in celebration of lunar new year, i am posting my rice cake dumpling soup recipe! it is a tradition in korea to eat a bowl of rice cake soup on new year's day. it is believed that you become one year older only after having a bowl of rice cake soup (or rice cake dumpling soup). the soup is typically made with beef broth and meat, but this is a pesco-vegetarian recipe made with fish stock and oysters.
korean rice cake dumpling soup - new year's day soup (theok-marn-doo-gook)
ingredients:
for stock:
(6) cups water
(1/2) onion
(1) small piece radish (about the same size as 1/2 onion)
(2) dried shiitake mushrooms
(5) pieces shredded dried pollock ("boog-uh-chae" or "hwarng-tae-chae")
(1) piece dried kelp ("dah-shi-mah")(apporx. 3"x5")
- these are what i had available in my pantry. you can use (10-15) dried anchovies (gutted) instead of dried pollock pieces.
for soup:
(4) cups sliced rice cake ("theok-gook-theok")
(8) dumplings
(8) oz. oysters
(1) egg
(1) Tbsp. soy sauce
(1) tsp. salt
(1) tsp. sesame oil
for garnishes:
(5) sheets roasted seaweed ("goo-eun-ghim"), crushed
(2) green onions
(1) long red pepper
direction:
1. first, soak (4) cups of sliced rice cake in a bowl of water and set aside.
2. prepare garnishes. place (5) sheets roasted seaweed in a ziploc bag and crush them to small flakes. cut (2) green onions and (1) long red peppers to small rings. set them aside.
3. in a large pot, add (6) cups water, (1/2) onion, (1) small piece radish (about the same size as 1/2 onion), (2) dried shiitake mushrooms, (5) pieces shredded dried pollock and (1) piece dried kelp and bring to a boil. remove the kelp piece then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 min.
- if kelp is cooked too long, it can make the broth bitter. so remove the kelp piece after bringing to a boil.
- alternatively, you can soak the kelp piece in (6) cups of cold water overnight and use the liquid to make the stock with the rest of the ingredients.
5. strain the stock through a sieve and add it back to the pot. discard pollock pieces and cooked vegetables except shiitake mushrooms. slice shiitake mushrooms and add back to the stock. bring the stock to a boil.
6. drain sliced rice cake and add to the stock along with (1) Tbsp. soy sauce and (1) tsp. salt. cook for about 2-3 min.
- as with any seasonings, adjust the amount to your liking. however, try not to add too much soy sauce as it will make the soup too dark.
7. add (8) dumplings and (8) oz. oysters and cook for another 3-5 min or until rice cake is soft and chewy and dumplings are cooked through.
8. beat (1) egg, stir in to the soup and cook for about 30 more sec.
9. turn off the heat, drizzle (1) tsp. sesame oil and serve with seaweed flakes, green onions and red peppers while hot.
yield: (4) servings