Tangle Soup

The tradition of cooking miyeok guk to celebrate some(one)’s birthday is a pretty special one. It’s an expression of gratitude and celebration for the now that also pays tribute to the love and lineage between a mother and their child. In Korea, women spend much of their first month consuming miyeok guk for its high levels of iron, calcium, magnesium, and fiber. Nowadays, I make miyeok guk on January 2nd to increase my nutrient intake and shrink the severity of my first day of the year hangover.

Not entirely true. January 2nd is Eddo’s birthday, so while we may be fighting off a wine flu, we’re making miyeok guk to celebrate his birth.

Miyeok guk is seaweed soup. I guess you can say that for the most part, the foundation of this birthday cake is sea mustard and rice water. Your chocolate frosting might likely look like beef—brisket, short rib, maybe stew meat, or something fancy if that speaks to you. But it could also be mussels, or abalone, or maybe sea snails (보말) like they do in Je…