Korea · 15 min · Vegan · Side dish · For beginners
Buchu Muchim
In German: Koreanischer Schnittlauchsalat · In English: Korean Chive Salad
For 4 servings · US units
Korean garlic chive salad with gochugaru — on the table in 15 minutes
Buchu Muchim is a freshly dressed garlic chive salad, known in Korea as buchu geotjeoli — tossed and eaten right away, never left to pickle. The dressing of gochugaru (Korean chili flakes), soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil just clings to the green blades instead of weighing them down. Served at room temperature, it's the kind of side dish that takes fifteen minutes and wakes up any everyday plate.
Ingredients
- 7 ozwashed, cut into 4–5 cm lengthsFlat green allium leaves with a distinct garlic flavour, called buchu in Korean cooking.Substitute: Ordinary chives with a little finely chopped fresh garlic come close in flavour, but they are more delicate and wilt faster when fried or cooked into pancakes; for fillings and pancakes the green parts of spring onions will do at a pinch, though the garlic note is then missing.Read more
- 1Onionthinly sliced
- 1½ tbspfor colour and heat in the dressingKorean chili flakes made from sun-dried red chilies, ground coarse or fine. Bright red, fruity, mild to medium hot and slightly smoky.Substitute: The closest match is Aleppo pepper (pul biber) from a Turkish grocery, which is similarly fruity and mild but oilier, often salted and slightly tangier. In a pinch, mix sweet paprika with a little cayenne; this roughly matches colour and heat but not the fruitiness or texture. Ordinary crushed red pepper flakes are too hot to use in the usual quantities.Read more
- 2 tbspSoy saucebase seasoning of the dressing
- 1 tbspVinegarrice or apple vinegar
- 1 tbsptoasted, mixed in at the endDark oil pressed from toasted sesame seeds, with a strong, nutty, roasted aroma; usually added at the end in small amounts as a seasoning.Substitute: There is no real substitute, as no other oil carries the roasted aroma; at a pinch, a neutral oil with freshly pan-toasted, crushed sesame seeds helps, though the flavour stays clearly weaker.Read more
- 2 tspSugarbalances heat and acidity
- 1 tbspSesame seedstoasted, in the dressing and as topping
- 3 clovesGarlicfinely minced
- 1 tbspfruity sweetener, sugar as substitute (optional)Korean syrup made from green, unripe plums (maesil) steeped in sugar: sweet, fruity and tart.Substitute: There is no true equivalent. Honey or a light sugar syrup with a little lemon juice or rice vinegar matches the balance of sweetness and acidity, but the fruity, slightly almond-like plum aroma is lost; in marinades and dressings this is barely noticeable, whereas diluted as a drink the difference is obvious.Read more
- 1 tbspfor savoury depth; omit for a vegan version (optional)A clear, amber seasoning sauce made from salted, fermented fish, in Korea usually anchovies; very salty and deeply savoury.Substitute: Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce can be used one for one; it tastes slightly different but works well. There is no true fish-free substitute: light soy sauce with a pinch of salt provides salt and some savouriness, but not the fermented fish note.Read more
- 1¾ ozCarrotjulienned (optional)
- Black pepperground, to taste (optional)
Method
- Wash and drain the chivesWash the garlic chives several times in cold water, pulling out any wilted blades and trimming brown ends, then drain them well so the dressing doesn't turn watery later.
- Cut the chivesCut the drained garlic chives into lengths of about 4–5 cm.
- Slice onion and carrotSlice the onion thinly; if you're using the carrot, cut it into fine julienne.
- Mix the dressingFor the dressing, stir together the soy sauce, vinegar, gochugaru, sugar or plum syrup, the finely minced garlic, sesame oil and sesame seeds in a bowl until smooth. If you're not keeping it vegan, add the fish sauce here.
- Toss gently with the dressingAdd the garlic chives, onion and the carrot, if using, to the dressing and toss loosely with your hands or two spoons, just enough to coat, so the blades don't get bruised.
- Season and serveTaste and adjust, add black pepper if you like, scatter over sesame seeds and serve straight away at room temperature.
- Storing leftoversKeep any leftovers covered in the fridge and eat them soon — the salad keeps taking on the dressing as it sits.
Tips and variations
If your garlic chives are on the tough side, soak them for 10 minutes beforehand and rub off the stringy skins. Plum syrup sweetens more fruitily than sugar, and for deeper savoury notes you can work in salted shrimp (saeujeot) and beef stock powder (dasida) — both only if the dish doesn't need to stay vegan. Skip the gochugaru altogether and a dressing of olive oil, soy sauce, apple vinegar and brown sugar with oven-roasted garlic cloves works beautifully too. Serve it freshly tossed, at room temperature, as a side.
Allergens
Contains: Cereals containing gluten, Sesame, Soybeans
May contain if you use the optional ingredients: Fish
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
