Recipe: Korean Birthday Soup
Seaweed Soup (Miyeok Guk)
Healing Soup For Postpartum Recovery
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One of the most popular Korean soups is probably the Korean Seaweed Soup. It’s called Miyeok Guk in Korean and is often referred to as Birthday Soup. So, why is this simple soup such a popular Korean dish? Let’s say because it’s eaten on many different occasions. First, it is a traditional food prepared for women during their postpartum recovery period. It’s said that women during their first month after giving birth eat this soup every day (almost exclusively). The main reason is probably because of its high content in Omega 3 fats. Due to the high availability and rather a cheap price of the Korean seaweed “miyeok”, this soup offers the best healing and recovery dish for women of every social class. However, the actual reason why this soup is called “birthday soup” is because it is common for Koreans to eat this soup each year on their birthday. By doing so, they show respect to their mother who went through a hard period while recovering from pregnancy and taking care of them as a newborn. There’s however, one period when people avoid eating this soup. Before taking an exam. The seaweed is known as being very slippery so it’s believed that if you eat the Korean seaweed soup before an exam, you will slip through the exam and fail.
Anyway, these are not the only reasons why this soup is so popular. Many people eat this soup as breakfast and on many different occasions as well. You will find out that it is very easy to make and very tasteful … and it isn’t spicy. Therefore, probably one of very few Korean dishes that are also tourist-friendly. Even though I always get annoyed when at Korean restaurants the waiters are concerned if I can eat spicy food. Many foreigners like spicy food and Korea is not the only country that has spicy dishes. Hehe^^
In the following, I will show you the recipe for Korean seaweed soup. If you would like to see how my Korean husband thought me how to make it for the first time then also check out my YouTube video “My Korean Husband teaches me how to make the Korean Birthday Soup” here.
What you need to make the Korean Birthday Soup:
20g of Korean dried seaweed (miyeok)
200g of beef (alternatives: mussels, clams, or leave out for the vegan version)
1tbs of minced garlic
roasted sesame oil
soy sauce
salt & pepper (optional)
How to make the Korean Birthday Soup
Soak the dried seaweed for 10 minutes in water. It will double in size.
Remove the remaining water and rinse thoroughly.
Roast the beef in sesame oil until almost done.
Add the seaweed and roast for a few seconds.
Flavor with soy sauce and minced garlic. Start with one tablespoon of soy sauce. You can add more later if you want.
Add water until all the ingredients are well covered.
Let it boil, taste and if needed add some more soy sauce, salt, or pepper.
Serve with a bowl of cooked rice and kimchee.
