Doeujang guk (배추된장국) Soybean paste soup with cabbage

They serve this dish at school, and it's become the ultimate comfort food for me.  Rich, warm, and salty, it's the next best thing to chicken noodle soup when the nearest can of Campbells is halfway around the world.

Ingredients: (7-8 servings)
1/2 head of Chinese cabbage (~1kg)
300g stewing beef
1/4 Daikon radish
3 spoons garlic, chopped rough
1 big leek
3 sheets kelp 5cm square
10 cups water
1/2 cup doenjang paste (된장)
2 spoons red chili paste (고추장)
2 spoons soy sauce
pinch of salt and pepper

**Clean and slice the cabbage, leek, and radish.

Steps:

1. Soak beef in cold water ~30 minutes to remove blood.  Soak kelp in 10 cups water ~30 minutes to make a broth.
2. Slice the radish into large squares the thickness of a pencil.  Boil the cabbage briefly, drain, rinse with cold water, and pat dry.
3. Break up/cut the cabbage into pieces about the size of the radishes.  Mix in the radish, beef, 1/2 of the bean paste, and red chili paste.  Let everything sit for ~5 minutes.
4. Add mixture from Step 3 to the kelp broth.  Heat to a simmer over medium heat.  Using a sieve, add the rest of the soybean paste to the broth (you want the paste, but none of the bean pieces).  When the residue has filtered out completely, heat to boil, reduce to low, and simmer for an hour.
5. When the cabbage is well-cooked (it will be very limp), add leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, and soy sauce to taste.  Simmer until ready.

Notes:

- Can't find doenjang?  Japanese miso is very similar, the only difference is that Miso doesn't have whole bean pieces the way that doenjang does, which means that you won't have to filter out bean pieces in step 4.

- They also serve it at school with more than just cabbage.  I imagine any bitter, leafy vegetable would work.  Try and see!