Tteokguk * () or sliced rice cake soup is a traditional

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n dish eaten during the celebration of the

Korean New Year Seollal () is a festival and national holiday commemorating the first day of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. It is one of the most important traditional holidays in both North and South Korea. The celebration usually lasts three days: the day ...

. The dish consists of the broth/soup (''

guk ''Guk'' (), also sometimes known as ''tang'' (), is a class of soup-like dishes in Korean cuisine. ''Guk'' and ''tang'' are commonly grouped together and regarded as the same type of dish, although ''tang'' can sometimes be less watery than ...

'') with thinly sliced rice cakes (''

tteok ''Tteok'' ( ko, 떡) is a class of Korean rice cakes made with steamed flour made of various grains, including glutinous rice, glutinous or non-glutinous Japonica rice, rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make ''tt ...

''). It is tradition to eat ''tteokguk'' on New Year's Day because it is believed to grant the people good luck for the year and gain a year of age. It is usually garnished with thin

julienned Julienne, , or french cut, is a culinary knife cut in which the food item is cut into long thin strips, similar to matchsticks. Common items to be julienned are carrots for , celery for , potatoes for julienne fries, or cucumbers for . Trimmi ...

cooked

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

, marinated meat, '' gim'' (김),''Tteokguk''
at

Doosan Encyclopedia ''Doosan Encyclopedia'' is a Korean language encyclopedia published by Doosan Donga (두산동아). The encyclopedia is based on the ''Dong-A Color Encyclopedia'' (동아원색세계대백과사전), which comprises 30 volumes and began to be p ...

and sesame oil (참기름).

History

The origin of eating ''tteokguk'' on New Year's Day is unknown. However, ''tteokguk'' is mentioned in the 19th-century book of customs ''

Dongguksesigi Dongguksesigi (동국세시기,東國歲時記) is a book explaining the traditional customs of the year in Korea, written during the Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), offi ...

'' (동국세시기, 東國歲時記) as being made with beef or pheasant used as the main ingredient for the broth, and pepper added as seasoning.''Tteokguk''
at Nate Encyclopedia The book also mentions the custom of having a bowl of ''tteokguk'' in the morning of New Year's Day to get a year older, and the custom of saying "How many bowls of ''tteokguk'' have you eaten?" to ask a person's age.''Tteokguk'' culture
at Nate Encyclopedia In the book ''The Customs of Joseon'' written in 1946 by historian

Choe Nam-seon Choe Nam-seon (April 26, 1890 – October 10, 1957), also known by the Japanese pronunciation of his name Sai Nanzen, was a prominent modern Korean historian, pioneering poet, and publisher, and a leading member of the Korean independence moveme ...

, the New Year custom of eating ''tteokguk'' is speculated as being originated from ancient times. The white ''tteok'' signifying purity and cleanliness have been eaten during that specific day and it became a ritual to start off the New Year for good fortune. In Korea, on Lunar New Year's Day, a family performs ancestral rites by serving tteokguk to their ancestors during a joint meal. Although ''tteokguk'' is traditionally a seasonal dish, it is now eaten at all times of the year.

Ingredients and varieties

The broth is generally made by simmering the main protein (beef, chicken, pork, pheasant, seafood) in a ''

ganjang Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' Asp ...

''-seasoned stock. In the past, pheasant meat or chicken was used to make tteokguk's broth, but nowadays, beef is mainly used. The stock is then strained to clarify the broth, and long cylinder-shaped ''

garaetteok ''Garae-tteok'' () is a long, cylindrical ''tteok'' (rice cake) made with non-glutinous rice flour. Grilled ''garae-tteok'' is sometimes sold as street food. Thinly (and usually diagonally) sliced ''garae-tteok'' is used for making ''tteokguk'' ( ...

'' are thin-sliced diagonally and boiled in the clear broth. Garnish is added before serving; the garnish may vary by region and personal taste, but usual staples are pan-fried

egg yolks and whites, '' gim'' and

spring onions Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...

. A drizzle of sesame oil is common just prior to serving the teokguk. Varieties of ''tteokguk'' include ''saeng tteokguk'' (생떡국) or ''nal tteokguk'' (날떡국), a specialty of

Chungcheong Chungcheong (''Chungcheong-do''; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Chungcheong was located in the southwest of Korea. The provincial capital was located at Gongju, which had been the capital of the kingdom o ...

province, where a mixture of non-glutinous rice with glutinous rice is made into small balls or rolled into a ''garaetteok'' shape and then sliced into a boiling broth; ''joraengi tteokguk'' (조랭이 떡국) from the

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

region with the ''tteok'' twisted in small cocoon shapes; and ''gon tteokguk'' (곤떡국) from the island of

Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...

, which uses sliced ''

jeolpyeon ''Jeolpyeon'' () is a type of ''tteok'' (rice cake) made of non-glutinous rice flour. Unlike when making ''siru-tteok'' or '' baekseolgi'', the rice flour steamed in '' siru'' is pounded into a dough, divided into small pieces, and patterned wit ...

'' tteok rather than the usual ''

''. Another variety, ''tteokmanduguk'', is literally ''tteokguk'' with additional '' mandu''. North Korea eats a lot of ''manduguk'' on New Year's Day, and South Korea eats a lot of ''tteokguk''. Gyeonggi-do Province and Gangwon-do Province, which are located in the middle, eat a lot of ''tteokmanduguk.''

In popular culture

A movie with the name ''Tteokguk'' (English title "New Year's Soup") was released in 1971 starring

Yoon Jeong-hee Yoon Jeong-hee (; born July 30, 1944) is a South Korean actress active since 1967. Career Yoon was born in Gwangju, South Korea and debuted as an actress in 1967 by starring in ''Cheongchun Geukjang'' directed by Gang Dae-jin after being chose ...

and

Um Aing-ran Um Aing-ran (born March 20, 1936) is a South Korean actress. She has starred in about 190 films, and gained a popularity with the image of "a cheerful female college student" in the 1960s. Her marriage with Shin Seong-il Shin Seong-il (May 8, ...

."Tteokguk"
at

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to in ...

movie database

References

External links

Recipe for ''tteokguk''
at the

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

, 2006-01-04
''What do Koreans do on Seollal''?
from Korea Tourism Organization
Why ''tteokguk''?
at Yeongnam Ilbo, 23 January 2009 {{in lang, ko Korean soups and stews Korean royal court cuisine Tteok Korean New Year foods

History

Ingredients and varieties

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links