Baechu Namul Muchim
Quick answer
- Total time
- 15 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 7
About this dish
Baechu namul muchim dresses briefly boiled napa cabbage with doenjang, soup soy sauce, perilla oil, and perilla powder.
Read more
Cut 350 g napa cabbage into 4 to 5 cm chunks, keeping some of the thick white stem and softer leaf together in each piece. Lower the cabbage into boiling water for exactly 2 minutes. The thin leaves should soften fully while the stems retain slight resistance. Move it directly into cold water to stop further cooking, then squeeze it firmly in small batches until almost no liquid drips out. Cut the drained cabbage again into 3 to 4 cm lengths and loosen the pieces in a wide bowl. Add 1 tablespoon doenjang, 1 teaspoon soup soy sauce, 0.5 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon minced scallion, and 1 tablespoon perilla oil. Work the seasoning through the cabbage gently by hand so it reaches both the folded leaves and thicker stems. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon perilla powder last and fold only a few times. The powder absorbs the small amount of moisture left on the cabbage and turns the seasoning into a coating that adheres instead of pooling at the bottom. Thorough squeezing keeps the doenjang and soy sauce from becoming diluted, while using only the measured perilla powder prevents a dry, heavy finish.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Heat
Cut 350 g napa cabbage into 4 to 5 cm chunks, keeping the thick white stems and the softer green leaves together so both parts enter the pot at the same time and cook evenly.
- 2Heat
Lower the cabbage into a rolling boil and cook for exactly 2 minutes so the thin green leaves turn fully soft and silky while the thick white stems still offer a slight resistance when bitten.
- 3Season
Move the cabbage straight into cold water to stop cooking quickly, then squeeze firmly with both hands in small batches until no more liquid drips out, preventing the seasoning from becoming watery.
- 4Season
Cut the tightly squeezed cabbage into 3 to 4 cm lengths and spread them in a single loose layer in a wide mixing bowl so every strand has room to absorb the seasoning evenly.
- 5Season
Add doenjang, soup soy sauce, minced garlic, minced scallion, and perilla oil to the cabbage, then work the seasoning in by hand, rubbing and pressing gently so it penetrates the porous leaf cells rather than sitting on the surface.
- 6Season
Scatter 1 tablespoon of perilla powder over the top and fold gently a few times until the powder dissolves into the liquid and thickens the seasoning into a pale, nutty coating that clings to every strand.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Boiled napa cabbage dressed in doenjang and perilla, where leaves go fully silky while the white stems keep a faint bite.
- Finish cue
- Lower the cabbage into a rolling boil and cook for exactly 2 minutes so the thin green leaves turn fully soft and silky while the thick white stems still offer a slight resistance when bitten.
- Substitution
- The powder absorbs the small amount of moisture left on the cabbage and turns the seasoning into a coating that adheres instead of pooling at the bottom.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
15min, 7 ingredients
Category median
17min, 7 ingredients
Based on 109 recipes
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