Seaweed Stalk Side Dish (Miyuk Joolgee미역줄기): The things that make me smile

Sometimes it is the smallest thing that make me smile.  Right now, every single time Son makes a trip to the potty, finishes, washes his hands and says "I'm done" the biggest smile creeps up on my face.  After a few weeks of madly streaking to the bathroom and stepping in puddles of pee, the drama seems to have died.  Thankfully.  A potty-trained son just makes me smile.

Another source of smiles is when Son and Daughters GOBBLE something I've made down.  And by gobble, I mean grabbing as much as they can, as quickly as they can and shoveling it into their mouths.  Despite what you may think given the fact that I am a food blogger, I do not have kids who shovel their food down each and every meal.  However, this one dish gets that reaction EVERY single time - and the crazy thing is that it is so easy to make and relatively good for you. 

Miyuk joolgee is the chewier stalk of seaweed that has been salted and preserved.  Sauteed with garlic and sesame oil and finished with sprinkling of green onions and sesame seeds make it a truly delicious simple side dish.  The first time I ever really had it was when I was visiting boyfriend's parents (now mother-in-law and father-in-law) and Boyfriend/Husband's mother made some as a side dish with our dinner.  I loved it.  I ate it and ate it and continued to eat it and I think I shocked my future mother-in-law.  She didn't bat an eyelash and instead the entire week I was there continued to prepare it for me every meal that she could.  I enjoyed it every meal that she made it for me.  After returning home, the flavor and texture haunted me so I hunted around trying to figure out exactly what I had eaten.  After I figured it out, it also became a staple in my home.  And it turns out that Son and Daughters love it.  They call it green noodles and it has a very pleasant crispy chewy texture. 

This is a package of the seaweed. 

Seaweed Stalk Side Dish (미역줄기)
serves 3-4 (depending on how much the dish is loved)

7 or 8 oz of seaweed stalk package (miyuk joolgee 미역줄기)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
1 teaspoon sesame seed

Take the seaweed stalk out of the package. There will be lots of salt all over the seaweed.

Place seaweed in a bowl and fill it with cold water and rinse out the salt 2 or 3 times. After a good amount of salt has been rinsed off, allow the seaweed stalk to soak in fresh water for another hour. This helps remove extra saltiness. You shouldn't soak it too long otherwise you completely lose the seasoning. (My mother in law says I soak it too long, but since the kids eat it I try and make it just minimally salty.)

After soaking, drain seaweed stalk and cut pieces into bite sized manageable pieces. A pair of kitchen sheers does the job best. You will have to cut both length and cut narrow strips as some pieces of the stalk can be quite thick. (if you have small children who love this, they can choke so cut nice small pieces.)

Heat a fry pan over medium high heat. Add both vegetable oil and sesame oil to the pan and add garlic. Cook for a minute and then add seaweed. Continue to cook until all seaweed is coated with oil and is full tossed together, about another 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and immediately sprinkle scallions and sesame seeds. Serve either warm, or can be refrigerated and served cold. (I usually serve it warm the first day and if there is any left, cold the next.)

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