Known as the New Year soup, Tteokguk is a soup made with meat stock and rice cakes. The white tteok (rice cakes) used in the soup symbolizes purity and is seen as a symbol of a fresh start. Though the origin of the soup is unknown, one of the first mentions of the dish dates back to a 19th Century cookbook. Due to the high price of rice, the soup was reserved only for special occasions such as the New Year and birthdays. New Year is seen as an important event as Korean consider themselves a year older every New Year. The day, therefore, marks the “Korean birthday” for most of them.
The broth is generally made by simmering the main protein (beef, chicken, pork, pheasant, seafood) in a ganjang-seasoned stock. 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.[4]A drizzle of sesame oil is common just prior to serving the teokguk.
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