MiYeok Guk (미역국) is a popular Korean soup. Korean people can eat this soup anytime, but it is very popular for special days like birthdays, weaning days, etc. Sea mustard has good nutrition in it. According to Wikipedia, “In Oriental medicine, seaweed has been used for blood purification, intestinal strength, skin, hair, reproductive organs, and menstrual regularity.” So, it is a common practice in Korea that moms eat sea mustard soup after they birth their babies because Koreans believe that this sea mustard soup gives nutrition to both mom and baby through mom’s milk.

There is a funny superstition that some people consider seriously about sea mustard soup: The fresh or soaked sea mustard has a slippery surface. One Korean word for slippery is “미끄러지다,” which can imply that somebody will fall down. Some people try to not to eat sea mustard soup near an important testing day because they do not want to get bad luck from eating it – as to fall down, drop, or fail the test. I personally don’t believe it, but just wanted to share this humorous culture with you. This is a beef version of sea mustard soup, but you can use tuna can, clam, mushroom, or make it without any meat instead.

Yield: 2 Servings

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TteokGuk (떡국) is a traditional Korean New Year soup. Korean people celebrate the Lunar New Year, and this soup is the main dish for that holiday meal. On New Year’s morning, we wear HanBok (Korean traditional clothes) and greet (bow) our grandparents, parents, or relatives. Older people give a blessing for the New Year to their children along with some money called “SaeBatDon” (새뱃돈). After greeting the older people, family and relatives eat breakfast together. The meal will have New Year’s soup, different kinds of vegetable dishes, fish, jeon, japvchae, galbi jjim, and so on. Since Koreans calculate their age according to New Year, and not according to their actual birthday, eating the bowl of New Year soup on New Year’s Day means becoming one year older. It might sound a little crazy. Sometime we joke, “I don’t want to eat more than one bowl of New Year’s soup, otherwise I would become more than one year older.” hehe

Yield: 2 Servings

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If you go to a Korean restaurant, you might have tried this spicy Korean soup or at least saw it on the menu. It is a popular Korean soup for people who like spicy food. Cooking different kinds of vegetables in homemade beef broth, along with a spicy sauce, will give you great soup flavor. In Korea, if somebody dies, we visit the funeral house to morn the dead person and comfort the family. They usually start getting visitors for 2 or 3 days before the funeral and they serve food to the guests. Nowadays, this is one of Korea’s funeral foods. I don’t know why, but it is… Of course, we enjoy eating this soup other times as well, especially in cold weather.

Yield: 6 Servings

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It would be weird to hear that somebody doesn’t like kimchi or kimchi soup in Korea, except for maybe young kids. Of course once they grow up, they like it. Kimchi is the most famous Korean food. It is thought to be one of the healthiest foods in the world. Like some other Korean food, there are different types of kimchi soup, depending on the ingredients: tofu, tuna, pork, bean sprout, etc. Today, I will post one of them, tuna kimchi soup.

Yield: 3 Servings

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Fried fish cake Tang (어묵탕) is a street food in Korea. This warm tasty soup is especially good in the cold winter. This soup tastes even better with some Korean snacks like ddeokbokki or kimbap. Try this easy and delicious soup with your family someday. Thanks. 😀

Yield: 2 Servings

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Korean tofu soybean paste soup (두부 된장찌개) is a common soup in Korea. If you cannot eat spicy food, you can skip the red pepper paste, the red pepper powder, and the hot peppers. If you are a vegetarian, use 4 shiitake mushrooms instead of 2, and skip the beef.

Yield: 2 Servings

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This dish is a spicy Korean stew using mackerel fish. The flavor of the ingredients in this stew is awesome together. If you eat this stew, you can finish your rice without any other side dishes. There is research that says the dark flesh of fish, like mackerel, is good for high blood pressure. Enjoy! 😀

Yield: 2 Servings

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Korean haddock soup is one of my favorite soups. I learned to make it from my mom. When I moved to America, I missed my mom’s soup badly. I didn’t know what kind of fish to buy for this soup. One day, I found some frozen haddock at Walmart and tried this soup with it. It was almost the same taste as the fish used in my mom’s soup, so I was very happy to find it. Since that time, I often buy haddock and make this soup. I’m glad to share this recipe with you. Thanks!

Yield: 2 Servings

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