Tteok Mandu Guk (Korean Rice Cake Dumpling Soup). A popular Korean soup made of light broth, chewy rice cakes and delicious dumplings.
Quick and easy to make in less than 15 minutes!
In Korean, "Tteok" means rice cakes, "Mandu" stands for dumplings and "Guk" means soup. This Korean rice cake dumpling soup is comfort food at its finest in Korean culture. In Korean traditions, it's served on Korean New Year Day (January 1st) to celebrate a happy Lunar New Year. It can also be enjoyed all year round!
Koreans enjoy a large bowl of this hearty dish on New Year’s Day to grant good fortune or good luck as they turn another year in age. They make a large pot for their family for a good time and it's perfect for the cold weather. Often, it's served with a side of kimchi.
Quick & Easy
This hot pot recipe is so easy to make and comes together in just 15 minutes or less in one piece of cookware. I recommend using a deep medium size soup pot for this dish.
Ingredients
You'll need the below tteok mandu guk ingredients. ***Please scroll down to the below Recipe card for full measurements***
- Beef brisket or flank steak: I prefer using either of these two cuts to make my beef stock. If you can't find either, use any kind of lean cut of beef. Avoid any cut that is fatty preferably.
- Dumplings: aka Mandu in Korean. I highly recommend any Korean dumplings, like pork or kimchi dumplings. To make things easier I'm using store-bought mandu, but you can also use fresh mandu from the store, homemade dumplings, frozen dumplings, or vegetarian dumplings for a vegetarian version. Most Korean Grocery stores will sell mandu in their frozen section. You can also make your own homemade mandu from any mandu recipe online for this tteok guk.
- Korean rice cake slices: These chewy rice cakes are the key ingredient in tteok manduguk. Make sure to buy the sliced rice cakes and not the kind that comes in the tubes - these take longer to cook and are much heavier in texture. Be sure rice cakes are rinsed under cold water to remove starch as well. Most Korean Grocery Stores will carry this ingredient in the refrigerated section or frozen section. Fresh rice cakes will also work well too!
- Water: We'll need about 8 cups of water for this recipe. For extra flavor, although this Korean dumpling soup is flavorful as is, you may replace with chicken broth, anchovy stock or anchovy broth, beef broth, or vegetable broth for a vegetarian version.
- Avocado oil: or any neutral oil. I wouldn't suggest using olive oil since it carries a scent and taste.
Seasoning for Marinade & Soup
- Chicken bouillon powder: aka Chicken Stock Powder
- Regular soy sauce: Just your regular all purpose soy sauce. Most Korean households use Korean soup soy sauce, but I want to keep the ingredients simple and accessible. You can also sub with fish sauce if you don't have soy sauce.
- Sesame oil: This offers a delicious nutty aroma and taste to your Korean rice cake soup with dumplings. Most Asian markets, Western grocers, or online retailers, like Amazon, will carry this ingredient.
- Garlic: A couple cloves garlic to marinade the beef and give the clear broth extra flavor!
- Black pepper: This spice accents the beef flavor and helps to bring it out
Optional Garnish
- Gim: aka Roasted Seaweed in Korean or Nori. Most Asian markets, Western grocers, or online retailers, like Amazon, will carry this ingredient. Cut them into very thin strips or thin ribbons to garnish on top of the soup.
- Eggs: The egg yolks and egg whites can be separated, beaten and fried in a pan into a thin layer pancake. Then sliced into egg strips on a cutting board. The ribbons of eggs will be placed on top of the dduk guk. This is also known as a traditional garnish from Korean Royal cuisine called "Jidan" in Korean.
- Green onion: finely chopped and served as a garnish to place on top of the delicious soup.
How to Make Tteok Mandu Guk
Below are visuals to show you how to make this Korean dduk mandu guk recipe. ***Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full instructions and details***
- Dice beef into small cubes. Transfer to a small bowl. Season beef with Marinade ingredients and set aside to marinate for 2-3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, rinse rice cakes with cold water a few times to remove any starch. Strain and set aside.
- In a medium size pot on medium heat, add avocado oil. Add beef and cook until browned.
- Pour in water (or stock). Cover and bring to a boil. Then reduce to medium-low heat for 15 minutes for a gentle boil. Skim off any scum for a clean broth.
- Season broth with soy sauce and chicken powder.
