Pa muchim is strips of green onion in a flavorful sauce. It’s one of the easiest and must-have side dishes for your K-BBQ!
Pa muchim, also known as Pajeori, is thinly sliced green onion seasoned with a spicy, savory, and tangy sauce. This side dish is super quick and easy to make at home, and it’s perfect with samgyeopsal, bossam, bulgogi, or galbi! Definitely, my personal favorite because of how simple, delicious, and versatile it is!
If you’ve been to Korean BBQs, you’ve probably seen this because it’s a very common banchan. In my opinion, though, this is also the most important because this alone complements the meat with freshness, spice, and so much flavor. You don’t really need a lot of seasoning in the meat, you just need this side dish!
Ingredients for Korean Scallion Salad
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- Scallions – Use the big stalks so you can yield more strands of green onion. Leeks are also a great alternative.
- Onion – While it’s okay to use just scallions, I wanted to add onion and/or even soybean sprouts for more texture.
- Soy Sauce – For savor
- Apple Vinegar (or Sweet Vinegar) – For tanginess
- Sugar – To balance the savor and tang
- Gochugaru – For spice
- Sesame Oil and Sesame Seeds – For the earthy and nutty aroma and texture. As a pro tip, crush the sesame seeds for more flavor!
- Sprite – This is my secret–it just adds a bit more sweetness and zing to the sauce.
How to Make Pamuchim & Expert Tips in Preparation
Slicing the Scallions & Onion
- Remove the main roots of the scallions, then separate the bottom white part from the leafy part.
- Make an incision in the middle, lengthwise, and spread out the leaves to flatten them. Remove any tough core as needed, but keep the “sheets” of scallions.
- Fold the flattened scallions from top to bottom, about 3-inch in every fold, so it’s much easier to slice thinly.
- Once it’s folded, slice it thinly, from right to left. Slice as thinly as possible, take your time, and be careful as you do it. The goal is to make as many thin strings of scallions as possible.
- Afterwards, fluff the sliced scallions and set aside.
- Slice the onion thinly and combine with the scallions.
NOTE: Pre-shredded scallions are also available in Korean markets like Hmart, so you can use that too! That way is easier, but chopping scallions yourself is fresher, your choice!
Preparing the Scallions
To reduce the spice and slime of the scallions (and the onion), soak them in cold water for 10-15 minutes, drain, then pat dry. However, if you find the spice tolerable, you can skip this step.
As a quick tip, you can slice the scallions ahead of time, then store them in a plastic bag lined with a paper towel and place them in the fridge. Once ready to use, you can do the aforementioned method to make them crunchy again.
Preparing the Pamuchim Dressing
In a bowl, combine soy sauce, apple vinegar, sugar, gochugaru, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and Sprite. Mix it well, taste and adjust to your liking, then set aside.
It is important to note that you should only combine the scallions and the sauce once you are ready to consume them, as the scallions will quickly water down and wilt because of the salt content of the sauce. You want to keep it as crunchy and fluffy as possible while eating your Korean BBQ.
Essentially, you can prepare both in advance and set aside for later use.
Serving Korean Scallion Salad
The best way to eat this is to take a piece of meat, put it on top of the salad, then scoop it all together. Eat these all in one bite, and I’m sure you will never eat Korean BBQ any other way again!
Consume this immediately and simply make another batch as needed.
Other quick and easy side dishes you need in your KBBQ:
- Jalapeño with Ssamjang
- Gamja Jorim
- Kongnamul Muchim
- Buchu Kimchi
- Korean Corn Cheese
- Gyeran Jjim
- Soy Marinated Onion
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Korean Scallion Salad (Pamuchim)
Ingredients
- 2 stalks Big Green Onion, Scallions, or Leeks (100-120 grams)
- 1/4 large Onion
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Pepper Flakes
- 2 tbsp Apple Vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tbsp Sprite
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Cut off the root of the scallion, then separate the white and leafy parts.
- Take the white part, make an incision in the middle to spread it flat.
- Once laid flat, roll it into a 3-inch length from top to bottom. Once rolled, thinly slice from right to left. Do the same thing to the leafy parts.
- Afterwards, slice the onion thinly.
- Fluff the scallions, combine them with the onion, and set aside.
- In a bowl, combine soy sauce, pepper flakes, apple vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, Sprite, and sesame seeds.
- When ready to consume, drizzle the sauce on top of the scallions, mix well, and enjoy with Korean BBQ!
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