Soup with maesaengi and crab meat / Courtesy of Samho Media

“Maesaengi” or seaweed fulvescens only grow in uncontaminated water. It is low in calories and contains lots of fiber and vitamins. Also, the smooth texture makes it easy to digest. Adding maesaengi to crab meat soup gives a light finish to a healthy dish.

Ingredients: (serves two)

You will need 50 grams of crab meat, 10 grams of maesaengi, 50 grams of egg, 5 grams of leek, 20 grams of oyster sauce, 10 grams of cooking wine, salt, pepper, starch, and sesame oil.

For the broth, use 300 grams of chicken, bay leaves, whole black pepper, onion, carrot, celery and ginger

Method:

1. Wash the crab meat in salt water and drain it.
2. Wash the maesaengi thoroughly three times and squeeze it to drain the water.
3. Put the ingredients for the chicken broth in a pot and boil on a medium heat for 30 minutes.
4. Add the crab meat and maesaengi to the broth then add the egg and boil. Add oyster sauce, sesame oil and leek according to preference.
5. Serve in a bowl.

Cooking tip

It is difficult to tell whether maesaengi soup is boiling. Therefore, one should take care when tasting it. Choose maesaengi that is highly pigmented and long. Do not cook for longer than three minutes – this will keep the green hue and the natural taste. Overcooked, the seaweed turns black and breaks apart.

This is an excerpt from “Must-Have Recipes to Fight Cancer” by Yonsei Cancer Center, CJ Freshway and Severance Hospital Nutrition Team published by Samho Media.