How to Make Dduk Guk (Korean Rice Cake Soup) | CHOW-TO

In this episode of Chow-To, Guillermo visits Sarah Lee, founder of Kimbap Lab, and expert in Korean home cooking, to learn how to make Dduk Guk, a rice cake soup traditionally eaten to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Korea. This is a perfect winter soup beyond the holiday. Loaded with soft pillowy rice cakes, delicious garnishes, and a rich beef broth, this is comfort in a bowl. Recipe below!

Recipe:
Dduk Guk or Korean rice cake soup
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Beef Broth:
14-16 cups cold water
½ pound beef chuck
1 medium onion, peeled and halved
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
4 scallions white and pale green parts, (reserve dark green parts for garnish)
3 tablespoons Korean soup soy sauce (Guk-ganjang), or more to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish:
Cooked beef chuck removed from the broth, thinly shredded
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 eggs (use 2 yolks and one whole egg for omelette)
Thinly sliced scallions (from the reserved dark green parts)
Crumbled or thinly sliced gim (dried seasoned seaweed)
4 cups sliced dduk (Korean rice cakes) (or 1 cup per person), soaked in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes before using

Instructions

Place the cold water, beef, onion, scallion ends, and garlic in a large pot, cover and bring to a gentle boil.
Skim off the scum/fat that forms with a spoon or ladle, and discard.
Reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer covered for 1 ½ - 2 hours (until meat is tender enough to easily shred).
While the broth cooks, work on your garnishes:
Make the egg garnish: separate the yolks from the whites of two eggs. Mix a whole egg with the two yolks, and whisk until integrated fully. Heat a lightly oiled small nonstick pan over medium low heat. Pour the yolks/egg mix into a thin layer covering the surface of the pan. Cook each side lightly, do not brown the egg. Slice your omelette into thin strips.
Remove the cooked meat from the broth and let cool. Shred the beef into thin strips and combine well with the minced garlic, sesame oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
Slice the scallion diagonally into thin strips.
Slice your gim (roasted dried seaweed) into thin strips, or crumble into pieces using your hands.
Remove the vegetables from the broth and discard.
Return the broth to a boil. Stir in soup soy sauce, salt, and pepper to taste. If cooking for less than 4 people, scoop out some broth into a smaller pot to cook your rice cakes and save the rest of the broth for later. You do this because the rice cakes tend to release starches into the broth. Freeze any leftover broth.
Drain the soaked rice cake slices and boil in the broth until soft (not mushy) about 2-4 minutes, or until they rise to the top (you can check the texture at this point).
Ladle the hot soup into individual bowls and garnish with some of the seasoned shredded beef, egg yolk strips, sliced scallions, and gim strips.

***Note: for the recipe in the video we used a small red jalapeño for color and accent - it is not a traditional or necessary ingredient but it made the dish more visual, and the light sweet-smoky flavor and light crunch, complemented the dish nicely.

Where to buy:
Rice Cakes: https://www.amazon.com/Rice-cake-Korean-rice-Ovaletts/dp/B07MQX9W4V?tag=Chow0a-20
Soup Soy Sauce(guk-ganjang): https://www.amazon.com/Korean-Sauce-Large-Amount-dishes/dp/B072PZHMQK?tag=Chow0a-20
Skimmer: https://www.amazon.com/TEMCHY-Hot-Pot-Skimmer-Spoon/dp/B06XP8LPCL?tag=Chow0a-20
Seasoned Seaweed (gim): https://www.amazon.com/Laver-Bits-Flake-Seasoned-Sprinkle/dp/B07Z2BJCBB?tag=Chow0a-20

more on this episode: https://www.chowhound.com/food-news/252902/how-to-make-dduk-guk-lunar-new-year/

CHOW-TO is a documentary series where our host, Guillermo Riveros, takes viewers behind the scenes at the workspaces of chefs and makers, to learn how the most intriguing foods and dishes are made.

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