Bernard's Rants: Korean Rice Cake Soup

Korean Rice Cake Soup, Duk Guk (pronounced duck kook) in Korean, is a soup that is served on New Year's. It is eaten on the first day of the year (Sulnal) because the Duk (korean rice cake) originally appears as a long slender stick of white rice cake, symbolizing purity and long life. The rice cake is cut into round shapes to represent round and harmonious times in the new year.

Here's a recipe for the tasty Duk Guk...

Ingredients:

• One package of rice cake
• Beef flank steak, about 2 pounds
• Eggs (one or two, up to you), i like more though
• Pepper, salt, green onions, garlic
• Gim (salted seaweed leaves) (optional)
• Mandoo (Korean dumplings) (optional)
  

Preparation:

1. Soak the rice cake in water for an hour or two to soften it. Slice the rice cake into round shapes. I like the oval shapes, similar to Polska Kielbasa (cut diagonally through the cylinder).

2. Boil the flank steak in about six cups of water with two cloves of garlic. If you don't like the meat/soup fatty and you have time: cook for longer, chill, skim the fat off, and boil again.

3. You can either cook the egg separately (separate the yolk and cook the egg white) or just plop it in the soup right before serving. I like the egg placed in the soup right before serving. If you like, you can also prepare the Mandoo here. Boil one package.

4. Add the rice cakes slices to the boiling beef soup and continue boiling. When the slices are soft and light enough, they should float to the top. If you chose to serve with Mandoo, add the boiled Mandoo now.

5. The soup is almost ready to be served! Ladle out the soup into bowls. Depending on your guests' preferences, ask if they would like crumpled Gim and/or Green Onions. The Gim gives the soup a nice presentation and adds to the flavor with a fragrance of the sea.

Hope you enjoy!