Tteokguk (Rice Cake Soup)
떡국tteok-guk
The Korean New Year soup of sliced rice cakes in beef broth
Tteokguk is the soup Koreans eat on the morning of Lunar New Year (Seollal): thin, oval slices of chewy white rice cake simmered in a clear beef broth and topped with egg, roasted seaweed and green onion. It is mild, comforting and quick once the broth is ready, and it is eaten year-round as an easy one-bowl meal.
Looking for a twist? See 2 tteokguk variations ↓
🥘 Ingredients for classic tteokguk
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Main
Garnish
🧺 Korean ingredients in this dish
- Rice Cakes (Tteok)Chewy rice cakes for tteokbokki, soups and sweets🛒 Shop on Amazon
- Dried Kelp (Dasima)Kelp for clean, savory broth🛒 Shop on Amazon
- Dried Anchovies (Myeolchi)From broth anchovies to sweet-salty side dishes
- Sesame Oil & Sesame SeedsThe nutty finishing touch of Korean food🛒 Shop on Amazon
- Garlic in Korean CookingMinced, sliced, pickled and black — the backbone of Korean flavor
- Korean Soy Sauce (Ganjang)Guk-ganjang, jin-ganjang and when to use each🛒 Shop on Amazon
- Seaweed (Miyeok, Gim & More)Miyeok, gim, hijiki and other seaweeds🛒 Shop on Amazon
- Korean Green Onions (Pa)Thick daepa, slender jjokpa and the green onions in almost every dish
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📝 How to make tteokguk
Soak the rice cakes in cold water for 20–30 minutes (longer if they were frozen), then drain.
Separate the eggs. Fry the yolks and whites separately into thin sheets over low heat in a lightly oiled pan, then cut them into thin strips. Or simply beat the eggs to drizzle into the soup later.
Heat the sesame oil in a pot over medium heat and stir-fry the beef with 1 tablespoon of the soup soy sauce until it is no longer pink.
Add the water or broth, bring to a boil, skim off the foam and simmer for 15–20 minutes to make a light beef broth.
Add the garlic and the rice cakes and boil for 4–5 minutes, until the rice cakes float and turn soft and chewy.
Season with the remaining soup soy sauce, salt and pepper. If using beaten eggs, drizzle them in now and let them set for 30 seconds before stirring gently.
Ladle into bowls and top with the egg strips, seaweed and green onion. Serve immediately.
💡 Tips for the best tteokguk
- Do not overcook the rice cakes — they keep softening in the hot broth and can turn mushy within minutes.
- Soup soy sauce seasons the broth without darkening it as much as regular soy sauce, which keeps the soup clear and pale.
- For a quicker version, use anchovy-kelp broth and skip the beef, or add store-bought beef bone broth.
- Rice cakes harden in the fridge. Store leftover soup and rice cakes separately, or freeze uncooked rice cakes and soak them before use.
Why Koreans eat tteokguk at New Year
Eating a bowl of tteokguk on New Year’s morning is said to make you one year older, so “How many bowls of tteokguk have you had?” is a playful way of asking someone’s age. The white rice cakes and clear broth stand for a clean, fresh start to the year.
The rice cakes are cut from long white cylinders (garae-tteok) into thin ovals, which are said to resemble old coins — a wish for prosperity in the year ahead.
Variations
Tteok-mandu-guk adds dumplings and is very common. Around Kaesong and parts of Gyeonggi, people make joraengi tteokguk with small cocoon-shaped rice cakes. Coastal regions use oyster, anchovy or seaweed broths instead of beef.
What to serve with it
At New Year, tteokguk is served with jeon (savory pancakes), japchae, braised short ribs and plenty of kimchi. On an ordinary day, a bowl with kimchi on the side is a complete meal.
