Cream Miyeok-guk
Culinary Class Wars might be over, but… I’m not over it. Indulge me, because there’s still a few more dishes I want to try recreating. Hehe.
Starting with this Cream Miyeokguk! Korean Seaweed Soup is one of my favorites. Not going to lie, when I saw Chef Choi adding the miyeokguk to the blender on the show, I was a bit skeptical. A biggggg thing for me is texture, and I so enjoy the large chunks of wakame floating around in my soup. Soft and squishy— it’s so enjoyable.
So the thought of all that being blended up into a baby food-like texture?? Was it something I could get behind??
I had to find out.
No surprise, like everything I’ve recreated from this show, I LOVED it.
It was silky smooth, with the same iconic miyeok-guk flavor profile that I love, but with a rich twist.
Along with the Cream Miyeokguk I recreated the entire dish from Episode 5 to the best of my ability. Man were there a lot of components! Everything gets done simultaneously so you can serve it all hot.
I wish I had a team of Michelin Chefs at my side, but alas. I am but one person. Haha!!
If you too want to recreate this, you can give my version a go! Have fun!
Recipe:
Serves 2 people
Seafood Stock:
Makes 8 cups of stock
10 cups water
1 lb mussels, shells on
scallop skirts/discards (optional)
1 white onion, peeled & cut in half
100g white radish, peeled & cut into chunks
4” piece kombu
10 small anchovies, heads removed
1 tsp dashi granules
1 tbsp soup soy sauce
Place your mussels in a collander. Scrub and rinse your mussel shells to remove dirt and grime. Let them drip dry in the sink for 15 minutes.
Place a large pot with 10 cups of water over high heat. Bring it to a boil.
Add your mussels, any scallop skirts/ discards, the chopped onion, radish, anchovies and the kombu to the pot. Bring it to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Let the stock cook for 30 minutes.
At the end, add the dashi and soup soy sauce to taste. Remove it from the heat and pass the broth through a fine mesh strainer into another pot or a large container. Discard the solids and aromatics. Set the broth aside.
Cream Miyeok-guk:
15-20g dried wakame seaweed
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp perilla oil
2.5 cups homemade seafood stock
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soup soy sauce
1/3 cup cream
1 tsp sesame oil
In a medium bowl, add 2 cups of cold water and your dried seaweed. Allow the seaweed to soak and rehydrate for 20-30 minutes. (you can do this while your seafood broth is being made!)
Peel and mince your garlic.
After 20 minutes, remove the seaweed from the water and squeeze to get rid of excess moisture.
Place a wok over medium heat and allow it to get hot. Add your seaweed and perilla oil. Stir fry for 3 ish minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Pour in your homemade seafood stock. Season with fish sauce and soup soy sauce. Allow the seaweed to simmer in the stock for 15-20 minutes to soak up the flavour. Stir the pot occasionally. Taste to see if it is salty enough, if it is too salty, add more seafood stock!
Transfer the soup to a blender. Blend the miyeok-guk until smooth. About 1 minute of blending mixed with some pulsing.
Place a fine mesh strainer over the wok, and pour the blended miyeok-guk into the strainer. Passing it through and getting rid of any large chunks of seaweed.
Turn the heat to low under the wok. Add the cream, and sesame oil. Stir the soup to combine, bring it to a simmer and cook for another minute of two. Turn off the heat. Set aside.
Braised Radish:
50g white radish, peeled
1 cup seafood stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp mirin
1 clove minced garlic
In a saucepan over low heat, add your seafood stock, soy sauce, sugar, mirin and garlic. Bring it to a simmer.
Wash & peel your radish. Slice 6-8, 1/4” thick rounds and place them in your braising liquid.
Let the radishes simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, spooning the marinade over the tops of the radishes occasionally. When they are done, they should be super tender and golden in colour.
Remove them from the saucepan, and place them on a tray to cool.
To prepare them for plating: use a small cookie cutter or ring mold (about the same diameter as the scallops you are using!) to cut a circle out of the center of each radish. Set the cut & prepared radishes aside.
Oven Baked White Fish:
2 fillets white fish of choice (basa, cod, halibut etc.)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
salt to season
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Place your fish fillets on a baking sheet lined with parchment. If they are damp, pat them dry with a paper towel.
Drizzle each fillet with olive oil and rub them with your fingers to coat both sides. Season the fish with a generous pinch of salt, and a squeeze of lemon over each. Place 1/2 tbsp of butter under each fillet.
Bake the fish, uncovered for 12-15 minutes depending on how thick they are. Internal temperature should reach at least 130 degrees. Watch them! No one likes dry fish. Set them aside for plating.
Seared Scallops:
4-6 scallops (preferably large)
neutral oil
salt to taste
If purchasing scallops in the shell, shuck them and remove the skirt/ eggs. You can use these discards in your broth.
Carefully cut each scallop into thirds to achieve a very thin round slice. Sprinkle each round with a touch of salt.
Place a non-stick pan over medium high heat. Brush the pan with a neutral oil.
Once the pan is quite hot, add one scallop at a time, searing on only one side for about 30 seconds. It should achieve minimal browning.
Repeat the searing with all the scallop pieces. Set aside for plating.
Crispy Green Onion Topping:
1 large green onion or leek
1 cup neutral oil, for frying
Cut your large green onion into 3” long pieces. Using only the white part, slice each piece lengthwise and into thin strips.
Pour your oil into a pot or saucepan. Place it over medium heat and allow it to reach 325 degrees.
Drop in your thinly sliced green onions and fry until the bubbles start to dissipate and they are golden brown. Quickly remove the fried onions from the oil and place them on a paper towel to cool. Set them aside for plating.
To Plate:
Upon serving, reheat the miyeokguk and any other components if they have cooled.
Pour 1 cup of the cream miyeokguk into a shallow bowl.
Place a fillet of white fish in the center. (TIP: if it sinks into the soup too much, place a radish piece underneath for it to rest upon!)
Arrange 2 scallops and 2 braised radishes along the top of the fillet— in an alternating fashion.
Finish by topping the arrangement with a hearty bunch of crispy fried green onions.
Repeat for 2 servings/ portions. Enjoy!
