Seaweed & miso soup

Since I am pregnant, I've been revisiting the pregnancy and postpartum soups in my repertoire.

I was introduced to Miyeok Guk 미역국, a traditional Korean soup eaten on birthdays and postpartum, by my dear friends celebrating their birthdays and when I had my daughter. This is a deceptively simple, powerhouse medicinal soup! Seaweed is nutrient-dense superfood packed with calcium, vitamins A, B-12, C, K, iodine, potassium, chlorophyll, soluble fiber, helps to regulate estrogen/estradiol, and on top of that it binds to heavy metals in the intestines and helps to leach them out of your system. Yay for seaweed! (And yes, I know Fukushima has altered the radiation content in the Pacific and iodine which is abundant in seaweed binds to radiation. But I figure, it's all getting flushed out. Literally. Atlantic seaweed is harder to source and frankly, the US specialty companies that do so charge ridiculous prices. We do what we can and make compromises.)

There are dozens of varieties of edible seaweed. You should choose wakame (which I know is a transliteration of Japanese not Korean) or Miyeok (see, Korean). Though I have very rusty, phonetic reading ability in Hangul | Korean (courtesy of free language class at the Korean Cultural Center in LA way way back--did I mention I also got a BA in linguistics and had/have an affinity for languages?), I lack comprehension. So whenever I am in doubt, I look at the picture and make sure there is a bowl of soup on the label.

I start with Junghee's mom's recipe which she shared with my mom after I gave birth. I use other non-traditional nutrient-dense ingredients to amp up the nutritional profile. Miso adds probiotics (and if you really want to go the extra mile, add GMO-free organic natto for the Vitamin K2). I stopped eating soybeans some years ago because of the phyto-estrogens (big deal for women of childbearing age) and the GMO issue.  Every now and then I will make an exception for organic, fermented soybeans.  So this is another one of my exceptional recipe for fermented soybeans. Read the labels for miso & natto carefully to make sure it's organic, GMO-free, MSG-free and is naturally fermented with koji cultures (rice or barley malt). Natto has a very strong challenging flavor so you may want to omit if you don't like stinky ferments.  

You can use a bone broth base to have a more rich soup base and/or use fish sauce and dried bonito flakes (be sure it doesn't have MSG though!)  If you are using shellfish, the juice from the shellfish will also enrich the soup base. My favorite is clams because they are high in iron and with the seaweed combine to make a blood building/fortifying soup that is perfect for moon cycles, pregnancy, postpartum, and post-surgery. This has been a great boost for me when I start feeling fatigued from the crazy things pregnancy does to one's body. I try to eat it at least once a week or so. When I am too busy to get fresh clams, I used canned. I know. Totally not as good, but way easier to store and have on hand in the pantry. (note 1/15/2017 I've since discovered frozen clams at Whole Foods. Infinitely better than canned!)

This is one of my daughter's favorite soups. Once when she was a toddler, she ate a huge adult sized portion of it. And then at bedtime she puked black-green goop all over the bed which I had the parental sixth sense ability to catch in my hands. Mostly. Good times.

Ingredients

• ~1 cup dried Miyeok/Wakame seaweed 
• toasted sesame oil
• garlic (optional)
• sea salt
• 8 cups water or bone broth
• cubed beef steak, whole cleaned clams (shell on), canned clams including juice (choose an additive-free one), shellfish, and/or cubed, organic/GMO-free soft tofu
• 1-2 tbs of Red Boat fish sauce and/or bonito flakes (make sure it's additive-free)
• 2 tbs of organic, GMO-free miso to taste
• organic, GMO-free natto (optional)

Directions

1.  Soak seaweed in water for 10 min in filtered water.  Drain. Massage in sesame oil. Use kitchen shears and cut into bite sized pieces.
2.  Add sesame oil to pot and saute seaweed for 1 min.  Add garlic (if u want) until it warms up.  
3. Add beef if using and sauté for a few minutes.
4. Add bone broth or water, fish sauce and/or bonito and bring to a low boil. 
5. Add shellfish if using and low boil until just cooked--the clams open up (~5 minutes).
6. Add tofu if using until it's hot.
7. Turn off stove.  Add 1-2 tbs miso and natto if using.  Sea salt to taste. Serve.

Khao Soi ເຂົ້າຊອຍ | Laotian fermented soybean noodle soup

Well, I find that I have too narrowly defined the scope of this blog to Việt cuisine given how I cook--improvisational and fusion.  My recent millet-stuffed deboned whole chicken, duck a l'orange, gluten-free shin splints (aka thin mints), dairy-free chia avocado chocolate pudding being recent culinary successes that have not made it to the blog because the content didn't quite fit.

So today, I present one of my favorite Laotian-style dishes after nam khao | fried sticky rice salad and sai ua | lemongrass sausage--Khao Soi.  This dish consists of fermented soybeans and ground pork served over rice noodles and pork broth that I first sampled at Vietiane Cafe.  I just learned that it is actually Burmese in origin (thanks internet!).  I reverse engineered it based on taste and then because my pantry is what it is, I improv'd some of the ingredients using dang myun | Korean glass noodles instead of rice noodles since I forgot to soak the rice noodles ahead of time.  And I always add more veggies where I can.  Here, I used blanched cabbage.  The making of this dish reminds me a lot of making Hủ Tiếu Bà Năm Sa Đéc | Mrs. Five's Noodle Dish from Sa Dec (which I've also learned is Hokkien-Khmer in origin).

I stopped eating soybeans some years ago because of the phyto-estrogens and the GMO issue.  Every now and then I will make an exception for organic, fermented soybeans.  So this is my exceptional recipe for fermented soybeans.  Tương cự đà| is a fermented soybean & roasted rice powder sauce from north Việt Nam; it can be substituted with miso and natto.  Natto has a very strong challenging flavor so you may want to omit if you don't like stinky ferments.  If you wanted to be fancy, you could also add thịnh | toasted rice powder (pan-toasted, finely ground rice grains) but it's not necessary.  Read the labels for miso & natto carefully to make sure it's organic, GMO-free, MSG-free and is naturally fermented with koji cultures (rice or barley malt).

One cooking shortcut tip when I am too pressed for time to mince garlic and onions/shallots by hand, I use an immersion blender to blend quartered onion and whole garlic cloves adding enough water to make it easier to process.  Then I saute until the water steams off.  The traditional way of making seasonings in Southeast Asia is to grind spices and liquid into a paste with mortar and pestle.  I rarely if ever have the luxury of time to do this though I'm sure it tastes amazing.

Khao Soi ເຂົ້າຊອຍ | Laotian fermented soybean noodle soup

Fermented soy (From L to R: miso,
 tương cự đà, and natto.)

• 1 shallot or 1/2 sweet onion
• olive oil
• 4-6 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 lb ground pork or beef
• fish sauce
• black pepper
• sea salt
• tương cự đà and/or dollop of fermented miso and 3 oz of fermented natto
• pork broth
• rice noodles
• cabbage, shredded & blanched
• baby power greens (kale, spinach, chard)
• cilantro

Soak rice noodles in water for at least 10 minutes then cook in boiling water for 7-10 minutes until soft.

Saute shallot/onion & garlic until fragrant with olive oil.  Add ground meat and break it up into small pieces.  Add fish sauce, black pepper, sea salt.  Saute until just cooked.  Turn off the heat and add tương cự đà and/or miso & natto.  Stir until blended and remove from heat.  I add the ferments at the very end to avoid cooking off the beneficial enzymes and probiotics.

To serve, add noodles, veggies, fermented soybean mix, and hot broth to the bowl.  Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Ăn ... Ngon Lành|Eat ... Delectably!