Korean Green Onion Salad, the Best Pa Muchim Recipe

Korean Green Onion Salad aka Pa Muchim 파무침, is the spicy, salty, tangy side dish you will not be able to stop making and eating. With only a few ingredients, and obviously no cooking, this recipe is too simple and quick! Shall we?

Explore More

• What is Spicy Green Onion Salad, aka "Pa Muchim?"
• What Ingredients You Need for Spicy Green Onion Salad
• How Many Green Onions in One Bunch?
• What's the Best Way to Slice Green Onions for Salad?
• How to Make Spicy Green Onion Salad
• Pro Tips, Tricks, and Techniques
• Ingredients Substitutions and FAQs
• Korean Green Onion Salad, Pa Muchim Recipe

This Spicy Green Onion... Salad? Or is it a slaw? Maybe some kind of Korean banchan appetizer thing? Whatever you call it, it's a a dead-simple Korean side dish of julienned green onions tossed with a supremely saucy flavorful dressing that's salty soy sauce, tart vinegar, and most importantly spicy gochugaru. Eat it as is, or add a chopstick-ful with a piece of grilled meat and a scoop of rice into a lettuce leaf for the perfect Korean ssam bite.

I wasn't kidding when I said this Green Onion Salad is my current hyperfixation, one of like, oh, three dishes I have been making on. the. daily. for the last few months. At first it's fresh and crunchy like a slaw, and the longer you let it sit in the tangy, vinegary dressing, it become slightly pickled, almost like a green onion kimchi.

Is Spicy Green Onion Salad Healthy?

Yes! Spicy Green Onion Salad is super healthy! Depending on your health needs and dietary considerations, of course. To be honest, I can't really think of a case in which the Spicy Green Onion Salad would not be healthy, unless maybe spice or acid from the gochugaru and/or vinegar causes heartburn or other gastric issue for you.

Dietary Considerations of Spicy Green Onion Salad

As published, this recipe for Spicy Green Onion Salad is:

• 100% plant-based, suitable for vegans
• vegetarian
• dairy-free
• gluten-free/wheat-free if you use tamari or gluten-free soy sauce
• grain-free
• refined sugar-free
• anti-inflammatory

What Ingredients You Need for Spicy Green Onion Salad

If you've spent some time around here and made some of the recipes, then you more than likely already have the pantry ingredients. If not, they're some of the easier ones to find at the grocery store.

Spicy Green Onion Salad fresh/refrigerator ingredients:

• green onions
• garlic - optional for flavor boost!

Spicy Green Onion Salad dry/pantry ingredients:

• apple cider vinegar
• gochugaru
• maple syrup
• tamari or soy sauce
• sesame oil
• toasted sesame seeds

How Many Green Onions in One Bunch?

Because green onions come in so many different sizes and shapes like so many um, other things, it's better to "measure" green onions by actual ounces or even in cups, not by number of green onions.

According to the USDA, an average green onion stalk weighs about ½ to ¾ ounces. Based on my own experience at grocery stores and farmers markets, the average bunch of green onions has 6-8 stalks, so 1 bunch of green onions is 3-6 ounces.

This recipe is a salad though, not precision baking, so it's ok to come close enough with the amount of green onions.

What's the Best Way to Slice Green Onions for Salad?

There are a couple of ways to slice green onions for Spicy Green Onion Salad, using a very sharp knife on a stable cutting board, or a special tool used specifically to slice green onions that you can get online and in some Asian grocery stores. Whatever method you use, the key is to finely julienne into the thinnest ribbons possible.

Use a Knife to Slice Green Onions.

Use a Special Green Onion Slicer.

Many Korean grocery stores sell pre-sliced green onions in the produce department or in the refrigerated section with other ready-made banchan.

Additional Ingredients Notes and Resources

Gochugaru: Gochugaru is a bright red chili powder made from a specific variety of Korean chili pepper. Its heat level ranges, but gochugaru is generally considered a medium spicy chili powder. Look for gochugaru for this recipe specifically, a coarse grind, or flakes, not a fine powder. You can find gochugaru in Korean grocery stores like H-Mart and other Asian grocery stores. I have also seen some independent, new-ish spice companies like this and this at Whole Foods. This organic brand and the one in the photo above, purchased at HMart, are currently what I have in my pantry.

