Collard greens are not a familiar vegetable in Korean cuisine. However, since the vegetable is nutritious, healthy, and delicious, I wanted to use it in my cooking. First I tried to make kimchi with it, but it turned out too tough. Then I tried cooked collard greens at a BBQ restaurant in New York and I enjoyed the taste a lot. I wanted to develop a recipe that fits the Korean taste.

The first collard green recipe is based on an authentic Korean dish (note: I updated this recipe and improved it, making a new video for it and posting it on my website as Collard greens doenjang-bokkeum). I used to use napa cabbage leaves or radish leaves instead of collard greens. If I were still living in Korea, I would never think about using collard greens for the recipe. Since I am living in the USA, getting collard greens is easier than getting napa cabbage or radish leaves, and they are always cheap.

This recipe worked perfectly, even with the stems. When the stems are cooked they’re soft and crunchy just like broccoli stems.

In my second collard green recipe, I used roasted cashew nuts to make a milky broth. This is a completely vegetarian side dish. Adding a little bit of honey and vinegar worked perfectly. You could use this as a side dish for roasted turkey or chicken, fried chicken, and BBQ.

I made these dishes for my friends and got great feedback. Make both versions and let us know which one you prefer. A year ago, when I posted 2 kinds of soybean sprout soup: spicy or non-spicy, I ran a poll to see which one my readers preferred. The result shows more people prefer spicy to the non-spicy version.

Below is the recipe for the second dish in the video. The recipe for the first dish is here.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of collard greens
  • garlic
  • olive oil
  • ⅓ cup roasted cashew nuts
  • 1½ cup water
  • 3 cloves of minced garlic
  • 2 ts kosher salt
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tbs honey (or sugar)
  • 1 tbs vinegar

Directions

  1. Boil water in a large pot.
  2. Cut off the top tough part of the collard greens, and arrange the leaves side by side, stems and leaves.
  3. Add a handful of salt to the boiling water.
  4. Put the collard greens stem-first in boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Submerge them in the water by pressing them down with a wooden spoon.
  5. Close the lid and cook for 3 minutes.
  6. Drain the collard greens and rinse them in cold water a couple of times.
  7. Drain the water and chop the leaves into small pieces.
  8. Put them in a wok or cooking pot.
  9. Blend the roasted cashew nuts with the water in a blender for a minute. Add it to the pot.
  10. Add the minced garlic, kosher salt, olive oil, honey and vinegar. Mix it well with a spoon and bring to a boil over high heat.
  11. 10 minutes later, open the lid and mix it with a spoon and cook another 10 minutes.
  12. Transfer it to a serving plate and serve with rice or a meat dish such as roasted meat or BBQ.

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30 Comments:

  1. ddnorman Southern NH, USA joined 9/13 & has 75 comments

    Maangchi,
    I had to harvest my Collard Greens today! It was so cold (19° F) that they were frozen! However we thawed them out and made the Korean style recipe to see if they would be OK. They turned out deliciuos and we had them for dinner tonight. I think they will be a hit at Thanksgiving!
    감사합니다!
    Dave

    • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

      Hi Dave,
      I saw you uploaded your collard green dish photo on my website! It will be featured soon.
      I’m so happy to hear that you like this recipe. You can make this huge amount and keep it in the fridge up to 1 week. When you serve, take some and reheat it. I should make it soon because your colllard green dish sounds very delicious. : ) Keep warm with your wonderful food!

  2. ImHyeYeon Mendoza- Argentina joined 8/12 & has 5 comments

    hahaha >< thanks for the recipe!! I must tell that I totally HATE this vegetable… but now I can't stop eating! thanks so much!~ I'm from Argentina, and my dad is korean, but my mom is from here. I love korean food and culture!! besides, korean dishes make everything taste better!

