17/02/2026
Happy Lunar New Year from Berlin! 🌕
Today, Korea celebrates Seollal (Lunar New Year), the first day of the lunar calendar.
On this morning, we eat a bowl of warm Tteokguk (Rice Cake Soup).
The long rice cake symbolizes longevity, and the white color represents purity and a fresh start, washing away the past year’s bad luck.
It reminds me of the German tradition of eating Lentil Soup (Linsensuppe) on New Year’s Day. Just as Germans eat lentils wishing for wealth (as they look like coins), sliced rice cakes in Tteokguk also resemble old coins, symbolizing prosperity.
Different ingredients, but the same wish for a warm and prosperous year. Isn‘t it beautiful how food connects our spirits?
Here is a special vegan Tteokguk recipe by Jeong Kwan Snim, using Pyogo(shiitake) mushrooms and tofu instead of meat broth.
Wishing you all a pure and peaceful start, just like this white bowl of soup.
Happy Seollal! 🙇♀️
🔄 Repost from
Original Recipe & Photo by Jeong Kwan Snim / Véronique Hoeggerch