Chef Jeong-sun
Aehobak-guk (애호박국, Korean Zucchini Soup)
A clean summer soup of Korean zucchini and salted shrimp, built on quick anchovy-kelp broth and finished before the half-moons lose their shape on a weeknight table.
Culinary Explorer
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Ugeoji-guk (Cabbage Leaf Soup)
Created by
The soup made from cabbage leaves other cooks throw away, parboiled until tender, rubbed with doenjang and garlic, then simmered until the broth tastes deep and plain.
Soups & Stews
Korean
Comfort Food
Weeknight
Budget Friendly
25 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 10 min total
Yield4 servings
Ugeoji-guk begins at the market edge, where the outer cabbage leaves are too green, too torn, too tough for neat kimchi, so careless hands discard them. Korean kitchens did not. They boiled them, squeezed them, seasoned them, and made soup. Cook the month you're standing in: late autumn and winter cabbage gives the best leaves, especially around kimjang, when every house suddenly has more outer leaves than pride.
The whole dish lives or dies before the soup pot. If the ugeoji (outer cabbage leaves) is only briefly blanched, it fights your teeth no matter how long the broth simmers. Parboil it until the thick ribs bend easily, then squeeze it dry and rub the seasoning into the leaves with your hands. This is not decoration. The paste has to enter the folds before the broth can carry it.
Notebook 38 says 3 tablespoons doenjang for 500 grams blanched leaves and 6 cups broth. Your doenjang may be saltier than mine, so taste before you add soy sauce. 손맛 is real; I measure it anyway. Serve this with rice and one sharp kimchi, and you have a table that wastes nothing and apologizes for nothing.
Ugeoji-guk belongs to Korea's frugal home cooking, especially the late-autumn and winter season when napa cabbage was trimmed in quantity for kimjang and the coarse outer leaves were saved instead of thrown away. Ugeoji refers to blanched outer cabbage leaves, while siraegi refers to dried radish greens, two humble preserved greens often confused outside Korea but treated differently in the pot. The soup is not a court dish; it is household food shaped by storage, thrift, doenjang, and the need to feed rice well.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
napa cabbage outer leaves (ugeoji)
Quantity
500g
washed well, thick bases trimmed only if woody
water
Quantity
8 cups
divided
coarse salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
for blanching
anchovy-kelp broth or light beef broth
Quantity
6 cups
dried kelp (dasima)
Quantity
1 piece, about 4 inches square
if making broth
large dried anchovies (myeolchi)
Quantity
10
heads and guts removed, if making broth
doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste)
Quantity
3 tablespoons
soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang)
Quantity
1 tablespoon, plus more only if needed
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
minced
gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
perilla seed powder (deulkkae-garu) (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Korean radish (mu)
Quantity
150g
cut into 1/4-inch half-moons
onion
Quantity
1/2 medium
sliced
green chili (optional)
Quantity
1
sliced thin
scallions
Quantity
2
cut into 2-inch lengths
toasted sesame oil (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| napa cabbage outer leaves (ugeoji)washed well, thick bases trimmed only if woody | 500g |
| waterdivided | 8 cups |
| coarse saltfor blanching | 1 teaspoon |
| anchovy-kelp broth or light beef broth | 6 cups |
| dried kelp (dasima)if making broth | 1 piece, about 4 inches square |
| large dried anchovies (myeolchi)heads and guts removed, if making broth | 10 |
| doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste) | 3 tablespoons |
| soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang) | 1 tablespoon, plus more only if needed |
| garlicminced | 2 cloves |
| gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
| perilla seed powder (deulkkae-garu) (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| Korean radish (mu)cut into 1/4-inch half-moons | 150g |
| onionsliced | 1/2 medium |
| green chili (optional)sliced thin | 1 |
| scallionscut into 2-inch lengths | 2 |
| toasted sesame oil (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide pot with lid, 4-quart or larger
- •Tongs
- •Mixing bowl
- •Slotted spoon or fine strainer
Instructions
- 1
Wash the leaves
Separate the cabbage outer leaves and rinse them one by one, especially where dirt hides near the thick white ribs. Keep the ribs unless they are woody; they give sweetness once properly softened. Cut very large leaves in half crosswise so they fit the pot, but do not chop them small yet.
