Did you get a bowl of the Korean rice cake soup (떡국 - ddeok guk/dduk guk/tteok guk) on New Year's Day? Because I grew up having it for breakfast on New Year's Day, I still have ddeokguk for breakfast on New Year's Day. It's like a rare habit that is automatically activated only once a year.
Although it's known as a New Year's Day dish, this soup is good for any time of the year - cold days, rainy days, hangover days... Once you get the ingredients together, cooking this simple version of the soup is done very quickly, in about 10 minutes (so make sure you have all the ingredients ready to go). It may not look all that proper and prim like other ddeokguk you see elsewhere, but how can you go wrong with ground beef seasoned in essentially bulgogi marinade (only missing Asian pear which tenderizes meat, but of course, no need to tenderize ground meat), soft egg drops and again, soft, yet slightly chewly rice cake slices? Feel free to add a few dumplings, frozen or handmade, and there is another soup dish that'll keep you warm for the rest of the winter season. The garnishes (what I call 'fixings' here) add a lot to this soup, so try adding all of them if you can. Oh, and I'm actually ahead on this post for the New Year's Day by the lunar calendar. ^^ (And this comes from my self-awareness how I never seem to be on time for blog posts.)
SIMPLE RICE CAKE SOUP (떡국)
Yield - 4 Main Servings
INGREDIENTS:
6 cups water (plus more to soak rice cakes)
4 cups rice cake slices for ddeok guk (I used brown rice cake slices)
2 teaspoons canola oil
Beef Seasoning
1 cup ground beef
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons garlic, peeled and grated (2-3 cloves)
1 teaspoon ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Fixings
2 eggs
1-2 sheets nori
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 scallion
Pinch black pepper, freshly ground
DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix to combine all ingredients of beef seasoning. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. Soak rice cakes in cold water if it's frozen. If it's fresh and soft, no need to soak in water.
3. Prepare fixings.
- Egg - Whisk to combine whites and yolks.
- Dried laver (a.k.a. nori) - Toast directly over stovetop, set at very low heat. Tear to small pieces or cut to strips with scissors.
- Sesame seeds - Toast on a dry pan over low heat until you can smell the sesame seeds. Remove from heat and let cool. Add toasted sesame seeds in a ziploc bag and crush with a dough roller.
- Scallion - Wash, trim and cut to thin slices.
4. Heat up a large pot and drizzle canola oil. Add seasoned ground beef and saute over medium heat. With a wooden spoon, break down quickly lumps of ground beef to small pieces.
5. Add 6 cups of water to the pot and bring up to a boil over high heat. Skim off foam that rises to the top to keep the soup clear.
6. Drain rice cakes, add to the pot and bring up to a boil. When rice cakes become soft, turn off heat.
7. Immediately after turning off heat, drizzle in the egg mix. Give a gentle swirl with a wooden spoon to create soft egg drops. Taste and adjust seasoning (with salt, not to darken the soup) if necessary.
8. Ladle the rice cake soup into individual soup bowls. Garnish with nori, sesame seeds and scallion. Add freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot.
Stay warm & healthy!
RELATED POSTS
KOREAN WORDS
참기름 (cham gi reum) toasted sesame oil
후추 (hu chu) ground black pepper
통후추 (tong hu chu) whole black pepper
