Rice Cake and Dumpling Soup

This simple, restorative rice cake soup, graced with thin wedges of fresh radish and a light beef broth, is eaten all year long, but it is always served on New Year’s Day, along with tangerines, noodles, fritters, and other good-luck holiday dishes. Like many Koreans, I like to put a few homemade mandu, or dumplings, into the pot. Other ways to gild the lily include garnishes like thin ribbons of cooked omelet, crushed roasted seaweed, or a few beautiful red strands of shilgochu, or