Kimchi Tteokguk (Korean Kimchi Soup)

A warm bowl of tteokguk (rice cake soup) is classic Korean comfort food. Full of chewy rice cakes, this Korean soup recipe is going to keep your body warm and nourished!

This recipe was originally published on January 15, 2019. It was updated with new information on November 19, 2023.

What is Tteokguk?

Tteokguk (떡국) is a traditional Korean soup that features rice cakes in beef broth. This soup is a must-have during New Year celebrations and is believed to bring a prosperous new year, as the rice cakes are flat and oval, representing coins.

I love adding kimchi to my tteok soup for extra flavor and heat! It's definitely optional, but I highly recommend it if you like spicy soup.

Ingredients

• Broth. Traditionally, tteokguk is made with homemade beef broth. For this easy tteokguk recipe, you can use any clear broth you have. I've made it with dashi as well as anchovy broth, and both were delicious.
• Beef. Traditional rice cake soup is make with beef brisket but my easy version uses ground beef.
• Garlic, Ginger, and Green Onions. To add lots of flavor to our soup!
• Tteok Rice Cakes. If you can't find sliced rice cakes, you can buy long cylindrical rice cakes called garaetteok and slice them by hand.
• Soy Sauce. To add a little flavor and saltiness to the broth.
• Toasted Sesame Oil. If you can get your hands on a bottle, I highly recommend drizzling a little at the end. It's only a teaspoon but it adds so much flavor to the soup!
• Salt and Pepper. To adjust the seasoning.
• Kimchi. Although it's optional, I love adding some kimchi to my tteok soup.
• Seaweed Sheets. You can use Korean seaweed called gim, or substitute with Japanese nori.
• Sesame Seeds. To garnish the soup.

How to Make Korean Rice Cake Soup

Step 1: In a large pot, add the stock, garlic, and ginger. Cover the pot with a lid and heat over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil.

Step 2: Add the ground beef and green onions and cook for about 5 minutes while breaking up the chunks of beef using a wooden spoon or spatula.

Step 3: Add the rice cakes and cook according to the packaging. Mine took about 5 minutes until the tteok floated to the top, but others may take a little longer.

Step 4: Turn the heat off and add soy sauce and sesame oil. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. If adding kimchi, add it now. Pour into bowls and garnish with seaweed and sesame seeds.

Variations and Tips

• Play around with the stock. Have fun making this recipe with different kinds of stock and broth! You can also make it vegan by using vegan stock or dashi made with just kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms, and omitting the ground beef.
• Swap the rice cakes for dumplings. You can use fresh or frozen mandu dumplings
• Serve immediately. The rice cakes can get mushy the longer it gets left in the soup, so serve this soup as soon as it's ready.
• Enjoy leftovers! If you plan to have leftovers the next day, don't add all of the tteok, as they don't taste as good the following day. Instead, only cook half the amount of tteok, finish it in one sitting, and add the other half of tteok the next day when you're reheating the soup on the stove.

More Soups & Appetizers

• If you want a creamy soup rather than a brothy soup, try my creamy pumpkin soup recipe or this broccoli cheddar soup.
• This roasted tomato soup recipe is full of flavor and goes perfectly with a grilled cheese sandwich!
• If you love dumplings, try this vegetable gyoza!
• Love dips? My spinach artichoke dip is creamy and excellent with vegetable sticks, chips, or pieces of bread.