{{Short description|Traditional Korean dish}} {{italic title}} {{Infobox food | name = Tteokguk | image = Tteokguk.jpg | caption = | alternate_name = Rice cake soup | place_of_origin = Korea | region = | creator = <!-- or | creators = --> | year = | type = Soup | course = | served = | main_ingredient = Rice cakes | minor_ingredient = | variations = | serving_size = 1 | calories = 120 | calories_ref = <ref name="KFF">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hansik.org/kr/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=021&menu=pkr2020100&lang=kr&art_id=298|title=tteokguk|website=Korean Food Foundation|language=ko|script-title=ko:떡국|access-date=16 May 2017|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018180754/http://www.hansik.org/kr/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=021&menu=pkr2020100&lang=kr&art_id=298|url-status=dead}}</ref> | protein = | fat = | carbohydrate = | glycemic_index = | similar_dish = | other = related to Korean New Year | module = {{Infobox Korean name/auto | child = yes | hangul = 떡국 | ipa = {{IPA|ko|t͈ʌk̚.k͈uk̚|}} }} }}
'''''Tteokguk'''''<ref name="standardized">{{in lang|ko}} {{Cite web|url=http://www.korean.go.kr/common/download.do?file_path=notice&c_file_name=140730_%ED%95%9C%EC%8B%9D%EB%AA%85_%EB%A1%9C%EB%A7%88%EC%9E%90_%ED%91%9C%EA%B8%B0_%EB%B0%8F_%ED%91%9C%EC%A4%80_%EB%B2%88%EC%97%AD_%ED%99%95%EC%A0%95%EC%95%88_.pdf&o_file_name=140730_%ED%95%9C%EC%8B%9D%EB%AA%85_%EB%A1%9C%EB%A7%88%EC%9E%90_%ED%91%9C%EA%B8%B0_%EB%B0%8F_%ED%91%9C%EC%A4%80_%EB%B2%88%EC%97%AD_%ED%99%95%EC%A0%95%EC%95%88_.pdf|script-title=ko:주요 한식명(200개) 로마자 표기 및 번역(영, 중, 일) 표준안|date=2014-07-30|publisher=National Institute of Korean Language|trans-title=Standardized Romanizations and Translations (English, Chinese, and Japanese) of (200) Major Korean Dishes|format=PDF|access-date=2017-02-16}} *{{cite press release |date=2014-05-02 |script-title=ko:주요 한식명 로마자 표기 및 표준 번역 확정안 공지 |url=http://www.korean.go.kr/front/board/boardStandardView.do?board_id=4&mn_id=17&b_seq=1465 |website=National Institute of Korean Language |language=ko}}</ref> ({{Korean|hangul=떡국}}) or '''sliced rice cake soup'''<ref name="standardized" /> is a traditional Korean dish eaten during the celebration of the Korean New Year. The dish consists of broth/soup (''guk'') with thinly sliced rice cakes (''tteok''). Eating ''tteokguk'' on New Year's Day is traditionally believed to grant good luck for the year and confer one ''sal'' (a year of age). It is usually garnished with thin julienned cooked eggs, marinated meat, ''gim'' ({{Korean|hangul=김|labels=no}}),<ref name="tteokguk doosan">{{in lang|ko}} [http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=53023 ''Tteokguk''] at Doosan Encyclopedia</ref> and sesame oil ({{Korean|hangul=참기름|labels=no}}).
== History == The origin of eating ''tteokguk'' on New Year's Day is unknown. However, ''tteokguk'' is mentioned in the 19th-century book of customs ''Dongguksesigi'' ({{Korean|hangul=동국세시기|hanja=東國歲時記|labels=no}}) as being made with beef or pheasant used as the main ingredient for the broth, and pepper added as seasoning.<ref name="tteokguk nate britannica">{{in lang|ko}} [http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=242414&v=44 ''Tteokguk''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610003218/http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=242414&v=44 |date=2011-06-10 }} at Nate Encyclopedia</ref> The book also mentions the custom of having a bowl of ''tteokguk'' in the morning of New Year's Day to get a year older, and the custom of saying "How many bowls of ''tteokguk'' have you eaten?" to ask a person's age.<ref name="tteokguk nate">{{in lang|ko}} [http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=242414&v=44 ''Tteokguk'' culture] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610003218/http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=242414&v=44 |date=2011-06-10 }} at Nate Encyclopedia</ref>
In the book ''The Customs of Joseon'' written in 1946 by historian Ch'oe Namsŏn, the New Year custom of eating ''tteokguk'' is speculated as being originated from ancient times. The white ''tteok'' signifying purity and cleanliness have been eaten during that specific day and it became a ritual to start off the New Year for good fortune.<ref name="tteokguk nate"/>
==On Seollal== In Korea, on Seollal, a family performs ancestral rites by serving tteokguk to their ancestors during a joint meal.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://hansik.org/en/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PEN5020100&lang=en#tit3 |title=http://hansik.org/ |access-date=2014-03-21 |archive-date=2013-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004213454/http://hansik.org/en/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PEN5020100&lang=en#tit3 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although ''tteokguk'' is traditionally a seasonal dish, it is now eaten at all times of the year.
