Traditionally
Seollal (New Year’s Day) celebrations
begin weeks ahead with preparations. Cleaning the house thoroughly to get rid
of “old dust of last year” is an important ritual along with a long bath involving
serious exfoliation.
Festive food varies in each household but tteokguk (rice pasta soup) is the common denominator. It’s the dish
that signals the beginning of the year. The number of the oval tteok (rice pasta or rice cake) slices
in the soup represents the age of the consumer. So, if you’re 5 years old, you
only get 5 tteokguktteok (rice pasta
of rice pasta soup) in your soup. As a child, I thought that it was unfair so I
always demanded for more of the chewy egg-shaped rice pasta. There’s a joke
that if you eat more tteokguktteok
than your age, you’ll get older than you actually are. Hmm, maybe that’s the
reason why time seems to fly quickly. Traditional
humor is often words of wisdom in disguise. It’s a witty warning designed to
prevent people from consuming beyond their limit.
Tteokguk is a
combination of broth and sliced rice pasta. Be creative and make your own
special dish. You could also put tteokguktteok
(200ml of sliced rice pasta) in samgyetang (http://simplybona.blogspot.com/2013/01/samgyetang-korean-chicken-soup-with.html) or gulguk (http://simplybona.blogspot.com/2013/01/gulguk-clear-oyster-soup.html). Find below a recipe for a basic garlic-free gultteokguk (oyster rice pasta soup). Tteokguk signifies the warm family moments and a fresh new start. I wish you all a blissful Lunar New Year!
Ingredients
Serves 1
200ml
tteokguktteok (rice pasta slices)
80ml
fresh oysters
1
tablespoon oyster mushroom shreds
1
teaspoon sliced (diagonally) spring onion
1
teaspoon rice wine
150ml
water
1/5
teaspoon sand lance sauce (canari aekjeot)
1
pinch ground pepper
Directions
1.
Place water and tteokguktteok (rice
pasta slices) in a pot. Bring to a boil in high heat.
2. Wash oysters in salt water and rinse about a three times. Add oysters, rice wine, fish sauce, mushroom shreds and ground pepper. Turn off the heat when the mixture starts to boil.
3.
Serve in a bowl and sprinkle slices of spring onion over the soup.
