What is Miyeok (Brown Seaweed) ?
Brown Seaweed (Miyeok) is a type of edible seaweed or sea vegetable that is used all over the world as a healthy additive to soups and other dishes, as well as prepared on its own as a side dish to meals. It is sold dried and is reconstituted in water prior to use. Once it expands, it increases quite a bit in volume, so one package of dried sea mustard goes a long way. Seaweed has recently been recognized as the "fogotten superfood of the sea." Of all the seaweeds, gim (laver, nori) and miyeok (wakame) are the two most favored in the Korean cuisine.
Not To Be Confused With
A great side by side picture of Miyeok 미역 (brown seaweed) on the LEFT and Dasima 다시마 (kelp aka kombu) on the RIGHT. You can read more about Dasima (Kombu) HERE.
Where and What To Buy
Mostly Korean grocery stores or online on Amazon.
How to Use/Cook
Soak Miyeok in warm water and let it rehydrate until soft. Then you can either eat it raw as ssam (wrap), made into salads or made into soup. Here's my Miyeok Guk (seaweed soup) recipe.
How to Clean/Store
Dried seaweed can be stored unopened in a cool dry place such as a pantry. Once the package is opened it should be stored in a closed bag or container to maintain freshness.
Nutrition/Health Info
Miyeok(Brown Seaweed/Wakame) is rich in minerals and is high in iron and potassium. It has been passed down through many generations by Korean mothers to their daughters to help them recover from childbirth and also to increase milk for their babies.
