My daughter came home for spring break and she wanted to have Miyeok Gook. It has been one of her favorite ever since she was little. Miyeok Gook is very much an everyday food for Koreans but it’s also a soup that’s served on birthdays and for new moms after childbirth. 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. I remember my mom telling me to eat nothing but Miyeok Gook, rice and dried anchovies for almost 2 weeks after I had my daughter. I thought I was going to be really tired of eating the same thing but surprisingly this was the only thing I could really tolerate. Oh… and Miyeok Gook is also good for constipation.. 🙂
There are many variations of Miyeok Gook. They are made with beef, mussels, chicken, and fish… really anything that makes a good soup stock. The most common one is of course with beef. I grew up eating beef Miyeok Gook too but in the last few years I found that it kind of takes away the wonderful and delicate flavor of the seaweed.
The recipe that follows is really the most simple kind with very few ingredients but it is really the best way to taste the full flavor of Miyeok.
My Tip
- Many recipes use garlic with beef but garlic really overpowers the flavor of Miyeok so don’t use garlic!!
- The soy sauce used here is Gookanjang (국간장) which is the Korean style soy sauce meant to be used for soups. It is NOT the common Japanese style, dark soy sauce. It really makes a big difference so please invest in a bottle if you are going to cook Korean food.
- Using good quality Miyeok is key – I know it’s hard to tell that but if the Miyeok gets very mushy once it has soaked in water, then it’s not good. It should be quite firm even after it has soaked for a while. When in doubt, buy the more expensive brand – that usually works.
- The more you cook miyeok gook the better so don’t worry about reheating it many times. Just make sure you add a bit of water every time to make sure the soup doesn’t get too concentrated and salty.
Miyeok Guk/Gook
Servings: 4 Prep time: 30 min Cooking time: 40 min
Ingredients
- 7 C water for soup
- 1 oz dried miyeok(brown seaweed/wakame) OR 2 C in volume after it’s soaked in water
- 2 T sesame oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 T Korean Soy Sauce (for soup) – Gookganjang(국간장)
Dried Seaweed (Miyeok) Directions
- Soak the dried miyeok in about 5 C of cold water for about 3o-40 min until they are fully soft and rehydrated. If you can’t weigh 1 oz of dried miyeok (let’s face it, how many of us have a kitchen scale and dried miyeok don’t come in 1 oz packages..), just eyeball it – it is roughly 3 thin pieces (left one in the “compared” image) about the size of my hand or 2 thicker pieces (right one). It’s totally fine to have less or more miyeok in your soup so it’s OK if it’s not the exact amount.
Dried Seaweed Compared (Miyeok) - Drain the water from the miyeok and cut a few times with scissors so the pieces are not too long.
3. Heat sesame oil in a pot on medium high heat. Add miyeok and stir fry in sesame oil for 3-5 min.
4. Add 7 C of water to pot and add salt and Korean soy sauce. Stir the soup and bring to boil. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to medium and let it cook for good 20-30 min. Make sure you taste the soup to see if it’s salty enough. Add more salt or soy sauce to taste. The longer you cook the better so you can let is simmer even longer. Add more water if you are going to cook for a longer period.
Miyeok Guk (Seaweed Soup)
Ingredients
- 7 cup water
- 1 oz dried miyeok (brown seaweed/wakame OR 2 C in volume after it’s soaked in water)
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp Korean Soy Sauce (for soup – Gookganjang(국간장))
Instructions
- Soak the dried miyeok in about 5 C of cold water for about 30-40 min until they are fully soft and rehydrated.
- Drain the water from the miyeok and cut a few times with scissors so the pieces are not too long.
- Heat sesame oil in a pot on medium high heat. Add miyeok and stir fry in sesame oil for 3-5 min.
- Add 7 C of water to pot and add salt and Korean soy sauce. Stir the soup and bring to boil. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to medium and let it cook for good 20-30 min. Make sure you taste the soup to see if it’s salty enough. Add more salt or soy sauce to taste. The longer you cook the better so you can let is simmer even longer. Add more water if you are going to cook for a longer period.
Nutrition Information:
Variations
For beef miyeok gook, cut up about 4 oz of beef (stew or chuck meat) and saute with sesame oil.
This was the lunch I cooked for my girl before she went back to school..I felt bad that there was nothing special but she said that it is just what she wanted to have. She told me it made her tummy happy…
Can I freeze this into small batches? Making now!
Yes you can! Good luck and enjoy!
Hello there! This article could not be written any better!
Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
He continually kept preaching about this. I will forward this information to him.
Fairly certain he will have a very good read. Many
thanks for sharing!
This recipe reminds me so much of my mom. She made me eat this everyday after I had my son. I forgot about birthdays. Will definitely make it this year for him and her.
Yes, you and me both. According to an old story, people saw whales always eating miyeok in the sea after having a baby whale. So they thought it must be good to have after child birth. And it turns out it is loaded with iodine, calcium and minerals which helps shrink up the uterus and also with constipation which occurs often after child birth.
I had this for lunch today and it was wonderful! The 미역 I found (by reading the package in Korean – I was so proud of myself!) seems to be designed for the person in a hurry – it’s already in small pieces and re-hydrates in just a few minutes. I suspect it’s not quite as good as the other, so I will keep looking. Right now, though, they seem to be out of a lot of stuff, maybe because of the holiday. Thanks! Happy new year!
Good for you!! Yes, you are right – the most “instant” kind of 미역 are lighter in taste but it works when you are in a hurry. The kind of seaweed you want to buy are often labeld “산모용” which means it’s for nursing mothers. It’s thicker and the stems are included. I recently visited a Korean market and yes they seemed to be really low on inventory too. Must be because of all the holidays. Thanks so much for commenting and Happy New Year to you too!
hello. i just have baby. my mom told me i should make miyeok gook, so i was looking for recipee and i found yours. what brand to do i buy? what brand recommend to me?
my mom told me to soak in hot water, but you say cold water. which way to make better miyeok gook?
tank you.
Hmm.. I’m afraid I don’t really have a brand that I have tried recently. My mother-in-law usually sends me Miyeok from Korea so I have not bought any in the US for a while. But generally, Pulmuone, CJ, Ottogi, Sampio are all good brands so try to find one of these. I usually don’t buy US company brands because I find their quality is not as good. Look closely to see where it was packaged. If you can buy a “wild” (자연산) ones that says it’s particularly for new mothers (산모용), it should be good. As I show in my picture, the miyeok should be thick with stems in them. Hot water vs cold water.. hmm.. never heard of soaking in hot water, I suppose it soaks faster. But I feel the taste may escape into the water too much if you use hot water. Good luck!