miyeokguk (미역국)

ingredients

To make the most basic miyeokguk, all you really need is:

• dried miyeok (건미역)
• water

But to make it tastier you can add:

• sesame oil (참기름)
• soup soy sauce (국간장)
• crushed perilla seeds (들깨가루)

Typical varieties of mieyokguk will include things like:

• dried pollack (황태)
• sea urchin (성개)

Some people even use fish stock instead of water, which usually is made from:

• dried anchovies (멸치)
• dried dashima (다시마)

preparation

The lowest effort miyeokguk you can make requires just boiling the miyeok in water. But unless you are really roughing it, you typically will take a few basic steps to get the most out of your algae.

• First, soak some amount of dried mieyok in a bowl of water. Miyeok expands considerably when rehydrated, so it's hard to tell how much you need. But even if it turns out to be a lot you can always just add more water and enjoy a bigger helping :)
• Once the mieyok is rehydrated, drain the water from the bowl and wring out the excess water from the miyeok.
• Place the mieyok in a pot and drizzle sesame oil generously over the top. Simmer it over medium heat just until you can smell the sesame oil "activating."
• Fill the pot with however much water seems appropriate. Add whatever goodies you have, such as crushed perilla seeds, and boil.
• As the soup boils, add small amounts of soy sauce to taste. Soup soy sauce is very salty, so it's good to put in just drops at a time.
• Serve with a bowl of rice and other side dishes.

notes and nonsense

• If you are making miyeokguk with dried pollack, prepare the pollack exactly the same way as the mieyok (by rehydrating, squeezing out excess water, etc.).

Miyeokguk is a very simple yet highly nutritious dish. Miyeok itself is high in iron, calcium, folic acid, niacin, vitamin B2, and Omega-3 fatty acids. In Korea, nursing mothers eat a lot of mieyokguk to help with the production of breastmilk milk (and in our experience it has been highly effective).

In Korea, miyeokguk is one of the most common foods. All of the ingredients are widely available, and are easily stored in bulk throughout the year. In our house we keep a stock of mieyok and perilla, and when we travel it is easy to bring along a small supply. The dried mieyok and pollack and the crushed perilla seeds do not perish easily (and soy sauce and sesame oil don't really "go bad"...they never last long enough to find out, at least). I love miyeokguk while camping for this reason--you don't have to worry about keeping it cool, or packing in and out a bunch of trash. You can just throw it all in a pot with rice and have an energizing, morale-boosting meal with little effort.

Outside of Korea, however, it may be difficult to find these ingredients. But if you live near the ocean, you can just cook up one of the giant mieyeoks that has washed up on shore! This is, in fact, what people do when they visit the beaches in Korea~

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