Soy sauce or tamari: Tamari is Japanese-style soy sauce brewed without the use of wheat so it is gluten-free. If you are not sensitive to wheat, the two are essentially interchangeable, though tamari has a slightly high-toned tartness to it. I use this brand, which is organic.

Apple Cider Vinegar. Use whatever brand of apple cider vinegar "ACV" works for you, as long as it has the "mother," i.e. the little cloud floating inside. This is the well-known apple cider vineger brand that's available everywhere. This store brand tastes great and is generally slightly more affordable.

Sesame Oil. Use toasted, not regular, sesame oil. Toasted sesame oil is dark brown and is used as a finishing oil, not as a cooking oil. This is the Japanese brand I love. You can usually find organic like this one in natural and higher end grocery stores.

Sesame Seeds. Make sure the seeds are toasted. If they are not toasted, toss them in a hot, dry skillet over medium heat for about 90 seconds or until they are fragrant.

Onions, garlic, and all other fresh herbs and produce from either the Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Wednesday, or Whole Foods Market.

How to Make Spicy Green Onion Salad

Pro Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

Double, triple, or even quadruple the sauce. The amount of ingredients for the spicy sauce make about ⅓ cup, which fits this specific recipe for Spicy Green Onion Salad. But I highly recommend scaling up to make triple the amount of the sauce! Use the amount you need for the Green Onions, then store the rest in an airtight glass jar in the refrigerator. The sauce is great as an all-purpose spicy dressing over greens, grains, or even dip for fresh vegetables! Add some minced garlic for an extra layer of flavor.

Make double the amount of Spicy Green Onion Salad. If you make enough Spicy Green Onion Salad to eat now, it will be crisp and crunchy like a salad. If you make enough to save some for later, the Spicy Green Onion Salad will marinate in the sauce and become ever so lightly pickled and it will be another flavor dimension.

Ingredients Substitutions and FAQs

If you have trouble finding any of the ingredients for this recipe, here are some suggested substitutions and variations:

• Other vinegar for Apple Cider Vinegar. If you don't have apple cider vinegar, use any mild-ish vinegar like rice vinegar or white wine vinegar. You can even use lemon or lime juice, though you may have to increase the amount to get the same level of acidity. If you only have plain distilled vinegar, which is much sharper than the others, cut the intensity by using only half the amount and adding half lemon juice.
• Sub for Soy sauce/tamari - Substitute any kind of alternative soy sauce in the same amount like liquid aminos made from soybeans or coconut aminos if you avoid soy products.

Advance Prep, Leftovers, and Storage

Advance Prep

You can make the Spicy Green Onion Salad up to three days in advance. Depending on how "fresh" you want it to taste when you eat it, you can either:

• Prep and store the julienned green onions in an air-tight zipper top bag or container, make the sauce and store separately in an air-tight glass mason jar or container, and combine the two just before serving for the crispest crunchiest freshest flavor, or
• Make the Spicy Green Onion Salad and store the fully dressed salad, which will marinate and become slightly pickled over a few days.

Leftovers

Store leftover Spicy Green Onion Salad in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to three days, though the green onions will begin to soften and become slightly pickled in the dressing as mentioned above.

Pro-tip: Though traditional bibimbap doesn't include green onions, you can 100% throw leftover Spicy Green Onion Salad into the bowl and have double the spice and double the flavor dimension in your bibimbap!

Freezing

Spicy Green Onion Salad recipe does not freeze well.

Tools and Equipment

There isn't any special tool or piece of equipment that is absolutely required for this Spicy Green Onion Salad. You can make it using a sharp chef's knife on a sturdy cutting board to julienne the scallions! However, that isn't to say there are a few tools that might make it slightly easier to get the Spicy Green Onion Salad from the farmers market to your fork (or chopsticks), namely a green onion slicer!

• Green onion slicer
• Chef's knife, my personal workhorse
• Wooden cutting board, oversized for all those carrots
• Glass mixing bowls 
• Mini ¼-cup liquid measuring cup
• Mini whisk
• Glass storage container with airtight lids, perfect size for storing Spicy Carrots you make it in advance
• Glass mason jars, wide mouth because they're easier to use and wash
• Mason jar lids that are better than those horrible 2-piece metal lids

Best Spicy Banchan and Korean-ish Side Dishes

• Ssam Jang, Korean Spicy Gochujang and Doenjang Dip/Sauce
• Oi Muchim, Korean Spicy Cucumbers
• Din Tai Fung Spicy Cucumbers copycat, similar but different
• Korean Carrot Salad