Vegetarian Tteokguk and a Surprise (or Two!)

This morning we woke up to about three inches of snow, which we weren't expecting at all.  It was really moist and the flakes were tiny, like the snow we got back in the PNW.

 

Koreans carry umbrellas in the snow.  Maybe Americans do too, I've never lived anywhere else that had actual snowfall.

While Ian and I were at the gym, Julia called us a few times.  We thought that maybe the snow had canceled school, but she had a present for us for Seollal.  They had tried to deliver it, but we weren't home, so they left it with our super.

15kg of apples!

14 apples a row x 3 rows =  42 apples!

It all seemed very ridiculous (though generous) to us at first, but these apples are actually really good.  Much better than what we've been getting at the store.  I just hope we get through them.  Maybe we'll pack some to Busan as snacks.

Ian and I made vegetarian tteokguk (rice cake soup) for dinner tonight.  It was pretty good, though the flavor was missing something, so the recipe needs some tweeking.

Here's a link for the recipe that we used.  We didn't stick super close to it, subbing potato for radish (we're out) and soy sauce for the kombu.

I left the tteok to soak and soften while we were at work.

 

When I got home I through on sweatpants and my snazzy apron.

The vegetable broth (6 cups of water, one large carrot, 1/4lb. of potato or radish, one onion, and a strip of kombu or about a third cup of soy sauce).  We added garlic and I think it could use more soy sauce, it lacked a real umami punch.  Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer (uncovered) for about 30 minutes.

 

The haps. You tend to sit around a lot when you make soup.  The other pan is roasting sweet potato (very Korean and probably my favorite food, try it, you'll like it).

Wrapped in tin foil in the pan.  You could surely do it in an actual oven, too.

When the simmer session is over, the recipe calls for 1lb. of tteok and 3 scallions.  We used a little onion and green onion.  Let the soup simmer with the tteok in it for about 15-20 minutes.

 

Ian munched on the refuse from the broth while we waited.

While the soup simmers, blend an edd with black pepper and any other seasoning you fancy.  We used a little garlic.  If you want to serve a soup that looks more restaurant style than homemade, fry and julienne the egg yolk and white separately.  Then serve them on top as garnish with the kim (seaweed).  The recipe we used called for both to be mixed in, but it's not as pretty.

 

Kim and beaten egg micture.

This, plus the two ingredients above, will turn into this...

The egg makes it look very porridge-y, so, it depends on the presentation you want.

Also, keep in mind that tteok packs a caloric punch.  By my best guess, one cup of this soup is roughly 225 calories.  Seriously, go roast some sweet potatoes.  I could live off them and they're so healthy.

Happy New Year!  We'll be back Monday.  Good night!