In Korea, there's a traditional dish that's always tied to one's age: tteokguk (rice cake soup). Every time tteokguk is eaten at a New Year's Eve party, Koreans are counted a new age with the expectation of many good things to come.

Sook-ja Yoon, a culinary doctor in a traditional silk dress, is preparing ingredients for tteokguk. They are white rice flour called tteok, a thinly sliced beef dish and small bowls of spices, and a pot of boiling broth.

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Dr. Sook-ja Yoon cooks traditional tteokguk in Seoul. Photo: BBC.

Sook-ja Yoon's culinary doctor in a traditional silk dress prepares ingredients for tteokguk. It's white rice flour called tteok, thinly sliced ​​beef, small bowls of spices and a pot of boiling broth.

“All Korean food shows some meaning. This tteok symbolizes three things. Long strips of rice flour talk about for longevity. Coin shaped slices show wealth. The white symbolizes purity and the lucky start of the new year, ”Yoon said as she sliced ​​the rice cakes into slices.

During Chinese New Year, Korean families often prepare this traditional soup. Dr. Yoon, Director of Seoul Traditional Food Academy Seoul and Tteok Museum, introduced how to make tteokguk and told about its history.

Soup bowls for New Year celebrations are not just encapsulated in good luck. "We ate a bowl of tteokguk and counted an extra year," Mrs. Yoon explained. In Korea, the age is calculated from the first day of the lunar year, not the date of birth. When eating the soup bowl, Koreans are noted to have grown one year older and wiser. 51 million people prepare for a giant birthday party with the same special dish.

Each region has its own style of making tteokguk with local ingredients. Jeolla Province has chicken soup, Jeju Island adds seaweed to the soup.

Dr. Yoon cooks soups the traditional way in Seoul with broth from boiled beef, garnished with scallions, sliced ​​eggs and dried peppercorns. The broth was boiled for three hours, clear and crisp, soft and soft. It is a fresh taste that feels refreshing and pure. Despite different tastes, all tteokguk types have the same symbol.

Each region in Korea has different ingredients for rice cake soup. Photo: BBC.

Korea is famous for its community culture. People prefer to use the word "we" or "our" instead of "me". The meals are enjoyed and shared with friends. Even when drinking, Koreans do not pour for themselves but poured for the next, then the other will invite again.

The items displayed at the Tteok Museum clearly show the need for community to make this dish. Men and women took turns holding pestle, pounding sticky rice flour and pouring water to form dough. Everyone works together and enjoy the fruits together.

The connection between tteokguk and Chinese New Year is recorded in a book about Korean customs called Dongguk Sesigi in the mid-1800s. Dr. Yoon thinks that this tradition is probably much longer than things is said in the book, because rice cakes have been a staple of Korean cuisine for over 2,000 years.

The combination of food with Tet as well as the meaning of the increase in age probably originated from Confucius. Confucianism existed in Korea since the late 14th century regulating all social behavior, in which respect was given to the superiors. This is reflected in the Korean language, with seven different forms of vocations in every social situation. Showing respect to parents and older people is one of the most important behaviors.

According to that tradition, people born in the same year are in the same social position, no matter whether they were born in March or November. Those who are new to each other if asked their age can use the question “How many bowls have you eaten? tteokguk already? ”.

In addition, Koreans tend to respect the past. Many families celebrate a memorial service on the first day of the year. Bowl of rice cake soup is offered to ancestors for advice and bless for next year. After making offerings, family members will eat tteokguk, as if moving from old year to new year.

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