I’m so excited to share this simple and nutritious soup with you today! Soybean paste soup with napa cabbage (baechu-doenjangguk), a favorite of all Koreans. It’s warm, hearty, savory, filling, healthy, made with doenjang (fermented soybean paste), and inexpensive and easy to make. It’s a staple of Korean life and diet. If you ever meet a Korean who doesn’t like baechu-doenjangguk, be sure to let me know because it’s pretty much impossible.
There are many types of soybean paste soup (doenjangguk) in Korean cuisine. A typical Korean meal consists of rice accompanied by soup and various side dishes, such as kimchi, and doenjangguk is a common soup to make. And this soup is the king of doenjangguk!
The traditional way to make baechu-doenjangguk is to make the soup broth with the water from washing rice (called tteumul: 뜨물 in Korean) instead of just plain water. This makes the broth a little milky. I used to watch my grandmother making it this way: every morning she made a huge amount of rice to feed her family. When she washed, rubbed, and rinsed her rice grains, she got tteumul. Then when she made doenjangguk, she used that milky rice water in her pot. We can do the same thing in this recipe, on a smaller scale. However if you don’t want to make rice for this you can just use plain water, and then mix in around 2 tablespoons of flour to make it thicker and milky.
As I mention in the video, I used to live next to an early morning one-woman restaurant where the only dish she served was baechu-doenjangguk and makgeolli (Korean rice liquor)! She made this soup exactly the same way I’m showing you here. The only thing she added that I skip is MSG. : ) Instead of MSG, I use more dried anchovies. Whenever I have this soup I think of her and miss her a little. We lost connection a long time ago when my family moved.
I hope you enjoy this soup. Make it for your friends and family, with some rice and side dishes, and enjoy it together!
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 2 pounds of napa cabbage with the leaves split
- 10 large dried anchovies, heads and guts removed
- ¼ cup doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste)
- 1 or 2 green chili peppers, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 7 cups of tteumul (or water with 2 tbs flour)
- 1-2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) (optional, if you want it more spicy)
Directions
Collect tteumul (water from washing rice)
- Place some rice (at least 3 cups) in a washing bowl and cover it with cold water, stirring the rice carefully.
- Tilt the bowl and slowly pour out the water, ensuring not to lose any rice (alternatively, drain the rice through a strainer and return it to the bowl). Repeat this process once more.
- Swish the wet rice around in the bowl with one hand, then fill the bowl with about 7 cups of cold water. Pour the white rice water into a separate bowl to collect it. Measure 7 cups for your baechu-doenjangguk and set it aside.
How about the rinsed, damp rice?
Make fluffy white rice with it, of course! It’s already rinsed and ready, so you can use a rice cooker or make rice on the stove. It will go well with this soup.
Prepare the cabbage
- Place the anchovies in a soup strainer or wrap them in cheesecloth. Set aside.
- Blanch the cabbage in a large pot for 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Strain and rinse the cabbage in cold running water in a large bowl, changing the water a few times until very clean. Drain and gently squeeze out excess water.
- Chop the cabbage into small pieces and transfer to a large pot.
Make soup!
- Add doenjang, green chili pepper, and garlic to the cabbage, mixing well by hand. Add the strainer of anchovies.
- Add the tteumul (rice wash water) and cover. Cook for 15 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Stir the soup with a ladle, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for additional 15 minutes. If you want a spicy version of this soup, you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), depending on your taste.
- Remove the anchovy strainer and serve the soup with rice, kimchi, and more side dishes!
Enjoy your hearty and healthy baechu-doenjangguk!
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
Hi Maangchi,
Accidentally I put in two tablespoons of polenta (corn flour) instead of all purpose flour.. Whoaa, big shock :S.
I scraped some out and put in the tablespoons of flour. Turned out great after all.. Love the recipe!
Thanks :)
oh, yeah? corn flour worked well? Nice!
Hi Maangchi,
I just made a pot of this soup this afternoon… as you know, it’s pretty cold in the NYC area today, and this soup is excellent for a cold day.
This is an excellent recipe… I substituted a teaspoon of the Korean fish sauce that is used in kimchi for the anchovies, and it tasted pretty good.
Thanks for this and all of your other recipes! Great website.
I’m glad you like this recipe!
If I don’t have anchovies or the container you used for them, is it possible to use Japanese dashi powder as a substitute? I haven’t been to H-Mart in a long time, but I do have a box of dashi in a cabinet.
Sure, try it out with the dashi powder.
When I hear this music, it makes me think of Jewel of the Palace and makes me want to eat! This looks so good!
hey, manggchi… when making this 국, can i add 두부?
