Tteok guk (떡국) – Korean rice cake soup

Step 1

Prepare the anchovy stock - see My Tips page (under Korean Ingredients menu) on how.

Step 2

Rinse and soak rice cake in cold water (especially if the rice cake is frozen) for 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 3

Whip 2 eggs in a bowl and season with some salt and pepper.

Step 4

Drizzle oil in a non-stick frying pan and heat on medium high heat. Pour egg into the pan and immediately lift the pan off the heat. Swirl egg around the pan to spread it evenly to make a thin crepe like pancake. Put the pan back onto the heat, lower the heat to medium and when the egg is almost cooked like the picture below, turn it over.

Step 5

When the egg is all cooked, take it out of the pan and let it cool on your cutting board. When it is cool enough to handle, fold it into overlapping thirds (tri-fold). This way, you can cut the strips more uniformly.

Step 6

If you are working with a piece of brisket or stew meat, slice the meat into thin strips and season it with soy sauce, sugar, mirin, garlic, pepper and sesame oil. Mix it well.

Step 7

You can also use ground beef instead – this will save you the extra work of slicing the beef. Cook the beef in a frying pan on medium high heat until fully cooked. No need to add any extra oil.

Step 8

Heat anchovy stock in a pot over medium high heat. Season soup by adding salt, gook kanjang and chopped garlic. You can also add sliced onions and carrots to the soup to add some color and additional nutrients. Bring to a boil.

Step 9

Drain rice cake slices and add to the boiling soup. Cover pot and cook for few minutes. When rice cakes float to the top, they are now cooked and ready to eat. Turn off the heat, sprinkle some black pepper and add sliced green onions.

Step 10

Taste soup and adjust seasoning if needed. Add more salt if needed. Ladle rice cake soup into a bowl.

Step 11

Garnish with beef, egg, green onions and roasted seaweed. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and extra black pepper if you’d like and there you go!