The culture of South Korean food is quite different from that of North Korean food. It isn’t just because the Korean Peninsula was divided into two as a result of the Korean War, but the different environmental factors like climates also had a major impact on the varying ways of life, including the culinary cultures. It is said that the food cultures of Korea had already begun to diverge, with the Han River in the middle, dating back to the Joseon Dynasty. People in the North mostly ate wheat and buckwheat based meals, and their food culture was heavily influenced by the traditional Chinese cuisine. On the other hand, people in the South mainly ate rice and barley as a primary source of food.
Because of this, the New Year culinary cultures between the South and the North also exhibit clear differences. In the Northern region, wheat or buckwheat dumplings, filled with pork, beef, and mung bean sprouts, were cooked in seafood broth and enjoyed as soup on New Year. On the other hand, in the South, garaetteok, which is a long, cylindrical stick of rice cake, was sliced into round shapes to make tteokguk on New Year, as well as jesa, a traditional Korean ceremony held in honor of ancestors. In the central part of the peninsula, these two food cultures were fused, resulting in a Korean tteokmanduguk recipe that used both rice cake and dumplings. Over time, as the government began encouraging the nation to eat more flour based food in the 1960s, tteokmanduguk became more than just a traditional Korean dish that was popular among the public in daily life. Today, tteokmanduguk is a common menu option that can be found in local Korean restaurants.
Winter is a great time for families to gather around, share warm food, and overcome the cold weather together. Eating a bowl of traditional tteokguk means you get a year older in Korean culture, so with the new year coming around, it’s also the perfect time to share tteokguk with your family. Why don’t you try celebrating this new year with a delightful harmony of rice cake, beef and dumplings, tteokmanduguk? A balanced fusion of the culinary cultures of North and South Korea, tteokmanduguk, is a healthy dinner menu, sure to bring love and happiness to your family. If you have frozen or pre-made dumplings, this Korean recipe is super easy to make - it’s as easy as making instant ramen noodles!
