Golbaengi muchim
Spicy whelk and noodle salad
Golbaengi muchim (골뱅이무침): spicy whelk salad with thin noodles
Golbaengi muchim belongs to Seoul's Euljiro, where a narrow 'golbaengi alley' of old bars has served this fiery salad to office workers after dark since the 1970s. Tender canned whelks are tossed with crunchy vegetables in a sweet, sour and spicy gochujang dressing, and piled beside thin wheat noodles that soak up the extra sauce. It is a bold sharing plate, best with cold drinks. Use whelks from a sealed, undamaged can: discard any can that is bulging, leaking or badly dented, or contents that smell off. The common mistake is dressing the noodles with everything else, which turns them into a soggy clump. Chef's tip: save 2 tablespoons of the can juice and mix it into the dressing; it carries the sweet sea flavour through the whole dish.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 3
Ingredients
- 14 oz canned whelks (golbaengi)can, drained (save 2 tbsp juice), large ones halved
- 5 ½ oz thin wheat noodles (somyeon)
- ½ cucumberhalved and sliced on the diagonal
- ½ onionthinly sliced and soaked in cold water 5 minutes
- ½ carrotcut into matchsticks
- 3 spring onionscut into 5 cm lengths and shredded
- 5 perilla leaves (optional)shredded
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 1 ½ tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 ½ tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 garliccloves, grated
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix 2 tbsp gochujang, 1 ½ tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes), 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 ½ tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 garlic and 2 tablespoons of the whelk can juice into a smooth sauce.
Step 2: Boil 5 ½ oz thin wheat noodles (somyeon) for 3 minutes, stirring, until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water, rubbing them to wash off the starch, then drain well and twist into small nests.
5 minStep 3: In a large bowl, toss 14 oz canned whelks (golbaengi), ½ cucumber, drained ½ onion, ½ carrot, 3 spring onions and 5 perilla leaves, if using, with the sauce until evenly red.
Step 4: Add 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil and 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds and toss again.
Step 5: Pile the salad on a platter with the noodle nests beside it. Everyone mixes noodles into the sauce as they eat. Eat within a couple of hours.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does golbaengi muchim take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 3 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of cucumber?
- Courgette, same weight (in salads, use young ones).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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