This recipe is a country-style vegetable side dish. It’s simply seasoned with doenjang, fermented soybean paste, hence the name doenjang muchim. Young cabbage, called putbaechu or eolgari, is one of the vegetables commonly used for this dish. Any other green leafy vegetable would also work. Just remember to adjust the blanching time. You can add a little gochugaru (red chili pepper flakes) or gochujang (red chili pepper paste) to make it a bit spicy or sweeten it with a bit of sugar. I like to keep it simple and savor the unique, deep flavor of the doenjang.

Ingredients:

● 2 bunches young cabbage, putbaechu (about 300 grams each)

● 1 tablespoon (or to taste) doenjang, fermented soybean paste

● 2 teaspoons sesame oil

● 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Trim off the roots from the cabbage. Wash thoroughly until there is no sand in the water.

Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Add a tablespoon of salt. Blanch the cabbage until the white parts turn soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the cabbage from the pot and shock in cold water to stop the cooking.

Drain and squeeze out water. Cut into 5- to 6-centimeter lengths.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix everything well by hand. Let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes before serving for the flavor of the seasonings to seep into the cabbage.

By Ro Hyo-sun

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