It’s Danny’s birthday! What should I cook? I only had one thing in mind: miyeok guk.

미역국 (miyeok guk) is also known as the birthday soup in Korea. It’s made of seaweed and sometimes mixed with chunks of beef or mussels. This soup is nutritiously packed with iodine and calcium. Pregnant mothers usually consume this healthy soup after giving birth to increase breastmilk production. That’s also the reason why birthday celebrants are given this soup as a reminder of their first food from their mothers. But of course, one can have this delicious, hot bowl of miyeok guk anytime, anywhere.

Ingredients: (4 persons)

12g     miyeok
100g   beef (양지)
1tbs    minced garlic
2tbs    sesame oil
8 cups (1,520ml) of water
pinch of salt

Procedure:

1. Soak miyeok in a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes to soften it.

2. Slice the beef to bite sizes.

3. Drain the water and squeeze out some water from the miyeok. Then, slice to bite sizes, too.

4. In a hot pot, put 2tbs of sesame oil.

5. Cook the beef ’til it gets light brown and add the miyeok.

6. Pour about 8 cups of water and boil for 20 minutes over high heat.

7. After 30 minutes, add garlic and salt to taste. Lower the heat down to medium and boil it for another 15 minutes.

8. Tadah! Transfer to a small bowl and serve with rice and side dishes.

This recipe is taken from 백종원‘s cookbook with some tweaks. Enjoy ;)

PS: Happy birthday, my yeobo! Saranghaeyo :) Here’s your cake…

xoxo,