- 2
Parboil until giving
Bring 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon coarse salt to a boil in a wide pot, then add the cabbage leaves and turn them with tongs. Cover and boil 10 to 14 minutes, until the thick ribs bend easily when pinched. This is the step people rush. If the leaves still spring back stiffly, the finished soup will chew like rope.
Older winter leaves may need the full 14 minutes. Young tender leaves may be ready at 8 minutes, but judge by the rib, not the clock. - 3
Rinse and squeeze
Drain the leaves and rinse briefly under cool water so you can handle them. Squeeze firmly in both hands until they stop dripping, then cut into 2-inch pieces. Squeezing matters because watery leaves dilute the doenjang and keep the seasoning on the surface.
- 4
Build the broth
If you are making anchovy-kelp broth, put 6 cups water, the kelp, and the cleaned anchovies in a pot over medium heat. Pull the kelp out as soon as the water begins to simmer, before it turns the broth slick and bitter. Simmer the anchovies 10 minutes more, then remove them. If you already have light beef broth, warm 6 cups of it now.
- 5
Season the ugeoji
In a bowl, rub the squeezed cabbage with the doenjang, soup soy sauce, garlic, gochugaru if using, and perilla seed powder if using. Use your hand and work the paste into the folds and ribs. The leaves are already cooked, so this is where the flavor enters them; dropping plain leaves into broth and hoping is not cooking.
- 6
Simmer the soup
Add the seasoned ugeoji, radish, and onion to the broth. Bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the radish is tender and the cabbage has lost its raw green edge. The broth should be cloudy brown from doenjang, savory but not heavy.
- 7
Taste and finish
Taste the broth before adding anything. If it tastes thin, simmer 5 minutes longer. If it tastes flat, add soup soy sauce 1 teaspoon at a time, up to 2 teaspoons. Add the green chili and scallions for the last 2 minutes so they stay clear and fresh. Stir in sesame oil only after the heat is off, if you want a rounder finish.
- 8
Serve with rice
Serve hot in deep bowls with rice and kimchi. The leaves should fold softly against the spoon, and the broth should taste of cabbage, soybean paste, garlic, and time, not salt first. This soup is better after 10 minutes of resting, when the ugeoji has settled into the broth.
Chef Tips
- •Do not confuse ugeoji with siraegi. Ugeoji is cabbage outer leaves, usually blanched and used fresh or frozen. Siraegi is dried radish greens, and it needs longer soaking and a different chew.
- •A safe shortcut is using frozen blanched ugeoji from a Korean market. Thaw it, squeeze it hard, then weigh 500g and season it as written. Do not skip the squeezing.
- •Use anchovy-kelp broth for a clean weeknight soup. Use light beef brisket broth when you want it richer, especially in winter, but keep the doenjang measure the same and adjust salt only at the end.
- •Perilla seed powder is optional, but it suits old cabbage leaves. It softens the edges of the doenjang and gives the broth a nutty body without making it sweet.
Advance Preparation
- •The cabbage leaves can be parboiled, squeezed, cut, and refrigerated up to 2 days ahead. Keep them covered, and season them only when you are ready to cook.
- •Blanched ugeoji freezes well for up to 2 months. Pack it squeezed dry in 500g portions so one packet makes one pot of soup.
- •The finished soup keeps 3 days refrigerated and reheats well over medium-low heat. Add a splash of water if the doenjang broth thickens overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 430g)
Calories
115 calories
Total Fat
3 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
2 g
Cholesterol
8 mg
Sodium
1170 mg
Total Carbohydrates
15 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
7 g
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