I usually don’t add tofu to this soup, but why not? : )
Hello,
I made this tonight and it was sooo tasty. I let my little Lily taste the broth and she loved it! So it’s a big thumbs up for this soup from us!
wow, I’m so happy to hear that Lily loves the soup! : )
hi maangchi!!!!! i made this for dinner tonight with miso instead since i didn’t have korean bean paste – it is SO GOOD!!!!!!!! thank you so much for this yummy recipe :)
cool! yeah, it’s very easy and delicious, right?
Hi Maangchi,
I been following your website for over a year now. I love Korean food ever since watching 大長今. There was so much food involve in the series. Makes me so hungry when I watch it ^_^
You make Korean food look so simple. I showed my mom baechu doenjang guk video, b/c we have never heard/seen Korean cabbage soup sold in resturants (Toronto). And wow its so delicious!!!!
My mom normally makes Tofu soup, pork bone soup, ginseng Chicken Soup, and bulgogi pork by following your videos. And my experiences w/ your receipes are always delicious!
This past summer I went to Jeju, Busan and Seoul for 5 days. In Busan, I had this yummy fish soup at a local specialty Fish resturant that i can’t seem to find a receipe for. I see you have a receipe for Spicy fish soup (maeuntang), but the one I ate wasnt spicy. I have no idea what its called in Korean. I hope you can help me.
Thanks for all your yummi food.
jewels =)
I bet the fish soup you are talking about is Daegu tang. http://ojsfile.ohmynews.com/STD_IMG_FILE/2008/1223/IE000998043_STD.jpg I don’t have a recipe but this is what alot of Korean fish places serve as a non-spicy soup.
yeah, non-spicy fish soup is so delicious, too! To make it, you will have to find very fresh fish, Otherwise it will be too fishy. : ) (heh, fish should be fishy! lol)
Yes, someday I will post the recipe! Thanks a lot!
yes you are right! amazing enought the fish soup in Busan had no fishyness at all. My bf and I was soooo amazed. b/c we both dislike fish soups due to fishyness.
But at the time, we walked in a specialty fish resturant in Busan w/out knowing, thinking we can get pork belly grill =)
the waitress knew no English, so all they did was point to the other tables eatting, and well we ordered their special …w/ no regrets! amazing fish soup we ever had!
jewels =)
can’t wait to try this out… :) thanks for the recipe maangchi… i’m looking forward to making this!
I used a combination of potato starch and corn starch instead of flour and it turned out great! Even my 19 month old son liked it. :-)
Thanks for posting such a great recipe.
Maanghchi,
it is 12am and your blog is driving me crazy. I wish I can teleport your food from my computer. so hungry now. ahhh
aww, you are funny!
Another tasty recipe to try ^_^ thanks Maangchi. I think I’ll add an egg to this soup since I’m craving eggs too heh.
i love ur cooking and a big fan of ur recepies
very nice and entertaining too.
Thank you very much!
Is the soybean paste and Japanese miso the same?
yes, similar, but the flavors are a little different.
Is there a way to make this soup vegetarian? I’d really like to try it – it looks delicious! And all the food I’ve made from your recipes have turned out very good. =)
Use dried kelp instead of dried anchovies, then. Dried kelp:
https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/kelp
Aloha, Maangchi!
So nice to have you back again. Loved your background music (from one of my most fav kdramas–Dae Jang Geum). Your soup looks delicious, especially with the bap.
heh, it sounds like you know how to eat that soup! : )
hahahah! maangchi!!!! the theme from 대장금 goes so well with your actions and plot! You made such a wonderful decision for the background music for this recipe~~ it’s like the show could have really used some shots from your video :D
Thanks a lot!
My husband can’t have wheat (like all purpose flour). Would rice flour, cornstarch, or potato starch work?
i would expect that any kind of starch will make the soup jelloy and thick.. i do not believe that is the purpose of putting flour in it. Instead it gives the creamy feel to the soup. I think rice flour would be better. let’s see what maangchi says.
According to Maangchi’s blog, her mother used rice water… which was loaded with rice starch, but not rice bits (rice flour is made of ground dry rice). This and your comment got me thinking. Usually we use cornstarch or potato starch for thickening other soups, which is common in gluten free cooking. My concern with rice flour is it might add too much graininess.
I think we’ll actually try cornstarch (or a mix of a few)which will add a thickness… and is something I’m more accustomed too with soups anyways. I just wasn’t sure how that would affect the flavor or if someone already tried a non-wheat version.
Thank you for posting this recipe maangchi! it’s funny that you post this now actually, because i was planning on going on a diet with most of my meals being korean food =D so when you mentioned in your video that this was a healthy soup, i was very glad XD and the other day, i was debating what i should do with the doenjang in my fridge before it goes bad XD! so yaaay!
: ) I should make more baechu doenjang guk tomorrow, too! haha, debating what to do with your doenjang in the fridge? now no problem!
