Korean recipe

Beef miyeok-guk

Name: Beef miyeok-guk
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Korean cuisine
Ingredients: 30 g dried Korean seaweed for soup; 250 g beef brisket, sliced 4 mm across the grain; 1.6 L water; 30 ml Korean soup soy sauce, divided; 20 ml toasted sesame oil; 15 g garlic, minced; 5 g fine salt; 1 g black pepper

Rehydrated seaweed and thin beef simmer in a clear sesame-scented broth seasoned with Korean soup soy sauce.

South Korea

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 55 min
Servings: 4

Clear Korean seaweed soup with tender sliced beef — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by karendotcom127Source page · Original file · CC BY 2.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

30 g
dried Korean seaweed for soup
250 g
beef brisket, sliced 4 mm across the grain
1.6 L
water
30 ml
Korean soup soy sauce, divided
20 ml
toasted sesame oil
15 g
garlic, minced
5 g
fine salt
1 g
black pepper

Method

01
Soak and cut the seaweed
Cover dried seaweed with at least 1.5 L cold water for 15 minutes. Drain, squeeze gently, and cut into 5 cm lengths; discard the soaking water.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Season the sliced beef
Toss beef with 10 ml soup soy sauce, 5 ml sesame oil, and black pepper. Rest refrigerated for 10 minutes while heating the pot.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Brown beef and seaweed
Heat a heavy pot over medium-high, add the remaining 15 ml sesame oil and beef, and stir-fry 3 minutes. Add seaweed and garlic and cook 4 minutes until the seaweed turns deep green and glossy.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Build the clear broth
Add 1.6 L water and scrape the pot. Bring to a boil, skim grey foam, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cover slightly ajar.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Simmer until tender
Simmer 25 minutes, until the beef is tender and the thickest piece reaches at least 71°C. The seaweed should be silky, not tough.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Adjust once and serve
Add the remaining 20 ml soup soy sauce, taste, and add up to 5 g salt only as needed. Simmer 1 minute and divide evenly into four bowls.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Taste only after the main paste or kimchi has simmered; its salt and acidity become clearer in the broth.
Keep a lively simmer, not a violent boil, so the broth concentrates without breaking delicate tofu or vegetables.

Common mistakes

Adding all seasoning before the broth reduces can make the final stew too salty; reserve the last adjustment for the end.
Once soft tofu is added, stir with a spoon only where necessary; repeated stirring turns the stew cloudy and fragmented.

Substitutions

Use boneless beef chuck at the same weight, sliced 4 mm across the grain, and simmer until the same 71°C and tender standard.
For a beef-free soup, use 250 g shiitake and 1.6 L kelp stock; omit the 71°C meat check and simmer mushrooms 15 minutes.

Storage

Cool within 2 hours and refrigerate airtight for up to 3 days. Reheat to a full simmer and at least 74°C throughout; do not repeatedly cool and reheat the same pot.

Cultural context

Miyeok-guk is strongly associated with birthdays and postpartum meals in Korea, while also being a simple everyday soup.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Korean soup-Miyeokguk-01 — Photograph by karendotcom127; CC BY 2.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Korean recipes

Beef miyeok-guk

Ingredients

Method

Soak and cut the seaweed

Season the sliced beef

Brown beef and seaweed

Build the clear broth

Simmer until tender

Adjust once and serve

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

More Korean recipes

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Beef bulgogi

Korean grilled short ribs