subject: How To Cook Tteokguk [print this page] Tteokguk is a well-known Korean food to eat on New Year's Day. It is believed that people have to eat Tteokguk because it is predicted to give the luck for the forthcoming year and for him or her to supposedly gain an additional year of life. Eating one bowl of Tteokguk in the morning of New Year's Day means that you become one year older. The first day of the New Year is the new beginning for all makings. Koreans begin eating Tteokguk made from white rice cake (Tteok) to symbolize the day's pure and solemn nature. Why is rice cake round? Some people say it was shaped after coins to bring people prosperity and some people say it means the sun. According to a 19th century handbook on traditions, the tradition of eating rice cake soup dates back to the late 18th century.
It is significant to make a good broth for this dish to be taste good. Beef brisket is boiled for several hours and the stock is strained to clarify the broth. Long rice cake sticks are thin-sliced diagonally and boiled in the clear beef broth. The rice cake slices should be cooked until they're very soft. Make sure you place the egg to room temperature before you beat it and add it to the broth. Cold egg will make the broth murky instead of smooth and thin ribbons.
It is very simple to make Tteokguk today because most of the Korean grocery stores sell rice cake slices.
This is how to cook Tteokguk:
INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)
5 cups BEEF BROTH.
1 lb/455 g sliced "GARAETTEOK" (rice cake), soaked in water for 2 hours
1 EGG, beaten
2 sheets of "GIIM" (seaweed), toasted slightly
SOY SAUCE to adjust seasoning
2 SCALLIONS, cut diagonally
BLACK PEPPER
1. Prepare the beef broth in advance. Prepare GARAETTEOK (rice cake) slices and take out the egg from the refrigerator and leave it alone in room temperature.
2. Bring the broth to a boil, then add the rice cake slices. Let it cook until it becomes tender. Now, lightly toast the seaweed on a toaster. Slice the seaweed into 4 pieces with scissors and then into strips. Set it aside. Adjust the soup seasoning with soy sauce and put in the scallion.
3. Swirl the soup with chopsticks while putting in the beaten egg as a stream. Divide the soup into individual bowls and put a layer of crumbled seaweed over them.
All kinds of Tteokguk have been enjoyed in the northern part and southern part of Korea, which are different in climate and types of farming. In the north, the farming of rice is rare; people added Mandu (Korean style Dumpling) to Tteokguk and enjoyed Tteokmanduguk.
At just about any Korean restaurant you go to, there will be Tteokguk on the menu. It is important to the culture and to the people.
