No, sunny Los Angeles is where she belonged. I told her that she should continue to enjoy her retirement schedule of making Korean dumplings, going to the spa with her friends, and generally just taking it easy. Once my wonderful sister agreed to come up for a week or so, my grandmother was finally convinced to stop packing her bags.
The news of my grandmother staying at home however, immediately made my mother worry exactly who would be around to make me seaweed soup! ....Huh?
So what's so important about seaweed soup? Well, I always had it on my birthday so I was a bit confused. In fact, if you ever watch any Korean dramas, people make a pretty big deal about making sure you eat some on every birthday. My grandmother makes kick-ass seaweed soup so I quite enjoy it, but it wasn't a big favorite among my siblings. So anyway, it wasn't until I got pregnant that I finally understood the true meaning of seaweed soup (or 미역국, pronounced Mi-yeok Guk)
The reason why Koreans eat seaweed soup on our birthdays is because it is supposed to be a reminder of what our mothers had to go through to bring us into this world. Yep, some good old Asian guilt! Mi-yeok seaweed is usually the type that is used to make traditional Korean seaweed soup (not the same as the nori seaweed sheets or the bright green kind in seaweed salad). Mi-yeok seaweed is super rich in iron and iodine. Iron is an essential ingredient for our bodies to make blood so it helps replenish all the blood we lose during childbirth. Iodine helps kick-start the production of hormones, which in turn helps produce breast milk. The broth of the soup is usually made out of beef or dried fish, which helps provide some much needed calcium and protein. Turns out that it's tradition for women to eat Mi-yeok guk for up to three weeks straight after childbirth. I don't think my mom ate it for that long, but she definitely had plenty of it after each birth. Out of this first tradition, came the secondary one where we have it on our birthdays as a reminder of our moms having this soup to recuperate from the pregnancy/childbirth.
So I have a Mi-yeok guk recipe on hand that I'll make with my sister after delivery to put my mom's worries to rest. I've been trying to teach myself how to cook more and more Korean food with Baby Bearhat on the way so if I'm successful, little BB won't ever have a birthday without seaweed soup while under my roof! A simple Google search will show you that there are many variations you can make (adding mussels being one of my grandma's favorites, but she also makes hers with homemade marrow broth which takes FOREVER, but is the true secret to why hers tastes so good). I always taste as I go, so you'll notice that happens quite a bit in this recipe. You can find the Mi-yeok seaweed at any Korean food store, just look for "미역" on the bag. It's a simple soup that hits any salty craving. However be warned: the slippery seaweed texture is not for everyone.
Ingredients:
2 cups of soaked seaweed
4 cups of beef broth
4 cups of water
1 package of firm tofu
1/4 lb of beef brisket
2 minced garlic cloves
Salt to taste
Sesame oil
Directions:
- Soak 1/2 cup of dried seaweed in a big bowl for at least 30 minutes.
After soaking you'll have 2 cups. - Drain the water from the seaweed and cut it into bite sizes.
- Cut the beef brisket into thin inch-long pieces.
- Drizzle sesame oil into a big pot and saute beef & garlic for a few minutes.
- Add in the soaked seaweed and saute for one more minute.
- Pour in the water and broth and bring to a boil.
- Taste and season with salt if necessary.
- Simmer for 20-25 minutes over medium heat.
Feel free to add more water if it's too thick. - Taste again and season with salt if necessary.
- Cube firm tofu into bite-size pieces and toss in.
Let heat through 1-2 minutes. - Taste again for final time. Should taste salty, but not too salty!
- Serve in bowls alone or with Korean side dishes and a bowl of rice.
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