Rich and Clear Seaweed Soup
No-Meat Seaweed Soup: Unbeatable Golden Recipe for Deep Umami Flavor
Hello everyone! As the saying goes, ‘Strength comes from soup,’ seaweed is wonderfully beneficial for our bodies. It’s packed with alginic acid, a viscous polysaccharide that helps excrete heavy metals, and is rich in dietary fiber. Furthermore, it contains calcium, essential for forming human bones and teeth, potassium, which stabilizes the mind, and selenium, known for its cancer-preventive properties, making it a super healthy food. Today, I’m sharing a golden recipe for seaweed soup made without meat, yet boasting an incredibly savory and satisfying umami flavor that will make you give it a thumbs up! I found this recipe on YouTube and tried it myself.
Ingredients- Dried seaweed 20g
- 2 Tbsp Korean soup soy sauce (for initial seasoning)
- 500ml cold water (for soaking seaweed)
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 cup Cheongju (rice wine, for deodorizing)
- 1.5 liters clear water
- 1 whole onion
- 1 Tbsp Korean soup soy sauce (for final seasoning)
- 2 Tbsp tuna extract (for enhanced umami)
- A pinch of salt (for final adjustment)
- A pinch of white pepper (for a fragrant finish)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, prepare 20g of dried seaweed.
Step 2
Have 1/2 cup of Cheongju (rice wine) ready. This will help remove any fishy smell from the seaweed.
Step 3
Prepare one whole onion. Chopping it finely might make it messy and difficult to remove later, so we’ll add it whole for a clearer soup and easier cleanup.
Step 4
You’ll need a total of 1.5 liters of water. Using a 500ml measuring cup, you can easily pour it in three separate additions.
Step 5
Cut the dried seaweed into bite-sized pieces. Soak it in 500ml of cold water with 2 tablespoons of Korean soup soy sauce for about 15 minutes. The soup soy sauce helps to properly season the seaweed, mimicking the salinity of seawater. If you don’t have soup soy sauce, you can use regular soy sauce, salt, or fish sauce to soak it. Rinse the soaked seaweed gently just once and squeeze out excess water.
Step 6
Gently knead the soaked seaweed with your hands. This process helps to release the mucilaginous compounds from the seaweed, which adds a richer and more delicious depth to the soup. This is one of the secrets to a truly flavorful seaweed soup!
Step 7
Now, add the soaked seaweed to a pot along with 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Sauté over medium-low heat until the seaweed becomes fragrant and slightly softened. Then, pour in the 1/2 cup of Cheongju. The rice wine effectively eliminates the fishy odor of the seaweed, and sesame oil is said to help neutralize carcinogens that might form during stir-frying.
Step 8
Pour in the 1.5 liters of clear water in three separate additions. Adding the water in stages allows the flavors to meld and deepen significantly. Once the first addition of water comes to a boil, add the whole onion. Simmer everything together for a total of 30 minutes to allow all the ingredients’ flavors to fully infuse into the broth.
Step 9
After the first boiling, add the second portion of water and bring it back to a boil. Once it boils again, add the final, third portion of water and let it simmer. This step is key to developing a deeply layered broth.
Step 10
Add 1 tablespoon of Korean soup soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of tuna extract to season the soup and enhance its savory umami notes.
Step 11
Finally, adjust the seasoning with a pinch of salt if needed, and add a pinch of white pepper for a pleasant aroma to complete the soup. (If you don’t have white pepper, black pepper can be used as a substitute.)
Step 12
Remove the thoroughly cooked whole onion. You can discard it or enjoy it if you prefer.
Step 13
And there you have it – a delicious seaweed soup! This recipe truly lives up to its ‘golden’ reputation. It’s amazing how much flavor can be achieved without meat. You won’t believe how good it tastes!
Step 14
Your Golden Recipe for Rich and Clear Seaweed Soup is complete!
Step 15
This soup is so good, it’ll rival any served at a Korean jjimjilbang (public bathhouse)! I highly recommend this seaweed soup recipe – it’s a guaranteed success!
