Feel Old Yet? Maybe It’s The Tteokguk

Feel Old Yet? Maybe It’s The Tteokguk - The Daebak Company

Have you ever wondered how your idols spend their Korean New Year’s Day? For the Korean New Year, people have at least one thing in common: they have at least one bowl of tteokguk (떡국), also known as rice cake soup. The tradition of enjoying a bowl of tteokguk on Korean New Year’s Day goes back as long as anyone can remember.

This bowl of New Year’s soup is made from a light beef broth, featuring dried seaweed, egg, tender beef, and thinly sliced discs of chewy rice cake. Although tteokguk may look like a plain dish, it is packed with savory flavors and satisfyingly soft, chewy textures.

With every bowl of tteokguk comes a story of tradition. In Korea, when you have a bowl of tteokguk, you become one year older. Many idols recall when they were younger, they used to have several bowls of tteokguk in hopes to become older faster. The white color of the tteok symbolizes a clean, fresh start to the new year, and the round, disc-like shape of each slice of tteok refers to the old Korean coin currency, symbolizing prosperity.

Have you ever wondered how to make tteokguk? Watch SEVENTEEN attempt to outdo each other when making their own versions of tteokguk:

Even if you do not celebrate the Lunar New Year, tteokguk is that dish that can turn an ordinary day into a special one. If you do celebrate the Lunar New Year, what kind of unique dishes do you get to eat?


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