On January 31st the new year started in most Asian countries. Because only then was the moon in the right position to welcome the new year. 2014 is the year of the wooden horse. According to Google research, it promises a lot of creativity, energy and acceleration. “Anyone who has planned new projects should definitely tackle them.” Says xuexizhongwen.de . Well, that sounds promising!

It is a tradition in Korea to eat ddok-guk (떡국) in the New Year. Behind this very exotic name is a soup made from beef broth and round, “crunchy” rice noodle slices (떡). Optionally, it can also be enriched with dumplings (만두). Eating this soup on New Year’s Day will make you a year older in Korea. So there is also the polite way of asking about age by asking “How many Ddok-Guk bowls have you eaten?” for food”. You literally say “I ate a year more” when you want to express “I’ve got a year older”. The white noodles symbolize purity and that is why it probably goes so well to start the new year.

So Rebecca and I made a pot of New Year’s soup for the New Year celebrations. It was the first time for both of them and I have to say we succeeded very well straight away. Maybe it was because of the positive energy of the wooden horse! But maybe also because it is very simple to make: Simply boil the beef broth from soup meat (preferably a leg slice and bones), remove the meat and bones, tear the meat into small pieces and add it back to the broth, add the rice noodle slices and cook until they get the crunchy consistency (but be careful, they mustn’t get too soft!), beat 2 eggs and stir into the soup, optionally toss a few dumplings (you can also buy frozen in the Asian store) and just add salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add a little spring onions. To garnish, place thin strips of egg on top and sprinkle crumbled algae leaves over them.

I would say that you can be very curious about what awaits you with little Misses this year! We are definitely well strengthened and full of energy.