a clear beef broth that has been carefully skimmed of fat until it gleams. In the hot liquid, the rice cake surfaces soften just enough to release a faint starch that gives the broth the barest hint of body, while the interiors hold a dense, satisfying chew. The broth itself is kept deliberately simple - brisket simmered low and slow, seasoned only with soup soy sauce and salt - so that the rice cakes and their subtle sweetness remain the focus. Beaten egg swirled into the boiling soup forms wispy threads that add a delicate texture, and strips of egg garnish, crushed seaweed, and sometimes sliced scallion complete the bowl. Despite its apparent simplicity, tteokguk carries deep cultural weight: the white color of the rice cakes symbolizes purity and a fresh start, and the round shape of the slices represents coins and wishes for prosperity.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Prep
Soak 300 g sliced rice cakes in cold water for 15 minutes, then drain them well.
If they are frozen, thaw them first so they do not crack or turn mushy in the hot broth.
- 2Finish
Cut 150 g beef into bite-size pieces and coat it with 0.5 tablespoon soup soy sauce.
Beat 2 eggs until smooth, and slice the green onion thinly so it can finish quickly in the soup.
- 3Control
Put 1000 ml water and the beef in a pot and bring it to a boil over high heat.
When foam and fat rise, skim them off carefully so the broth stays clear and clean-tasting.
- 4Control
Lower the heat to medium, add the drained rice cakes, and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
They are ready when they float, soften at the edges, and still keep a chewy center.
- 5Season
Add 1 tablespoon soup soy sauce, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and 0.5 teaspoon salt.
Taste once before adding more salt, because the broth should stay savory but not harshly salty.
- 6Finish
With the soup gently boiling, pour in the beaten eggs in a circle and do not stir for 10 seconds so soft strands form.
Add green onion, cook 1 minute more, then serve with 1 tablespoon seaweed flakes.
After the steps
Pick a recipe that fits this dish.
Continue with shared ingredients, meal pairings, or a similar method.
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