Korea · 40 min · Fish · Soup · For beginners
Baechu-Doenjangguk
In German: Chinakohlsuppe mit Sojabohnenpaste · In English: Napa cabbage soybean paste soup
For 4 servings · US units
Korean napa cabbage soup with soybean paste: savory anchovy broth, tender cabbage
This soup of napa cabbage and doenjang is everyday food in Korea: quick, filling, and exactly what you want when you need something warm alongside a bowl of rice. The base is a broth made from dried anchovies — or, in the most traditional version, the cloudy water left over from rinsing rice, which gives the soup real body. It goes to the table with rice, kimchi and a few banchan, maybe stir-fried anchovies or dried shrimp.
Ingredients
- 12⅓ ozNapa cabbageleaves washed, cut into bite-size pieces of about 5 cm
- 2 tbspdissolve in the broth, press through a sieve if neededFermented Korean paste of soybeans and salt, dark and often coarse, strongly salty with a deep, pungent savouriness.Substitute: Dark, robust miso comes closest, but it is smoother, milder and sweeter; the earthy, pungent edge is missing, and you may need a little more of it. Light miso is too sweet and delicate and misses the character of the dish.Read more
- 2 tspstirred in together with the soybean paste, roughly a 2:1 ratioFermented Korean paste of chili, glutinous rice, soybeans and salt, thick, spicy, slightly sweet and deeply savoury.Substitute: There is no truly good substitute, because the fermented, malty-sweet depth is hard to recreate. At a pinch, mix white miso with Korean chili flakes or mild chili powder and a little sugar or honey; this roughly matches the heat and saltiness but stays flatter and less sticky. Sriracha or other chili sauces are not a substitute, as they are too sour and too thin.Read more
- 5⅛ cupssoup baseKorean base stock made from dried anchovies, usually simmered with kombu kelp; savoury, briny, lightly fishy.Substitute: The closest substitute is Japanese dashi made from kombu and bonito flakes, though it is smokier and more delicate. European fish stock is too heavy and tastes different, and oil-packed anchovy fillets make the broth salty and oily rather than rounded. A broth of kombu and dried shiitake gives a vegetarian version, but it lacks the fishy depth.Read more
- 12for the broth, boil uncovered for 10 minutes and remove afterwards (optional)Small whole anchovies, boiled and dried; salty and intensely briny, the base of many Korean stocks and crisp side dishes.Substitute: For stock, bonito flakes or Japanese dashi powder will do, though the result is smokier and more delicate, less robust; a splash of fish sauce in water is a stopgap that gives salt but little depth. For dishes in which the small anchovies are eaten whole there is no workable substitute, because the point is their bite and crunch; jarred anchovy fillets are too soft and too salty.Read more
- 3 clovesGarlicfinely minced
- 2Spring onioncut into pieces of about 5 cm, added at the end
- 1 tbspSoy sauceto season the broth (optional)
- 5 ozBeefcut against the grain into thin bite-size strips, briefly seared (optional)
- Saltto taste, only after cooking
- Black pepperto taste (optional)
Method
- Make the anchovy brothFor the broth, put the dried anchovies into water or rice rinsing water and boil uncovered for about 10 minutes, then fish out the anchovies. If you prefer, simply use plain rice rinsing water instead.
- Prepare the napa cabbageWash the napa cabbage, trim away any damaged leaf edges and cut the leaves into bite-size pieces of about 5 cm.
- Optionally sear the beefIf you want beef in the soup, pour the finished broth out of the pot into a bowl and keep it handy. Cut the beef against the grain into thin strips, sear it briefly in the hot pot with some of the minced garlic and a little oil, then pour the broth back in. Without meat, the broth simply stays in the pot.
- Dissolve the soybean pastesDissolve the doenjang and gochujang in the broth in the pot — press them through a sieve or stir vigorously so no lumps remain. If you like, add the soy sauce now: it seasons the broth from the ground up, while the salt only comes in at the end. The soup works without it too.
- Add cabbage and return to a boilBring the soup to a boil, add the napa cabbage, cover and wait until it comes back to a boil.
- Simmer and skim the foamLower the heat and let the soup simmer until the cabbage is tender, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface.
- Add garlic and spring onionsAdd the remaining garlic and the spring onions and let them cook along for a few more minutes.
- Season and serve hotSeason with salt and black pepper only at the very end, and serve hot with rice and side dishes.
Tips and variations
Searing strips of beef before you pour in the broth makes the soup noticeably heartier. For a lighter soup, use plain rice rinsing water in place of the anchovy broth. Beef broth can also replace the anchovy broth as the base. For a milder bowl, leave out the gochujang and season with doenjang and soup soy sauce alone. Swapping part of the soybean paste for Japanese miso gives a gentler, slightly sweet note, though that's considered untypical for this dish. Young spring cabbage (eolgari-baechu) can take the place of the napa cabbage. How coarsely or finely you cut the leaves is purely a matter of taste — it mainly changes the look and the bite. Serve with rice, kimchi and more banchan such as stir-fried anchovies or dried shrimp.
Allergens
Contains: Fish, Cereals containing gluten, Soybeans
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
