Muchim is a hard word for me to describe. This dressed green onion “salad” lives in the banchan category, another word that doesn’t seem to fit its English translation of “side dish”. It’s easier to explain banchans and muchims as exclamation points to the main dish you’re eating. You don’t want multiple punctuations in a row to confuse the point you’re trying to make. These little side dishes, or toppings, or salads just make each bite exciting.

Pa Muchim 파무침 Green Onion Salad

Ingredients
About 2 servings

7 small Green onions (or 4 large)
1 tsp Gochugaru
3 tsp Rice vinegar
1 tsp Fish sauce
2 tsp Sesame oil
Pinch of sesame seeds
Pinch of salt to taste

Steps
1. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Starting from the white side of one green onion, cut at a sharp angle to make 3-inch slivers. Immediately put the thinly sliced pieces into the water.

2. Mix the rest of the ingredients together. Take the green onion pieces out of the bowl of water and shake off the excess water as much as possible. Mix the dressing and green onions together only when you are ready to eat it (the muchim will start to wilt right away).