Korean Rice Cake Soup (Duk Guk)

By Hisoo Shin Hepinstall, Growing up in a Korean Kitchen: A Cookbook

Duk Guk is a must have dish for the ancestral ceremonial table on New Year’s Day.

6 cups ( 1/8-inch-thick) rice cake stick rounds (available in the freezer section of Korean markets;

thaw in refrigerator before using)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1/2 pound lean ground beef sirloin
6 green onions, white and pale green part only
8 cups beef stock or chicken stock
1 strip (1 inch wide and 6 inches long) dried kelp (optional; available in Asian markets)
1 tablespoon sil koch’u (hot red pepper threads), for garnish (available at Korean markets)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a bowl, soak rice cake rounds in cold water for 30 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add ground sirloin and saute 5 minutes, until meat is barely cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

2. Slice a small amount of green onions into thin rings and set aside for garnish. Slice rest of onions diagonally into 1/4-inch pieces. In a stockpot, bring stock to vigorous boil over high heat. Decrease heat to medium-high, add green onion pieces and kelp, and boil 10 minutes. Add rice cake rounds and cook 10 minutes, until rice cakes are soft and chewy, or to desired consistency. Transfer kelp to cutting board and cut into diamonds. Set aside.

3. To serve, ladle soup into individual serving bowls and top with the meat. The dish can be topped with the traditional five color garnish: green onion rings, white and yellow egg diamonds, stone-ear mushroom slivers, and sil koch’u (Korean hot red pepper threads). Serve very hot with a side dish of kimchi, if you like.

Note: Steamed filled dumplings are often added to this soup for New Year’s Day. If you don’t want to make your own, buy prepared frozen ones. Steam or boil them in a pot of water. Then add a few to each bowl of soup just before serving.