Rice cake soup

Tteokguk 

My mother used to make tteokguk, or rice cake soup, when I was growing up. I liked to call the rice cakes "rice patties." What made the Korean soup so good was biting into the soft rice patty and feeling it squish between your teeth.

Rice cake soup is usually made for the New Year holiday. But I decided to make it anyway. It was my first try!

I adapted a recipe from Maangchi, who has great videos on how to make Korean food.

M. loved the soup so much he gave me a hug for just making it. I felt happy eating spoonful after spoonful of rice cakes.

Rice cake soup
Adapted from a recipe by Maangchi
Ingredients:
3 cups or 1 package of sliced rice cakes
Note: You can find rice cakes at an Asian grocery store.
2 boneless chuck steaks (about 1 to 1.5 cups), cut into small pieces. Maangchi used 100 grams of beef
brisket.
3 eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
packaged roasted and seasoned seaweed (kim in Korean)
Note: You can buy packages of already toasted and salted seaweed at Asian grocery stores. The seaweed comes in 8 x 10 inch sheets. Maangchi appears to use plain seaweed and roasts it herself. If you buy Nori, seaweed for sushi, you'll need to roast it.
2 scallions, chopped diagonally
sesame oil to taste
ground black pepper
salt to taste

Directions:
Begin boiling 8 cups of water in a pot. Soak 3 cups or 1 package of rice cakes in cold water. Set aside.
Cut beef into small pieces, about 1 to 1.5 cups.

Prepare 3 eggs in 2 small bowls:
In Bowl 1, mix 2 egg yolks and a pinch of salt.
In Bowl 2, mix 2 egg whites, 1 egg and a pinch of salt.

While you wait for the water to boil, make your garnishes.

How to make thin egg yolk strips:
Heat up a non-stick pan. Let it get really hot. Add a few drops of vegetable oil and wipe off the excess oil with a paper towel. Turn off the heat. Pour the egg yolk mixture from Bowl 1 into the pan. Tilt the pan in a circular motion to make a thin pancake.

When the egg yolk pancake is mostly cooked, turn it over to cook the other side. When it's cooked, slice it into thin strips and set aside.

How to make kimgaru, or seaweed powder:
Put the roasted seaweed into a plastic bag and rub the bag with your hands. Set aside the seaweed.
Note: If you bought seaweed that hasn't been roasted yet, roast a sheet of seaweed directly on the stovetop, flipping it back and forth so it doesn't burn. Then crush the seaweed in a plastic bag.

When the water boils, add the beef. Boil over low medium heat for 20-30 minutes. Then add garlic and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce.

Note: The water will boil off. You need 6 cups. You can add more water as needed.

Drain the rice cakes and put them into the soup. Close the lid. A few minutes later, open the lid to check to see if the rice cakes are floating on the surface. Taste one. It should be soft.

Pour in the egg-white/egg yolk mixture from Bowl 2, a little at a time. Don't stir it until the egg mixture is cooked a little bit.

Taste the soup. Add salt as needed.

Chop scallions diagonally and add it to the pot.

Turn off the heat and drizzle in sesame oil. Add black pepper.

Garnish each bowl of soup with seaweed and the egg strips.

Print recipe

Step by step photos:
Soak rice cakes in cold water and set aside.



Mix 2 egg yolks in one bowl. Mix 2 egg whites and 1 yolk in the second bowl.



How to make thin egg yolk strips:
Heat up a non-stick pan. Let it get really hot. Add a few drops of vegetable oil and wipe off the excess oil with a paper towel. Turn off the heat. Pour the egg yolk mixutre from Bowl 1 into the pan. Tilt the pan in a circular motion to make a thin pancake. When the egg yolk pancake is mostly cooked, turn it over to cook the other side. When it's cooked, slice it into thin strips and set aside.



How to make kimgaru, or seaweed powder:
Put the roasted seaweed into a plastic bag and rub the bag with your hands. Set aside the seaweed.
Note: If you bought seaweed that hasn't been roasted yet, roast a sheet of seaweed directly on the stovetop, flipping it back and forth so it doesn't burn. Then crush the seaweed in a plastic bag.



When the water boils, add the beef. Boil over low medium heat for 20-30 minutes. Then add garlic and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce. Drain the rice cakes and put them into the soup. Close the lid. A few minutes later, open the lid to check to see if the rice cakes are floating on the surface. Taste one. It should be soft.


Pour in the egg-white/egg yolk mixture from Bowl 2, a little at a time. Don't stir it until the egg mixture is cooked a little bit.



Taste the soup. Add salt as needed. Chop scallions diagonally and add it to the pot.

Turn off the heat and drizzle in sesame oil. Add black pepper. Garnish each bowl of soup with seaweed and the egg strips.