For Koreans, the tteokguk, the rice cake soup, it is the auspicious food eaten on New Year's Eve, but, as we explained in the article on Seollal, it is a classic dish that is now eaten at any time of the year. Tteokguk is a soup made with sliced rice dumplings, cooked in beef broth. Garaetteok is used, which is shaped like a long cylinder and is cut into thin oval slices. The white oval shape symbolizes a bright and prosperous new year.
I had the recipe explained to me by a Korean acquaintance with whom I am doing linguistic and cultural exchanges who is an expert in cooking. Since I am a big fan of broths and soups, I will try to cook it soon, hoping to find all the necessary ingredients in some Korean market in Rome.
Ingredients for 4 people (cooking time approximately 2h)
For the beef broth:
- 230 grams of beef brisket
- ½ medium onion
- 5-6 large garlic cloves
- 3 shallots (or Korean spring onion)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce for soup*
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 liter of water
* If you can't find it in Italy, my friend suggests using soy sauce. But be careful because too much darkens the broth.
For the side dish to season the broth with:
- Beef removed from broth
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 egg
- 1 shallot
- ½ sheet of kim seaweed*
*Kim in Korea, according to my friend, is used a bit like our parmesan on pasta. If you can't find it, you can use Japanese nori seaweed which is sold in thicker sheets.
For the rice dumplings:
- 150g Garaetteok cut into slices *
*as my Korean contact suggests, if it is impossible to find garaetteok in Italy you can prepare it at home with rice flour. You can follow the recipe Tteokbokki on our site, but instead of making ½ centimeter cylinders, make a long cylinder directly and cut it into thin slices.
Procedure for preparing broth:
In a large pot, bring the beef brisket, onion, shallot, garlic and water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and remove the foam that the meat produces as it cooks.
Cook over a low heat, covering with a blanket, until the meat is tender enough to be chopped, which will take about an hour and a half, depending on how large the piece of meat is. Add more water if it reduces too much.
Once cooked, remove the meat and let it cool. Discard the vegetables from the broth. Add the soy sauce soup, salt and pepper to taste to the broth and mix.
Procedure for preparing decorations:
Cut the cooled meat into strips, chop and combine well with chopped garlic and sesame oil.
Separate the yolk from the egg white. Beat and mix separately to make two omelettes. Heat a lightly oiled non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Pour the egg white in a thin layer. Cook it briefly on each side without browning it. Proceed in the same way with the yolk. The omelettes can be rolled up and cut into thin strips.
Cut the shallot into thin strips.
Cut the kim seaweed into thin strips after having just cooked it over a low heat. (If you prefer, you can cook it in the broth when it boils to add flavour).
Procedure for preparing rice dumplings and plating:
Cut the garaetteok into thin slices and soak the rice disks in cold water for about 20 minutes.
Bring the broth back to the boil. Add the rice cake slices and boil until soft, usually about 5-8 minutes. Once ready, portion the soup onto plates and proceed to garnish with the shredded meat, egg, shallot and strips of kim.
Now you are ready to eat this auspicious Korean soup!
Fabiana
Thanks to my Korean friend G. K. for all the technical advice!
Photo credit: depositphotos-lenyvavsha