This is a traditional Lunar New Year dish in Korea. I have seen many different recipes - the only really standard ingredient seems to be the rice cakes—but I really liked the savoriness of this one. The rice cakes in this soup are not the crispy American kind, but a firm Asian kind used in soups and other dishes. They are like Korean mochi, if that means anything to you. You could use beef broth instead of the anchovy broth if you prefer, although I don't think the anchovy broth really tastes fishy - it's more savory, in the way that worcestershire sauce and Caesar salad dressing, both of which contain anchovy, are savory. Be careful eating the rice cake: it is so slippery it almost slides down your throat, but gooey enough that you really need to chew it. This is from koreankitchen.com, b