Miyeok-guk
Silky seaweed and tender beef sautéed in sesame oil, then simmered into a mild, milky broth seasoned with soup soy sauce: the soup Koreans eat on their birthdays. About 45 minutes for four.
- Time
- 45 min
- Level
- Easy
- Spice
- Serves
- 4
What is Miyeok-guk?
WHAT IT IS
Miyeok-guk is a soup of soaked seaweed (miyeok, the same plant as Japanese wakame) simmered with beef that's first sautéed in sesame oil, then seasoned with soup soy sauce. The broth is mild and gently briny, and Koreans eat it on their birthdays.
WHERE IT COMES FROM
Korea has a custom of giving a new mother white rice and miyeok-guk as her first meal after giving birth. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture notes that this first bowl is made without beef, with just soy sauce and sesame oil, and explains the custom by seaweed's iodine and by the fact that dried seaweed keeps all year. The soup also became the customary birthday dish. Coastal cooks make it with white fish, dried mussels or other seafood instead of beef.
Sources:Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (미역국)National Institute of Korean Language (관용 표현)
Ingredients
재료Each Korean item has a substitute, in case you can’t get to a store.
Paid links · The store links in this list are affiliate links: K for All earns a commission when you buy through them. Sales, shipping and refunds are handled by each store.
- ¾ oz (20 g)Dried seaweed (miyeok), cut 미역
Chung Jung One O’Food Dried Seaweed (Miyeok), Cut · 150 g
Substitute: It swells to about ten times its size, so a small handful is plenty. Japanese dried wakame is the same seaweed.
Check price on Amazon Amazon US - 7 oz (200 g)Beef brisket or chuck, cut into thin bite-size pieces 소고기
Substitute: Any beef for soup works. For a seafood version, use mussels or clams instead of the beef.
Any grocer - 1 tbspToasted sesame oil 참기름
Otoki Premium Roasted Sesame Oil · 10.82 fl oz
Check price on Amazon Amazon US - 1 tbsp (3 cloves)Garlic, minced 다진 마늘Any grocer
- 2 tbspSoup soy sauce (guk-ganjang) 국간장
Sempio Soy Sauce for Soup (guk-ganjang) · 860 ml
Substitute: It's lighter in color and saltier than regular soy sauce, so the broth stays pale. If you only have regular soy sauce, use 1 tbsp and finish with salt.
Check price on Amazon Amazon US - 6 cups (1.4 L)Water 물
Substitute: Rice-rinsing water (the cloudy water from rinsing rice) gives a slightly rounder, milkier broth.
In your pantry - Salt and black pepper, to tasteIn your pantry
-
Method
만드는 법Sources we compared:Korean Bapsang10000recipeEncyclopedia of Korean Culture
- 1
Soak the seaweed
Put the dried seaweed in a large bowl of cold water and leave it for 10–20 minutes, until soft and silky; it will swell to about ten times its size. Rub it gently and rinse it in fresh water two or three times, squeeze out the water, and snip it into bite-size pieces with scissors.
- 2
Sauté the beef
Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Heat the sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat, add the beef and garlic, and stir for about 2 minutes, until the beef is no longer red. Add 1 tbsp of the soup soy sauce and stir for 30 seconds more.
- 3
Sauté the seaweed
Add the seaweed and keep stirring for 3–4 minutes, until it turns bright green and glossy and smells nutty.
This step is what makes the broth milky and rich. If you'd rather have a clear soup, skip the sautéing and put everything straight into the water.
- 4
Simmer
Pour in the water, bring it to a boil over high heat and skim off any foam. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20–25 minutes, until the beef is tender and the broth has turned cloudy. Season with the remaining 1 tbsp soup soy sauce, then salt and pepper to taste.
Miyeok-guk reheats well, so it's worth making a full pot and eating it over a couple of days.
- 5
Serve with rice
Ladle it into bowls and serve hot with rice and kimchi. Some people tip a spoonful of rice straight into the soup.
Don't serve it before an exam. In Korean, "eating seaweed soup" (miyeok-guk-eul meokda) is also an idiom for failing a test.
Say it in Korean
한국어로 말해 보세요For a birthday breakfast at home, or a Korean diner.
Cookware you’ll need
조리 도구Any pot that holds about 3 quarts works. This is the 5-quart lidded sauté pan we link to; it's deep enough for a pot of soup for four.