Hello Maangchi ! This is one of my favorite soups. I really like eating it in the winter too ! Thanx.
cool, it sounds like you already knew the recipe.
I love this soup but I did not know flour is one of the ingredients. I don’t cook usually but this is easy enough I can try~ Thanks Maangchi!
You are very welcome! If you make it, let me know how it turns out,
Wow Maangchi. You make it look so, so simple. My son and I enjoyed watching your video. You made both of us laugh and hungry at the same time.
Thank you for enjoying my video recipe!
hi maangchi, i was wondering why you said shiraegi (garbage?) in the video once and not another time. looks good! and you’re right i haven’t met a korean who didn’t like this either
shiraegi(시래기) in Korean is different from sseuraegi (쓰레기:garbage) in Korean.
: )
When you make kimchi, you need baechu (napa cabbage). We usually take off the outer leaves because the leaves have some holes or some part of the leaf is rotten. If you make 10 heads of cabbage, the amount of the outer leaves will increase. We blanch these leaves to make soup, and sometimes dry them for winter. It’s called shiraegi. This is a way of saving money and cabbage.
The soup restaurant that I mentioned on my blog makes doenjang guk using shiraegi instead of inner part of cabbage. These days, cabbage is cheap and not many people use shiraegi to make doenjang guk. So I was supposed to say in the video “baechu doenjang guk” instead of “baechu shiraegi guk”.
Thanks for the cool lesson!
Hello Maangchi!! I’m so glad there is a doengjang soup I can make now..it’s getting pretty cold and I definitely have been craving to eat some warm soup every night. I will make this soon when I get one more cabbage! Thank you so much!! And the tofu side-dishes are making my mouth water, better make that soon as well too =) I saw you’re Guatemala pictures too! I would love to see the rest, it’s so interesting the places you visit, makes me very interested to go see them one day as well =]
I’m glad you like my recipes!
When you make this soup and tofu side dish, please update me.
Yes, I will post the photos that I took during my trip soon.
Thank you!
Yay!!! Thank you for posting the recipe for the soup. I can’t wait to make it :-D
yay! cheers! : )
I made this for lunch, I even measured the ingredients ;-)
It is delicious. This will be my new favorite for a few weeks.
It is easy and inexpensive to make.
Thank You Maangchi,
Oh and is there a beef version?
I think I would like to try beef and no anchovies.
yes, you can replace dried anchovies with beef if you are not a big fan of dried anchovies. Chop beef (about 200 grams for this recipe) into very small pieces.
I love anchovies. This is one of my tricks to get my western children loving Korean food. I will make this a couple of times with beef. Then I will make it with beef and a couple of anchovies, then I will leave out some beef.
I do a similar trick with kim-chi. I make “cabbage salad” with all the kim-chi ingredients. I leave out the fish sauce and I serve it fresh.
I am getting them to like it this way first.
Half of my kids love seafood so I sometimes make jjompong with seafood and sometimes with pork.
They all love bulgogi and the chicken wings.
My goal is to get as many westerners as possible to eat and LOVE Korean food.
Thank you for posting yet another fantastic recipe! I’m in love with Korean foods now and will continue to try out more dishes. Korean foods are full of various soups and stews which I welcome them for this coming winter.
yes, make your stomach warm just as I mentioned on my blog. : )
It’s great to see a new video! I hope you had a nice time on your vacation! This soup looks very delicious, and like you said it is very healthy! A perfect soup to eat in January for a “New Years Diet”! :)
yeah, I am already on a diet now. My weight control diet is very simple. I reduce the amount of food that goes into my mouth. lol
This soup is very healthful as you see the ingredients.
OMG this soup looks delicious !!!! i cant wait to try it
cool!
Welcome back, Maangchi ssi! ^^ Thanks for the new recipe, can’t wait to try it out…also going to try making it Halmoni’s way with the rice water. ^^
Kamsahamida!
haha, rice water, why not?
Yay, a new recipy! Great! Fast to make and easy to get ingredients.
yes, you will love it.
You where right, it was delicious!
I used your tip and added hot pepper paste before simmering.
Delicious!
yeah, you are back!!! hope you had a nice vacation! and thx for this simple yummp recipe :b
Thank you!
I’m so happy you posted this recipe. My Korean friend gave me some of this soup that she had made and I loved it. Today I bought cabbage and was wishing I had this recipe. I was going to make a salad with the cabbage if I couldn’t find a recipe for this soup.
Thank you,
Sylvia
What a coincidence!
I LOVE this soup! Sometimes this soup is served to us while we are waiting for our meals at the Korean restaurant we usually go to. I love drinking this soup. Thanks so much for posting this soup recipe. I can make my own now.
glad to hear that. Don’t forget to let me know how your soup turns out.
What kind of flour do u use?all purpose flour?it seems simple 2make. I’ll try soon!thank u!
all purpose flour! : )