Cocoon Shaped TteokGuk

Lunar New Year is coming, so today I want to share a delicious New Year soup using a different type of rice cake called joraengi tteok. This is from the Kaesong region in Korea. The rice cakes (tteok) are twisted in small cocoon shapes. Another special thing is that it has a delicious skewered beef topping. The shape of these rice cakes are cute and fun, but the flavor and texture are the same as normal rice cakes. To make this more savory and simple, I will use Sempio’s Yondu for this recipe. Try it someday. 🙂

Yield: 3 Servings

Short Korean Lesson

• Byeong (병) = Illness
• Byeong (병) = Bottle

Video Instructions

Main Ingredients

• 3 Cups Rice Cakes for TteokGuk (1 lb)
• 1 Generous Tbsp Sempio Yondu
• Some Egg JiDan (For Garnish)
• Some Red Hot Pepper (For Garnish)

Broth Ingredients

• 5 Cups Water
• 3 oz Beef Brisket
• 6 Garlic Cloves
• 2 Green Onions

Beef Ingredients

• 1 tsp Green Onion
• ½ tsp Sempio Yondu
• ¼ tsp Garlic, Minced
• ¼ tsp Sesame Oil
• 2 Pinches Black Pepper

Skewered Beef Ingredients

• 2 oz Beef (¼ Cup)
• 18 Green Onion Pieces (2 Inch)
• 1 Tbsp Sempio Bulgogi Sauce
• 1 tsp Cooking Oil
• 6 Tooth Picks

Directions

Obtain 3 cups of joraengi Ttteok (1 lb). If you do not have any, just use the normal oval rice cakes.

Obtain 5 oz of beef brisket, 6 garlic cloves, and 2 green onions for the broth. We will use some (3 oz) of the beef for the broth and the rest (2 oz) for the skewered beef.

Add 5 cups of water, 3 oz of beef, garlic, and the green onion into a pot. Once it starts to boil, cook for about 25 minutes on medium-high.

Remove the foam from the surface of the broth to get clearer broth.

Cook the broth covered.

Meanwhile marinate the beef for the skewers. Use 2 oz of beef (¼ cup) and cut it into 2-inch long strips. You need 24 pieces.

Mix the beef with 1 Tbsp of Sempio’s bulgogi sauce. If you do not have any, use homemade bulgogi sauce.

Cut some of the tops off of green onions into 2-inch long pieces. You will need 18 pieces.

Skewer the marinated beef and green onions on a toothpick. The order will be: beef, green onion, beef, green onion, beef, green onion, and then beef. You will get 6 skewers – two for each serving.

25 minutes later, strain the broth. Save the cooked beef, but discard the garlic and green onion. You will get about 3 cups of beef broth.

Shred the beef into smaller pieces and add all the ingredients for the beef in a bowl: 1 tsp green onion, ½ tsp Sempio Yondu, ¼ tsp minced garlic, ¼ tsp sesame oil, and 2 pinches black pepper. You can use soy sauce or fish sauce instead of Yondu. Mix it.

Add the rice cakes and the saved beef broth into a pot. Once it start to boil, cook for several minutes until the rice cakes become soft on medium-high. It took about 3 minutes for mine, but depending on the rice cakes you use, the time can vary.

Add 1 Generous Tbsp of Sempio Yondu for seasoning and savory flavor. This is all I used to season the broth, and it tasted amazing. I highly recommend you try it.

Add 1 tsp of cooking oil in a heated pan and then put the skewers in it. Fry them on medium for about 1½ minutes on each side, or until the beef has completely cooked.

Make the fried egg topping called “jidan.” You can check this post (link) for how to make it.

When the rice cakes are done cooking, turn off the heat and add the seasoned beef to the pot.

Mix it gently. The green color from the beef seasoning gives the broth a slight green color. 🙂

Put some of the tteokguk in a bowl and put 2 pieces of skewered beef on top.

For more color and flavor, garnish it with the egg topping and some red hot pepper.

 

Eat the skewered beef as a side dish; it will give the dish a more savory flavor. Enjoy this delicious Lunar New Year soup and have a very blessed 2014. Thank you very much. 🙂