Korean Soup Age Tradition

In Korea, you can ask newcomers' ages by saying ‘How many bowls of tteokguk have you eaten?’.
Korean soup age tradition
In Korea, there is a traditional dish that is always associated with a person's age: tteokguk (rice cake soup). Every time they eat tteokguk at the Lunar New Year party, Koreans are assigned a new age with the expectation of many good things to come.
Culinary doctor Sook-ja Yoon in traditional silk dress is preparing the ingredients for tteokguk. These are white rice flour strands called tteok, a plate of thinly sliced beef and small bowls of spices, and a pot of boiling broth

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Dr. Sook-ja Yoon cooks tteokguk the traditional way in Seoul. Photo: BBC
Culinary doctor Sook-ja Yoon in a traditional silk dress prepares ingredients for tteokguk.



It's white rice flour called tteok, thin slices of beef, small bowls of spices, and a pot of boiling broth.
“All Korean dishes show some meaning. This Tteok represents three things. Long strips of rice flour talk about for longevity. The circular slices have the shape of coins signifying wealth. The white color represents purity and a lucky start to the new year, ”Ms. Yoon said as she sliced the rice cakes into round slices
During the Lunar New Year, Korean families often prepare this traditional soup.



Dr. Yoon, the director of the Seoul Traditional Korean Food Academy and the Tteok Museum, introduced tteokguk and told its history.
The new year celebration soup is not only limited to luck. "We ate a bowl of tteokguk and we were counted for one year," explained Ms. Yoon. In South Korea, age is counted from the first day of the lunar year, not the date of birth. When eating a bowl of soup, Koreans are noted to have grown a year older and wiser. 51 million people prepare a huge birthday party with the same special dish.




Koreans still calculate their age according to the age 'mu' like Vietnam. Photo: BBC.
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 traditionally cooks the soup in Seoul with a broth of boiled beef, garnished with scallions, sliced eggs, and dried pepper strands. The broth is boiled for three hours, clear and stick, the rice cake is soft and soft. It is a fresh and delicious taste that feels fresh and pure.



Although there are different tastes, all types of tteokguk have the same symbol.

Each region in Korea adds different ingredients to the rice cake soup. Photo: BBC.
Korea is famous for its community culture. People prefer to use the word "we" or "our" instead of "me". Meals can be enjoyed and shared with friends. Even when drinking, Koreans do not pour themselves, but for the next person, then the other will invite again.
The items on display at the Tteok Museum clearly show the need to be community when making this dish.



The men and women took turns holding the pestles and crushing the glutinous rice flour and pouring the water to form the dough. Everyone working together and enjoying 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 this tradition is probably much longer than anything else. said in the book, because rice cakes have been a staple of Korean cuisine for more than 2,000 years.
The combination of the dish with the New Year as well as the meaning of increasing age probably stems from Confucius. Confucianism that existed in Korea since the end of the 14th century has regulated all social acts, including respect for superiors.



This is reflected in the Korean language, with seven different forms of address in all social situations. Showing respect to your parents and for older people is one of the most important behaviors.
According to that tradition, people born in the same year are of the same social status, regardless of whether they were born in March or November. If newcomers ask for each other's age, the question “How many bowls did you eat? Tteokguk already? ”.
In addition, Koreans tend to respect the past. Many families celebrate the first day of the year. The rice cake soup bowls are offered to the ancestors for guidance and blessings for the coming year. After worshiping, family members eat tteokguk, as if it were to change from the old year to the new year.




According to Truong Dang / VnExpress
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