Beef Ugeoji Doenjang-guk Recipe (Napa Cabbage Soybean Soup)

5~6

Beef – 300g (about 10.6 oz; use beef soup meat such as brisket or shank)
Blanched ugeoji – 400g (about 14.1 oz; outer napa cabbage leaves, often sold pre-blanched; can substitute with blanched napa cabbage leaves if unavailable)
Water – 1L (about 4 cups)
Beef bone broth – 500g (about 17.6 oz; sagolyuksu, Korean beef bone broth; can substitute with store-bought beef broth)
Green onion – 200g (about 7 oz)
(1 T = 15 ml / 0.5 fl oz, 1 t = 5 ml / 0.17 fl oz)

Gochugaru – 3T (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
Doenjang – 2T (Korean fermented soybean paste)
Myeolchi aekjeot – 2T (Korean anchovy fish sauce; can substitute with regular fish sauce)
Guk-ganjang – 2T (Korean soup soy sauce; can substitute with regular soy sauce plus a pinch of salt)
Mirin – 2T (Korean cooking wine; can substitute with rice wine)
Minced garlic – 1T
Beef dashida – 1T (Korean beef broth seasoning powder; can substitute with beef bouillon powder)
Pepper – 0.3T
(1 T = 15 ml / 0.5 fl oz, 1 t = 5 ml / 0.17 fl oz)

Cut the ugeoji into bite-sized pieces and wash it thoroughly, then set it aside in a bowl.
Trim the green onion and cut it into bite-sized pieces as well.
Mix all the sauce ingredients together ahead of time to make the seasoning sauce.
In a pot, add 200ml of water, the beef, and a pinch of salt, then stir-fry over high heat.
Once the beef is no longer pink and the water starts to boil, add the ugeoji and stir-fry together for another 2–3 minutes.
Add 1L of water along with the seasoning sauce you made earlier, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the beef bone broth and green onion, then simmer for another 5 minutes and it's done.
Tip.Stir-frying the ugeoji with the beef first helps the seasoning soak in more deeply for a richer flavor. Adding the beef bone broth at the end gives the soup a deeper, more robust taste.