miyukguk (Korean Seaweed Soup)
miyukguk
miyuk= seaweed, guk= soup
every birthday, a Korean person is served with a steaming hot bowl of miyukguk with rice. It's because this seaweed soup is often given to women during their postpartum period as they recover, since it's packed with iodine and nutrients that they need for the body and the newborn baby. So on someone's birthday, it's a reminder to thank our mothers for giving us birth. Traditionally, love and respect for our parents is so deeply rooted and emphasized in korean culture, although those conservative values have faded over the years.
That's crazy. I'm SO used to eating miyukguk on my birthday, but I only found out the backstory of 𝒘𝒉𝒚 while researching for this recipe. look where cafe maddy is taking me :') #TIL
soak the seaweed in 3 cup water until they're smooth and bright green
cut beef into strips
cut up the seaweed into bite-size pieces and drain the water (save this seaweed water for later)
add 1 Tbsp sesame oil to the seaweed, and massage it until evenly coated.
in a pot, add 1 Tbsp of sesame oil and stir fry the beef for 3 minutes. add 1 Tbsp of gook soysauce (or 2 Tbsp regular soysauce)
add the seaweed, and sir fry another 4-5 minutes on medium heat.
it's going to start smelling really good. add the seaweed water from #3.
boil for 5 minutes, season with salt to taste, and add minced garlic.
let it simmer for a few more minutes.
serve with rice, enjoy.