Quick Dduk Guk (Korean Rice Cake Soup)
Enjoy your Lunar New Year with this easy 20-minute Korean rice cake soup! This quick dduk guk is prepared with soft and chewy rice cakes in a clean dashi broth and a few simple toppings.
My original Dduk guk recipe uses a beef-based broth that is rich and flavorful, but also takes a bit more time to prepare. If you’re short on time or just looking for a quick and easy recipe, this dduk guk recipe is for you.
In Korea, dduk guk (tteokguk, ddeoguk, 떡국) is traditionally eaten with family to celebrate Lunar New Year’s day. The disc-shaped rice cakes in this soup represent coins and prosperity for the new year. And the white color symbolize a bright and clean start to the new year.
Dduk Guk Ingredients
This quick dduk guk recipe uses a dashi and dried anchovy based broth that is still rich with umami and has a clean taste. The fish sauce also gives the soup additional depth of flavor.
Ddukguk dduk, or rice cake ovalettes, are made from cylindrical rice cakes called garaedduk (가래떡). The garaedduk are cut thinly at a diagonal. They are slightly sweet but have a mostly neutral taste. They soak up some of the flavors from the soup and are soft, chewy and delicious.
I added shiitake mushrooms for added umami and for texture. It effectively replaces the shredded brisket from the other recipe. To make things simple, I simply add the mushrooms when I add the rice cakes to the soup.
In this quick recipe, the egg whites are whisked into the simmering soup. Only the egg yolks are used to make thin ribbons (jidan, 지단) for a delicious and vibrant topping.
Thinly sliced green onions and shredded roasted, dried seaweed are essential toppings for this rice cake soup.
Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful Lunar New Year!
새해복많이받으세요!
Other Korean Holiday Recipes
Mise en place
If you make this Quick Dduk Guk, I would love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to leave a comment and/or recipe rating at the bottom of this page. And if you have a photo of your food, be sure to tag me on Instagram!
Quick Tteok Guk (Korean Rice Cake Soup)
Ingredients
- 600 g Korean rice cakes ovalettes
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 4 mushrooms)
Soup Ingredients
- 7 cups water
- 2 dried anchovy and dashima soup packets
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp fish sauce
- ⅛ tsp salt (or TT)
- ⅛ tsp white pepper (or TT)
- 2 egg whites
Topping Ingredients
- green onions, sliced thinly at a diagonal
- roasted seaweed sheets, shredded
- sesame seeds (optional garnish)
- 2 eggs yolks
- 2 tbsp canola oil
Instructions
- Add the water, dried anchovy and dashima packets, and garlic to a large pot, and bring it to a boil. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
- While the broth is cooking, prepare the egg yolk topping.
- Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Drizzle some canola oil and pour in the whisked egg yolks. Gently tilt the pan around to spread the egg into a thin layer. Lower the heat and let it sit until almost cooked through. Flip it over and let it cook for about another 30 seconds or until cooked through.
- Let the cooked egg cool on a cutting board and then cut into thin strips.
- Once the broth is done simmering, remove the soup packets and garlic cloves using a skimmer.
- Stir in the soy sauce, fish sauce, salt, and white pepper.
- Rinse the rice cakes in cold water.
- Add the rice cakes and shiitake mushrooms. Let it simmer for a couple minutes. The rice cakes will float to the top of the soup as they cook.
- Add the egg whites and gently stir it into the soup. Let it cook for about another minute or until the eggs are cooked through and the rice cakes are soft and chewy.
- Ladle some of the soup, shiitake, and rice cakes into a bowl and add the toppings (egg, green onions, shredded roasted seaweed, and toasted sesame seeds).
- Serve immediately.