  3. csh3prodigy philadelphia joined 11/11 & has 2 comments

    hi maangchi

    thanks so much for the great site. i’m about to try the second recipe with mu leaves but i
    have a question. the ingredients list honey but in the directions, you don’t mention the honey. when is it added and how much. also, my eemo sometimes adds a little 조선간장
    when making 나물. will that be ok in this recipe?

    thanks again for everything.
    take care and stay well
    c

  4. cosmos Nonsan, Korea joined 9/11 & has 1 comment

    Hello! I am so happy to have found your site! I am in Korea and figuring out how to cook new things with the new ingredients! If you were in Korea, what greens would you use? I see different ones and get a little intimidated… just because I don’t know what they are! or how best to cook them! i usually just mix them with other veggies in a stir fry but I am so excited to try new recipes! And it’s so great that all of yours are all on the stove- because that’s what I’m working with! I also have not done a ton of cooking in the past and am really excited to explore my creative cooking side! Thank you so much!

  5. DominiqueEchard North Carolina joined 5/09 & has 36 comments

    Maangchi, I’m so glad you mentioned radish leaves! I’m going to make this tomorrow to stretch out my jjajangmyun leftovers. I’ve got a HUGE bunch of young summer radishes that I don’t want to make into kimchi and I’ve been trying to figure out something to make out of them. So I think this dish with the greens and pickles with the radishes. I’m so happy!

  6. unchienne Georgia, USA joined 10/08 & has 15 comments

    Just made this tonight and it’s delicious. The only modification I made was that I cooked it quite a bit longer than the recipe called for. It’s just a personal preference, but I like my greens cooked to death. LoL

  7. Bell fresno ca 93703 joined 10/10 & has 3 comments

    Hi Maanhgchi, have you ever thought of mustard green kimchi, it is so good. I made it once and it was very delicious. you should try it. My mom would make it every summer.

  8. Just_Tina Washington DC Metro Area joined 7/10 & has 8 comments

    WOWEE!!! thanks, maangchi. i totally love greens (any kind: collards, kale, mustard, turnip, etc.) and i usually cook them traditionally as we do in the south, i.e., i use a smoked hamhock or turkey wing. However, I am always open to new ways of preparing greens and i totally love this korean twist. please post more recipes using greens!!!!

    BTW, i made doejibulgogi yesterday. wow, total YUM! last week, i made korean radish and beef soup and musaengchae. YUMMMMM!

  9. sirdanilot Terneuzen, The Netherlands joined 10/09 & has 25 comments

    I love that you take the ingredients of the country you live and adapt it to your own cuisine’s taste!

    I’m pretty sure this should work with kale too. It’s going to be in season here come winter so I might make it with that.

    In the spring here there is a vegetable that I think is young cabbage or radish leaves or something (not sure what plant it actually is), this sounds like an excellent recipe for that vegetable.

  10. eviLeviathanMaybe Philippines joined 4/10 & has 9 comments

    Love the background music! I love Clazziquai (and the recipe of course XD)! both dishes look appetizing! They both made me crave!

  11. Reinier Rotterdam, The Netherlands joined 2/09 & has 101 comments

    Great invention! Can you substitute collard greens with kale?

  12. heeheejung Santa Ana, CA joined 10/10 & has 1 comment

    Maangchi shi, your jokes are soooooo funny!!!!

  13. powerplantop Louisiana joined 6/09 & has 70 comments

    When I get back in the States I will try the Korean version.

    But now I also have to develop a Kimchi recipe for Collards that is not tough.

  14. leahangel Seattle, WA USA joined 9/10 & has 24 comments

    Both recipes look very B.B! :D

    Where did you get the idea of making a cashew sauce? That’s very unique!
    I’m going to have to try both recipes soon!

  15. Epicurean Adventure Minneapolis, MN joined 8/10 & has 30 comments

    My friend Lily had some collard greens growing in her garden the last time I was at her house when we made Kimchi together. I’m going to see if we can try making this recipe together. It looks really delicious. I’d probably prefer the Korean taste version. I don’t really like the cashew’s flavor.

    I’ll send you some photos when I make it!

    ~Will

  16. soko2usa Minnesota joined 4/09 & has 55 comments

    When you rinsed the collard greens in the cold water I was reminded of your naengmyeon video when you rinsed the noodles. It sounded just the same! I can’t wait to try this!

  17. jimin Oakville, Ontario . Canada joined 9/08 & has 18 comments

    That looks delicious and I love the way you show us how to plate them with your ojingajyut.

    I think you can use this recipe on most all stalky green vegetables. Is that right?

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