New Year Tteokguk 떡국

Thanks to 부산광역시 중구 for sponsoring this post and providing a wonderful cooking class to share the culture surrounding Korean cuisine and traditions. Chef HeeYoung Jang 장히영 showed us from start to finish how to cook this traditional dish over Zoom call, à la pandemic. Tteokguk 떡국 is a soup that Koreans eat on the New Year to bring good health and fortune (hence the coin-shaped rice cakes). Originally, tteokguk is not vegan, but I was able to copy the flavor profiles from the original soup to make this incredible vegan version. 

Vegan Samgyetang (삼계탕) - Ginseng Soup

This deceptive springtime weather makes me yearn for the heat of summer. In South Korea, it's a tradition for people to line up outside restaurants on the hottest days of the year to eat this delicious soup. Typically made with cornish hens stuffed with herbs and rice, this dish is originally not vegan (the name samgyetang translates literally to "ginseng chicken soup"). But of course, as this is a veggie only blog, here's my easy take on Vegan Samgyetang.