January
Dduk guk (new years’ soup)
Happy New Year :) Ring in the new year with the soup that every Korean person needs to start the day with as an old, timeless tradition: dduk guk.
dduk guk is a delicious, homey soup made of rice cakes, beef, and eggs, often topped off with scallions and shredded gim (seaweed). And only after you eat this soup, we say that you’re adding another year to you life.
You might have noticed that the rice cakes in this soup looks quite different from the rice cakes in tteokbokki. while tteok (dduk) indicates the same type of rice cake here, the ones used in this soup is the thin-sliced form of a larger, thicker ttoek called ga-reh tteok (seen below, side to side with tteokbokki rice cakes)
photo credits
fun fact, our ancestors cut the rice cakes into thin and round slices to resemble the coins that were used as their main currency, to wish an abundant year. here’s what those coins looked like back in the day (1000 years ago)
photo credit
Although Dduk guk is also eaten on the lunar new year, because of its association with a “new year,” it’s commonly eaten on the first day of the official year as well. But is it weird to eat this any other time of year? absolutely not. along with a lot of traditional and seasonal Korean food, dduk guk is enjoyed especially on this holiday, but also all year round.
Here’s the recipe!
enjoy. scroll all the way down for a step-by-step visual recipe :)
Ingredients (2 servings)
2 eggs
2-3 anchovies and 1 kombu piece for broth
2.5 cup water
3 oz of stew beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 scallion
1 cup of frozen dduk
(the flat kind specifically for dduk guk)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp soysauce
1 tsp fish sauce
salt, pepper
boil 2.5 cups of water with the anchovies and kombu while we prep the ingredients
beat 1 egg with a pinch of salt, and spread it over a non-stick oiled pan to make a thin crepe
mince the garlic, chop the scallions, and fold the egg crepe to cut it into thin strips (see GIF below)
cut the beef into strips, or bite-size pieces
on a heated pot, add 1 Tbsp each of sesame oil and vegetable oil, and stir fry the beef
once the beef is mostly brown, add 1 Tbsp of soysauce
add half the broth (from #1) first, bring to a boil, and then add the other half
add 1 tsp each of fish sauce and minced garlic, and season the broth with salt and pepper as needed.
add the rice cakes
boil another 3-4 minutes
carefully add another beaten egg in the end, and gently swirl the pot. cover the pot and let it simmer another 1 minute.
scoop the soup with the rice cakes into a bowl
garnish with chopped scallions, egg crepe, and thin sliced seaweed.
enjoy with some kimchi :)
1. boil 2.5 cups of water with the anchovies and kombu while we prep the ingredients
2. beat 1 egg with a pinch of salt, and spread it over a non-stick oiled pan to make a thin crepe
3. flip over the crepe, and transfer to cutting board
(this egg crepe is called ji-dan)
4. mince the garlic, chop the scallions, and
fold the egg crepe to cut it into thin strips
5. cut the beef into strips, or bite-size pieces
6. on a heated pot, add 1 Tbsp each of sesame oil and vegetable oil, and stir fry the beef
7. once the beef is mostly brown, add 1 Tbsp of soysauce
8. add half the broth (from #1) first, bring to a boil, and then add the other half
9. add 1 tsp each of fish sauce and minced garlic, and season the broth with salt and pepper as needed.
10. add 1 cup of rice cakes, (frozen is ok) and boil another 3-4 minutes
make sure you get the flat rice cakes specifically for dduk guk
11. carefully add another beaten egg in the end,
12. and gently swirl the pot. cover the pot and let it simmer another 1 minute.
13. scoop the soup with the rice cakes into a bowl
garnish with chopped scallions, egg crepe, and thin sliced seaweed.
enjoy with some kimchi :)
