미역국 Korea's Birthday Soup

My Korean Bap Sang (Meal Set up)

A Birthday Soup for Umma

My parents were always working at the store, it was their life which became my childhood. They woke up before the sun rose and came home way after the sun set. But without fail, umma (my mom) would make a feast for our birthdays, usually a plate of kalbi (beef short ribs), tons of our favorite banchan (side dishes) and always a bowl of miyukgook 미역국 (seaweed soup).  Until we insisted on a birthday cake like all our "American" friends.  We were assimilating and a cake with icing and candles, making wishes became our way of celebrating our birth. Forgetting that this day is also a celebration of mothers, women who went through so much to bring us into this world. Seaweed soup or birthday cakes?  

Once I left home for college, umma always called on my birthdays and asked “did someone make 미역국 for you?”  I’d roll my eyes and answer very surly that “yay, i had some..” Was she serious? And for a while I’d forgotten my traditions, renounced it, so busy learning and assimilating. Dating white boys, cooking French food… not that there's anything wrong with either.

Umma, a very petit woman, gave life to 3 ginormous babies, possibly undiagnosed gestational diabetes, who turned into 3 very healthy humans. She honestly has no idea how she bore such large babies, her postpartum care was bedrest. Can you imagine? What a concept?!?! This was in the 60's in Seoul, Korea. She lived with her extended family and they all pitched in to make sure she stayed in bed, warm and bonding with her babies. Saam-chil-il (three seven days) of staying at home and eating 미역국 with every meal. They believed that the seaweed restores the blood lost, helps heal the uterus and increases the quantity and quality of breast milk. Is this medically proven? I don't know but we do know that seaweed provide lots of calcium, fiber and iron. This is the origin of the birthday soup - nourishing the new mom so she can nourish her new born baby. With the bowl of soup, it's a celebration your mom who gave you life.

Umma's version of the soup was simple. She would dice up some beef, usually a cheap tough cut like a chuck, and saute that in a large pot, add rehydrated chopped seaweed and let that saute in some sesame oil. Then water, lots of garlic, salt and black pepper.  She’d simmer the soup for hours. Turn it off and leave it on the stove until the soup was all eaten, so day after day, she’d turn the burner on and heat up the soup, have it for dinner.  Each subsequent dinner, the pot got smaller. As long as you brought it back to a boil, it was all good and I don’t remember any of us getting sick from my mom’s soups. Or maybe it was all the kimchi we ate, full of probiotics, that made our tummies strong. It’s a simple soup with just a handful of ingredients.

It took some years but I found my way back to my family traditions and really appreciate them. And that simple soup that umma cooked for me, well…I just can’t get it to taste as good as hers. It could be the jar of Accent, aka msg, she had handy next to her stove. After trying different versions, and there are so many, my favorite is to cook it with oxtail. Oxtail comes in 6 - 8 pieces cut between each joint. You can taste and feel the collagen in the broth, I can feel my bones and joints get nourished with every spoonful!

I also love the 미역국 I had in bath house in Jeju, Korea. The soak in heat, the plunge in cold, the exfoliation of your whole body, the best shower of my life and then luxuriating in a jjimjilbang. The jjimjilbang is the dry area and final stop of the bath house experience. Here, I put on pajamas that are provided and lay down!  This is where you go for Savasana! AWWW.  There are television sets in some and cafes in others. In one of these rooms in Jeju island, hearing the ocean outside, I had a sea urchin 미역국 and it was heaven. It tasted of the ocean in all the good ways.

I don’t see umma as much as I’d like to and it’s hard to see her these days. She’s there but not really there. Dementia has slowly taken her away from me. She’s physically healthy and eats well but it feels like she is no longer there. I catch her sometimes looking confused, she loses herself, not knowing where she is, who she is. She knows I’m a familiar, but she doesn’t really know who I am. And she can no longer do anything for herself, she has regressed to a baby-like state. At times super cute in her wonder, surprise and excitement.

When my mom’s birthday rolls around, I like to make sure I make a big batch of 미역국 and have a feast in her honor!

“Happy birthday umma” 

And PS... call your mom on your birthday!

Oxtail 미역국

Simmer oxtail with onions and garlic until the meat gets tender, about 2 hours or so. 

Strain everything, chill the broth overnight so the fat separates.  Remove the fat and discard. 

Pick the meat off the bones and reserve the meat. 

Heat a pot and drizzle in some sesame oil. Add rehydrated, chopped seaweed, garlic, salt and pepper.  Stir and toast for a minute. Add the defatted broth and simmer for at least 30 minutes very low.  Add the beef just before serving the soup.

Adjust seasoning and enjoy with beautiful thoughts of your umma!

Link to recipe coming soon.