Sweet & Sour Seaweed Salad (Miyeok Muchim)

Korean Seaweed Salad is a quick summer side dish you will love with your grilled meat! It’s sweet, sour, and super healthy! 

I was inspired to make sweet and sour seaweed salad, or miyeok muchim, because my wife recently gave birth. 

Our family, ever since, has been dropping off a lot of seaweed and seaweed dishes to help her with recovery. As a chef husband, of course, I wanted to make something other than seaweed soup to switch up it for my very strong wife! 

Health Benefits of Seaweed 

Seaweed is a common food ingredient in many Asian countries. It actually has many different forms. In Japan, it’s more common to use Wakame stems to make salad. In China, dried kelp or kombu is used to make stir-fried dishes. In the Philippines and Hawai’i, sea grapes are used to make salad. 

This gem is well-loved because of its soft yet crunchy texture. It has a fresh ocean taste that is perfect to be cooked in different ways. 

It’s not only because of the taste and versatility that it is a great food, but also because it is rich in nutrients and vitamins that are good for the body. That’s mainly why this is one of the recovery foods for Korean moms who recently gave birth. 

How to make Korean Seaweed Salad?

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For my take, I’ll be preparing miyeok muchim. “Muchim” means seasoned. This side dish is going to turn out “Sae-kom Dal-kom“ which means “Sour and Sweet”. You only need to prepare the seaweed and vegetables. Afterwards, place the seasonings directly on them and mix everything with your hand. We want that “sohn mat” for the hand taste. 

TIP: When you are mixing, be gentle to keep the vegetables from mushing together. 

Dried Seaweed

This is a pantry item that most Koreans commonly have. Rehydrate the seaweed by soaking it in water for 10-20 minutes. By then, it will bloom to almost 10x its original weight. 

TIP: Don’t soak it any longer than 20 minutes to keep the flavor of the seaweed. 

To prepare it for use, blanche for 1-2 minutes, wash with cold water, drain, and gently squeeze out excess water. The seaweed should turn bright green. I love having this ingredient around because it’s cheap and you can make a lot of dishes from it like Seaweed Soup and Cold Cucumber-Seaweed Soup. 

Vegetables

Vegetables will be an additional texture and fresh taste to the salad. I like to use garlic, onion, peppers, and cucumbers. You can also use carrots and radishes. Add these depending on what you like or what’s available to you! 

Julienne or thinly slice these veggies so it’s easier to grab with a chopstick or fork. 

Seasonings 

• White Vinegar. The secret ingredient to the dish. The sour kick from the vinegar is perfectly refreshing for the salad. 
• Sugar. The sweet component of the dressing that will balance the strong vinegar flavor. 
• Soy Sauce. The umami component of the dressing that will complement the sweet and sour taste of the other seasonings. 
• Plum Sauce. This is a unique Korean condiment that is sweet and tangy. I like adding this to many of my dishes for zing!
• Sesame Seeds. For a nutty and crunchy garnish to the salad.
• Salt. Season only to taste. This will help bring out the flavors of the vegetables added to the salad. 

Serving and Storage

This is best served cold for a refreshing twist to your meals! Highly recommend eating this with grilled meat like Soy Garlic Chicken BBQ, Spicy Chicken BBQ, or Chicken Teriyaki. For any leftovers, place salad in a clean container and store them in the fridge for a week! This salad is highly addictive so consume it in moderate amounts. 

It’s typical for Koreans to have about 7-8 side dishes ready in the fridge. Other refreshing banchan you might like: 

• Napa Cabbage Kimchi
• Radish Kimchi
• Water Kimchi
• Spicy Cucumber Salad
• Spicy Radish Salad

Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo! 

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Sweet & Sour Seaweed Salad (Miyeok Muchim)

Korean Seaweed Salad is a quick summer side dish you will love with your grilled meat! It’s sweet, sour, and super healthy! 

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time2 minutes mins

Total Time27 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: Miyeok Muchim, Sweet and Sour Seaweed Salad

Servings: 2 servings

Author: Chef Chris Cho

Ingredients

• 20 grams Dried Seaweed
• 1/2 Whole Red Onion Julienne
• 1 pc Cucumber Sliced moon-shaped
• 1/4 Whole Red Bell Pepper Julienne
• 2 cloves Garlic Minced

Dressing

• 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 3 tbsp Plum Extract
• 1/2 tbsp Garlic Minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
• 3 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
• Salt To taste

Instructions

• Soak dried seaweeds in cold water for 20 minutes. While waiting, prepare the aromatics and vegetables.
• Blanch bloomed seaweed for 2 minutes in boiling water.
• Drain and rinse it in cold water, then gently squeeze out any excess water from it.
• Chop the seaweeds into 1-inch pieces.
• Combine the seaweeds, red onion, bell pepper, and cucumber in a big bowl.
• Season with the sauce ingredients and toss lightly with your hands.
• Add salt to taste and enjoy!

Video

Posted By: Chef Chris Cho · In: Appetizers, Non-Spicy, Side Dishes, Vegetables and Fruits