Korean-American chef and food writer Judy Joo is a keen advocate of Korean food, both championing the national cuisine and striving to prove how easy dishes are to prepare at home. Comprising over 100 accessible recipes, her book Korean Food Made Simple: Easy and Delicious Korean Recipes to Prepare at Home celebrates well-loved and popular dishes such as kimchi, sweet potato noodles, bibimbap and Korean fried chicken, plus less traditional recipes such as spicy pork belly cheese steak or fried fish with kimchi mayo and sesame mushy peas. In addition to chapters devoted to sauces, desserts, and drinks, the book also includes detailed tips for stocking a Korean pantry. This rice cake and dumpling soup recipe is also featured, traditionally eaten in Korea to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
On her rice cake and dumpling soup recipe, Judy Joo says: “It is tradition in Korea to eat this soup for the Lunar New Year. I recommend using my Oxtail Soup as the base, but for a quick version, shop-bought chicken broth and frozen dumplings will do. You can also lose the dumplings and double the amount of rice cakes to make rice cake soup (dduk guk)”
Rice Cake & Dumpling Soup (Dduk Mandu Guk)
Ingredients
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten with a splash of water
- 2 l oxtail soup or chicken broth
- 24 frozen meat dumplings
- 125 g meat picked from the oxtails from oxtail soup shredded (optional)
- 225 g sliced rice cakes dduk, soaked in cold water for 15-30 minutes and then drained
- Large handful spring onions thinly sliced on an angle
- Large handful julienned roasted seaweed kim
- Roasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a medium non-stick pan, heat the oil over a medium heat. Beat a pinch of salt into the eggs and add them to the pan, swirling to evenly coat the base. Cook for 2 minutes, without touching, until the egg is set but just barely browned on the base. Flip and continue to cook for a further 15-20 seconds until the base is set, again trying not to get too much colour on the egg. Slide onto a chopping board, but into thirds and cut crossways into thin strips. Set the egg aside.
- In a large pot, bring the soup to boil over a high heat. Add the dumplings, stirring gently so they don’t stick to one another and simmer for 4 minutes (a little longer is the dumplings are frozen). Add the oxtail meat (if using) and rice cakes and simmer for a further 2 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through and the rice cakes are soft. They should both float to the top of the soup. Season the soup with salt and pepper, but not too aggressively, as the dumplings have a lot of flavour.
- Divide the soup, rice cakes, dumplings and oxtail meat (if using) among 4-6 bowls. Top with the egg strips, spring onions, seaweed and sesame seeds and serve immediately.
Notes
This recipe is extracted from Korean Food Made Simple: Easy and Delicious Korean Recipes to Prepare at Home by Judy Joo, 2016, Jacqui Small.