Korea · 15 min · Vegan · Side dish · For beginners
Pa Muchim
In German: Frühlingszwiebelsalat · In English: Korean Green Onion Salad
For 4 servings · US units
Korean green onion salad: fine slivers with gochugaru, sesame and soy, ready in 15 min.
Pa muchim is the side dish that pulls a Korean barbecue together: crisp, hair-thin slivers of green onion tossed in a dressing of gochugaru, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. It comes together in a quarter of an hour and works just as happily next to other Korean main dishes as it does beside the grill. Spicy, a little sweet, pleasantly sharp with vinegar — and very fresh.
Ingredients
- 7 ozGreen onionshredded lengthwise into fine slivers, briefly soaked in cold water
- 2 tspfor heat and colourKorean 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 tspSugarto balance the heat
- 2 tspVinegarwhite or cider vinegar work as well
- 1½ tbspSoy saucebase of the dressing
- 1 tbsptoastedDark 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
- 1 tbspSesame seedstoasted, tossed in and sprinkled over
- 1 clovesGarlicfinely minced, for the dressing (optional)
- 1 tbspfruity sweetener instead of or alongside the sugar (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
- 5cut into strips, for the mixed-salad version (optional)Large, serrated leaves of Korean perilla, a plant of the mint family, strongly aromatic with a note somewhere between mint, anise and fresh grass.Substitute: There is no equivalent substitute. Japanese shiso, a related variety, comes closest, but it is smaller, more delicate and tastes brighter and more lemony. For wrapping you can fall back on lettuce leaves, but then the very aroma that defines the dish is missing.Read more
- 5¼ ozlettucetorn by hand, for the mixed-salad version (optional)
- 1Carrotfinely julienned, for the mixed-salad version (optional)
- Saltto taste, when seasoning without soy sauce (optional)
Method
- Halve the green onions lengthwise and, on thicker stalks, cut out the firm core. Then slice them lengthwise into very fine slivers about 5 to 8 centimetres long.
- Drop the slivers into cold water for 2 to 5 minutes — add a splash of vinegar if you like. This rinses away the slippery sap and takes the harsh bite out of the onion.
- Drain the green onions well and shake off the excess water thoroughly, or spin them dry in a salad spinner. The drier they are, the better the dressing clings.
- For the dressing, stir together soy sauce, gochugaru, sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds in a bowl. Add finely minced garlic or plum extract if you want them.
- Toss the green onion slivers with the dressing, lightly but evenly — gloves, tongs or chopsticks work best so the delicate strands don't get crushed.
- Scatter the remaining sesame seeds over the top, pile it onto a plate and serve straight away, while everything is still crisp.
Tips and variations
Turned into a mixed salad, pa muchim becomes more of a dish in its own right: combine the green onions with hand-torn green lettuce, perilla leaves cut into strips and finely julienned carrot, and season only with salt, pepper, sugar, gochugaru and vinegar — leaving out the soy sauce and sesame oil. Asian leek works instead of green onions too; just remove the firm core from the white part. Korean plum extract lends the dressing a fruity sweetness, while minced garlic adds depth. It's at its best right alongside Korean grilled meat, but it goes with other Korean main dishes just as well.
Allergens
Contains: Cereals containing gluten, Sesame, Soybeans
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.
