Soups

Dumpling Soup

mandu-guk

Clear anchovy broth with Korean dumplings — popular for Lunar New Year.

Medium25 min3 servings★ 74Contains soyContains glutenContains egg

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History & culture

Dumpling soup is a Lunar New Year tradition in many Korean homes, served alongside tteokguk on Seollal morning. Plump mandu in clear broth symbolize prosperity and fullness, with fillings varying by region and family recipe. The custom likely blends Chinese dumpling influence with local wheat or wrapper traditions over centuries. Today manduguk is also enjoyed outside the holiday as a warming one-bowl meal.

Servings

KCook

Ingredients & steps

Cook mode

Ingredients

Garlic
2 cloves
Water
6 cups
Anchovy-kelp broth (or dashi)
Substituteinstant dashi + water
1 tbsp
Frozen Korean dumplings (mandu)
Substitutegyoza or potstickers
20 each
Egg
2 each
Green onion
Substitutescallion or spring onion
3 stalks
Sliced rice cake (tteokguk tteok)Optional
Substituteoval rice cake slices from Korean market
100 g

Seasonings

Soy sauce
SubstituteTsuyu (diluted) 4 tsp (2 tsp per 1 tbsp) or Tamari 2 tbsp
2 tbsp
Toasted sesame oil
Substitutea small amount of olive oil (flavor differs)
1 tbsp
Salt
1 tsp
Black pepper
0.25 tsp

Steps

1High heat6 min
Bring anchovy broth to a boil; season with soy sauce and salt.
- Water
- Anchovy-kelp broth (or dashi)
- Soy sauce
- Salt
2Medium heat8 min
Add frozen dumplings and rice cakes; simmer gently until dumplings float and are cooked through (do not boil vigorously).
- Frozen Korean dumplings (mandu)
- Sliced rice cake (tteokguk tteok)
3Low heat2 min
Drizzle beaten egg in a thin stream, finish with green onion, sesame oil and black pepper.
- Egg
- Green onion
- Toasted sesame oil
- Black pepper

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate up to 2 days; dumpling skins soften on storage.

Troubleshooting

⚠️ Dumplings fall apart
→ Keep broth at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil, once dumplings are added.
⚠️ Broth is greasy
→ Skim fat after boiling dumplings and use leaner dumpling filling.