Growing up mi-yuk gook (Seaweed Soup) was often prepared at events or holidays so I came to associate it with making mandoo (dumplings) or rice cake, long arduous processes where I was often made to participate against my will. Hence my association with Mi-Yuk was also that it must be complicated not to mention those giant dried sheafs of seaweed that would sit mysteriously in our kitchen for well it seemed like years. What was more intimidating than that package of dried seaweed brought home from the Korean store that was as big as your torso?

Turns out, it is super easy to make. Too easy in fact and now I mourn all these years without having made it (though Korean moms might sympathize with the fact that I could not look at mi-yuk gook for months after the births of my two children!) (traditionally new Korean moms eat miyuk gook around the clock for three months and my own mom was pretty fanatic about this)

So here is a recipe for Super, Easy Mi-Yuk Gook:

1. Choose a pot for the amount of soup you want to make.
2. Fill with water 2/3. Add a generous amount of whole or minced cloves of garlic and half to a whole sliced onion.
3. If you want a beef based broth, add a pound'ish of a thick meaty shin bone or other great cut for making soup. Even easier is a a tablespoon of dried anchovy or me-loo-chi.
4. Boil then simmer for twenty minutes more or less.
5. Soak in warm water one or two paper sized portions of dried seaweed, or a small handful of the pre-cut kind for about ten minutes.
6. Add miyuk to your liking to the soup.
7. Soup is ready in about fifteen minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

posted at 12:58 PM by jenn

Filed under: recipes