- Uncover and add in dumplings and rice cakes. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook until they float, about 3-4 minutes. Note: If using large dumplings, cook them 4 minutes earlier than the rice cake as they’ll take longer to cook.
- Garnish with cooked eggs strips, green onions, and gim. Feel free to season with a pinch of salt to taste if you'd like it saltier.
Optional Garnish
Separate egg yolks from white in two separate bowls. Beat the egg yolks and egg whites separately. In a pan set on low medium heat, lightly spray with cooking oil, or distribute oil with a paper towel. Pour in yolk mixture and let it set into a thin pancake. Fry on both sides until cooked, a couple minutes in total. Transfer to a cutting board. Roll up the egg pancake and slice thinly. Repeat the same with egg whites.
Note: Alternatively, you can beat the eggs without separating into yolks and whites and pour the eggs in a thin stream in a circular motion into the soup, like Egg Drop Soup.
FAQ
Below are frequently asked questions about this recipe:
How long will this dish last for?
Best consumed same day as the dumpling wrappers and rice cakes will turn soggy by next day. Alternatively, separate the broth from the cooked dumplings and rice cakes in different containers and when you're ready to reheat, combine them in a pot to re-boil.
Can I use beef bones instead?
You may add beef bones to the stock, but I would suggest adding some of the meat or the broth could lack in flavor.
Should I soak my rice cakes or just rinse them?
In my experience, this depends on the state of the rice cake and how they come when purchased. If they come frozen, I would suggest only rinsing them as they can disintegrate if you soak them in cold water and then boil. If they come fresh or refrigerated, soak them in cold water and strain them before you add them to the soup.
My broth is very brown
That's okay! It will still taste great and that’s what counts the most. The light-colored broth is more for aesthetics. The darker color broth does signify that it was boiled at a higher temperature instead of a slower rolling boil. Next time, reduce heat to medium-low heat and see if this produces a lighter colored broth.
Other Korean recipes you may like!
If you enjoyed this Korean dish, you may like these other recipes:
- Tofu Kimchi Jjigae
- Mild Budae Jjigae Army Stew
- Sundubu Ramen
- Pork Kimchi Stew
- Tuna Kimchi Jjigae
- Janchi Guksu (Warm Korean Noodles)
Christie
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Easy Tteok Mandu Guk (Korean Rice Cake Dumpling Soup)
Ingredients
- 150 grams beef brisket or flank steak cubed
- 10-12 dumplings store bought or homemade work well (feel free to add more if desired)
- 1.5 cups rice cakes rinsed and soaked in cold water
- 6 cups water (or sub with chicken, beef, vegetarian broth, or anchovy broth for additional flavor)
- 2 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (I like using the Knorr brand)
- 2-3 teaspoon regular soy sauce (not light or dark soy sauce)
Beef Marinade:
- 2 teaspoon regular soy sauce (not light or dark soy sauce)
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 clove garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Optional Garnish:
- 2 eggs
- ¼ sheet gim aka roasted seaweed/nori cut into thin strips
- 1 green onion finely chopped
Instructions
- Dice beef into small cubes. Transfer to a small bowl. Season beef with Marinade ingredients and set aside to marinate for 2-3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, rinse rice cakes with cold water a few times to remove any starch. Strain and set aside.
- In a medium size pot on medium heat, add avocado oil. Add beef and cook until browned.
- Pour in water. Cover and bring to a boil. Then reduce to medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Skim off any scum for a clean broth.
- Season broth with soy sauce and chicken powder. Taste the broth and add more soy sauce if you prefer it saltier.
- Uncover and add in dumplings and rice cakes. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook until they float, about 3-4 minutes. Note: If using large dumplings (about 2.5 inches wide), cook them 4 minutes earlier than the rice cake as they’ll take longer to cook.
- Remove soup off heat. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with cooked eggs strips, green onions, and gim.
Optional Egg Garnish
- Separate egg yolks from whites in two separate bowls. Beat the egg yolks and egg whites separately. In a pan set on low medium heat, lightly spray with cooking oil, or distribute oil with a paper towel. Pour in yolk mixture and let it set into a thin pancake. Fry on both sides until cooked, a couple minutes in total. Transfer to a cutting board. Roll up the egg pancake and slice thinly. Repeat the same with egg whites. Note: Alternatively, you can beat the eggs without separating into yolks and whites and pour the eggs in a thin stream in a circular motion into the soup, like Egg Drop Soup.
Did you enjoy my recipe?