== Ingredients and varieties == thumb|''Tteokmanduguk'' (rice cake dumpling soup) The broth is generally made by simmering the main protein (beef, chicken, pork, pheasant, seafood) in a ''ganjang''-seasoned stock. In the past, pheasant meat or chicken was used to make tteokguk's broth, but nowadays, beef is mainly used.<ref>{{Cite web|script-title=ko:떡국|url=https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?cid=40942&docId=1086414&categoryId=32136|access-date=2021-04-04|website=terms.naver.com|language=ko}}</ref> The stock is then strained to clarify the broth, and long cylinder-shaped ''garaetteok'' are thin-sliced diagonally and boiled in the clear broth. Garnish is added before serving; the garnish may vary by region and personal taste, but usual staples are pan-fried julienned egg yolks and whites, ''gim'' and spring onions.<ref name="tteokguk nate britannica"/> A drizzle of sesame oil is common just prior to serving the teokguk.
Varieties of ''tteokguk'' include ''saeng tteokguk'' ({{Korean|hangul=생떡국|labels=no}}) or ''nal tteokguk'' ({{Korean|hangul=날떡국|labels=no}}), a specialty of Chungcheong province, where a mixture of non-glutinous rice with glutinous rice is made into small balls or rolled into a ''garaetteok'' shape and then sliced into a boiling broth;<ref>{{in lang|ko}} [http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=244228&v=44 ''Saeng tteokguk''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610003231/http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=244228&v=44 |date=2011-06-10 }} at Nate Encyclopedia</ref> ''joraengi tteokguk'' ({{Korean|hangul=조랭이 떡국|labels=no}}) from the Kaesong region with the ''tteok'' twisted in small cocoon shapes;<ref>{{in lang|ko}} [http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=263405&v=44 ''Joraengi tteokguk''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610003247/http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=263405&v=44 |date=2011-06-10 }} at Nate Encyclopedia</ref> and ''gon tteokguk'' ({{Korean|hangul=곤떡국|labels=no}}) from the island of Jeju, which uses sliced ''jeolpyeon'' tteok rather than the usual ''garaetteok''.<ref>{{in lang|ko}} [http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=828203 ''Gon tteokguk'']{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} at Doosan Encyclopedia</ref> In Jeolla-do, we make chicken Jangtteokguk with chicken and soy sauce.<ref>{{Cite web |last=정 |first=혜윤 |date=2021-02-12 |script-title=ko:지역마다 다른 설 떡국...특징과 의미는? |url=https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0106_202102120322260906 |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=YTN |language=ko}}</ref>
== In popular culture == A movie with the name ''Tteokguk'' (English title "New Year's Soup") was released in 1971 starring Yoon Jeong-hee and Um Aing-ran.<ref>{{in lang|ko}} [http://movie.naver.com/movie/bi/mi/basic.nhn?code=20644 "Tteokguk"] at Naver movie database</ref>
== See also == * Korean cuisine * List of soups * Niángāo, a rice food eaten on Chinese New Year whose Shanghai variety is like ''tteok'' * Zōni, a similar soup eaten in Japan on New Year's Day
== References == {{reflist|2}}
== Further reading == * [https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/02/153_38384.html Lunar New Year ''tteokguk''] at The Korea Times, 2009-01-22
== External links == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110622033936/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2002718688_soup04.html Recipe for ''tteokguk''] at the Seattle Times, 2006-01-04 * [http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=261422 ''What do Koreans do on Seollal''?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319151204/http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=261422 |date=2012-03-19 }} from Korea Tourism Organization * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110720235414/http://www.yeongnam.com/yeongnam/html/weekly/special/article.shtml?id=20090123.010340810330001 Why ''tteokguk''?] at Yeongnam Ilbo, 23 January 2009 {{in lang|ko}} {{Korean food and drink}}
Category:Korean soups and stews Category:Korean royal court cuisine Category:Tteok Category:Korean New Year foods