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EveryParampara

Tteokguk

The Korean new year soup of sliced rice cakes, eaten to gain a year of age.

A pattern drawn for this page, not a picture of Tteokguk.

Also: rice cake soup

Tteokguk is a clear soup of sliced white rice cakes in beef or anchovy broth, topped with egg, seaweed and scallion, which Koreans eat on Seollal, the Lunar New Year. The white colour stands for purity and a fresh start, and the coin-shaped slices for wealth. There is a saying that a person is not a year older until they have eaten a bowl of tteokguk. Children are teased and asked how many bowls they have eaten. In North Korea the soup is made with pheasant or chicken. The dish is a part of the jesa table, and the family eats it together after the bow to the elders.

Region: East Asia

See also

JesaHanbokDoljabi

Find traditions that mention Tteokguk

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