Tteokguk (Korean Rice Cake Soup)
This is the easiest tteokguk recipe with perfectly soft, chewy rice cakes and bite-sized pieces of beef in a comforting broth and topped with green onions, eggs, and toasted seaweed.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 300 grams beef chuck or flank, brisket, ribeye, sirloin, or ground beef
- 5 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp soup soy sauce
- 8 cups water or chicken, beef, bone, or anchovy broth
- 500 grams tteok (sliced rice cakes)
- 2 eggs
- 2 green onions
- ½ tsp black pepper
- toasted seaweed
Instructions
- Soak the rice cakes in water while you get the rest of the ingredients ready. This softens them up so that they cook more evenly and quickly.
- While the rice cakes are soaking, you can get everything else ready:Slice or cut the garlic.Slice the scallions, separating the whites from the greens.Cut the beef up into smaller, bite-sized pieces.Mix the eggs together in a small bowl.
- Heat sesame oil in a large pot and then brown the beef for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to mix. Let it all sizzle and brown for another 3 minutes.
- Add the soup soy sauce and mix it all together to coat.
- Pour in water or chicken/beef/anchovy broth. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Skim off the scummy foam, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- When the beef is about as tender as you like it, drain and add the rice cakes. Cover and let simmer for another 5 to 6 minutes. It shouldn’t take long because we’ve been soaking the rice cakes for awhile.
- When the rice cakes are close to done, slowly pour in the eggs and then stir in a gentle circle to create ribbons. Add in the white sliced green onions and the pepper, if you want. Let it all simmer for a minute, turn off the heat and serve.
- Garnish with sliced green onions, toasted seaweed (gim), and a drizzle of sesame oil.
Notes
What kind of beef to use? Brisket is traditionally cooked and then shredded into smaller, bite-sized pieces. You can do the same with flank. I personally prefer a more fatty, tender cut so I use beef chuck. But it is flexible - you can also use ribeye, sirloin, or even ground beef.
What type of rice cake to use? For tteokguk, you'll want to use the sliced rice cakes that are thinly sliced and oval-shaped. You can find them at most Korean grocery stores and at some general Asian and Chinese supermarkets.
Can I use chicken broth? You can substitute water for chicken broth, beef bone broth, beef broth, or anchovy broth. Or you can just use water. Go with whatever broth you have and enjoy the taste of.
Is there a substitute for soup soy sauce? If you don't have soup soy sauce, substitute with a 50/50 ratio of fish sauce and salt instead. No fish sauce? Just use salt. I don't recommend soy sauce for this recipe as tteokguk shouldn't have a soy sauce taste at all.
Is there vegetarian version? To make it vegetarian-friendly, substitute the beef with mushrooms that are sauteed in sesame oil and soy sauce, just like we're doing with the beef.
Can I add anything else? You can transform this tteokguk into a tteok mandu guk (rice cake dumpling soup) by adding fresh or frozen mandu (Korean dumplings). Kimchi mandu are so delicious in this soup.
Use only what you need. Once cooked, rice cakes don't store well. So use only the amount of rice cakes you'll be eating this meal. Store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
How to store leftovers. Store the rice cakes and the broth separately. When it's time to reheat, heat the broth to near boiling hot and then add in the rice cakes to heat through.