Korean Rice Cake Soup (Tteokguk)

Step 1

Put the water, black peppers, onion and green onion into a large pot and boil on medium high heat with a lid on. Once the water starts to boil, add the meat. Boil them on medium high heat for a further 5 mins then reduce the heat to medium. Boil them further for about 50 mins. (You would have boil the water for a total of 1 hr - approx.) This should give you about 4 cups of beef stock.

Step 2

Sieve the water (stock) through a cheese cloth. Discard the vegetables but keep the stock and the meat. Cool the meat down for about 10 mins then shred the meat using a knife and/or hands. Season the meat with salt and sesame oil.

Step 3

While the meat is cooling down, soak the rice cakes in cold water for 15 to 20 mins to soften. Drain the water. Prepare the other toppings while waiting. (Instructions are mentioned in the above ingredients section.)

Step 4

Boil the stock in a clean pot on medium high heat and once it starts boiling, add the minced garlic and the soy sauce. Add the rice cakes and cook until softened (about 2 to 3 mins). Do not overcook the rice cakes as they can turn mushy.

Step 5

Serve the soup in a bowl and garnish with the toppings. Enjoy! (I normally add a few sprinkles of ground black pepper into the soup for extra flavour.)