Kongnamul Muchim is seasoned soybean sprouts. These are the easiest and one of the healthiest Korean side dishes you can make!
Soybean Sprouts are easy to grow at home and are very abundant in Korea. For this reason, this beansprout side dish is one of the most common banchan in any Korean home.
It’s very cheap, nutrient-dense, and easy to make! Give or take, you only need less than 15 minutes and some basic Asian seasonings to make this savory and delicious side dish.
This is a recipe coming straight from a Korean restaurant because this is usually served in KBBQs. You can have this side dish before and during your meals. It complements the meat and sometimes cleanses your palette before the next bite!
Kongnamul Muchim Ingredients
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Soybean Sprouts
As mentioned, beansprouts are very abundant in Korea. Usually, apart from growing these at home, you can find them in bags in grocery stores or farmer’s markets.
When you buy them, make sure to check their appearance because these vegetable easily spoils. It should have yellow heads with long, slender, white stalks. It should also be a bit shiny and brittle or crunchy upon touching.
If you see it wilted and brownish with a foul smell, that is a sign of spoiled beansprouts. Buy them when you are going to cook them, otherwise, store them in the fridge soaked in water to extend their shelf life. But it’s still best to cook/use them up right away.
Aromatics
For this recipe, we will be using garlic and scallions to add more freshness to the beansprouts.
Seasonings
For the seasonings, we will use soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt, and gochugaru. These will become a blend of umami, earthy, and crunchy sauce. Very simple, but very tasty!
Use the gochugaru only when you prefer the beansprouts to be spicy. Otherwise, you can skip them. Add only according to your spice tolerance as well!
How to Make Korean Soybean Sprout Banchan
The most tedious step for this recipe is removing the root in each beansprout. The only purpose for this is to make it look “clean”.
NOTE: To save time you can skip this step because the roots are edible anyway. You can just wash the beansprouts several times and discard any bad beans so the dirt can be thoroughly removed.
Now boil water in a deep pot. Once it is boiling, blanch the beansprouts in it for 4-5 minutes. Do not boil the beansprouts any longer. It will now look a bit translucent as it cooks.
After boiling, drain it in a colander and quickly wash it with cold water. This step is very essential to stop the cooking process from the residual heat. This will also help retain the crunch of the beansprouts.
Let it sit in the colander for 10 more minutes to thoroughly drain it. This is an essential step as well because the beansprouts water down easily so draining them keeps them from turning soggy.
Now, place the beansprouts in a bowl, add the scallions and garlic, and season them with soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and salt to taste. Optionally, add gochugaru.
Using your hands, gently massage the seasonings into the beansprouts. This is how a vegetable becomes a “muchim”, you are basically seasoning/ mixing it with a dressing.
Be careful not the break the stalks, but yes, use your hands for “sohn mat” or hand taste. This allows you to thoroughly mix in and evenly spread the sauce so you have a tastier side dish.
NOTE: You can use gloves for food safety purposes but since this is for personal consumption and as a Korean, I still highly recommend using your hands!
And you’re done! Plate, garnish with sesame seeds, and serve!
Serving and Storage for Korean Soybean Sprout Banchan
You can consume the beansprouts right away or store them in the fridge in an airtight container for about 3 days. As mentioned, beansprouts can quickly spoil so consume as soon as possible. It’s okay to have these cold or heated up in the microwave.
The light and refreshing taste of this banchan make it a really nice addition to any meal—whether it’s stew, stir fry, or grilled with rice, the seasoned beansprouts will come in handy so you can have veggies all the time. And this is also a bibimbap topping!
Bonus, this is a natural hangover cure! Check out other Beansprout recipes like Beansprout Soup, Acorn Noodle Soup, Hangover Ramen, and Dried Pollack Soup. You can save the blanching liquid from this recipe and make the soups I mentioned!
Other banchan recipes you may like:
- Korean Broccoli Banchan
- Korean Corn Cheese
- Green Onion Kimchi
- Cold Cucumber Soup
- Candied Sweet Potatoes
- Mini Beef Patties
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Korean Soybean Sprout Banchan (Kongnamul Muchim)
Ingredients
- 300 grams Soybean Sprouts
- 1 stalk Scallions Chopped
- 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1/2 tbsp Garlic
- Salt To taste
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 1 tbsp Gochugaru
Instructions
- Clean the beansprouts by removing the roots in each stalk to clean it.
- Boil water in a deep pot and once it is boiling, blanch the beansprouts for 4-5 minutes, do not boil it for any longer.
- After blanching, drain it with a colander, then immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Let it sit in the colander for 10 minutes to thoroughly drain.
- In a bowl, place the beansprouts, add the garlic and scallions, then season with soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and sesame seeds.
- Gently mix the beansprouts with your clean hands to season every strand. Be careful not to break the stalks apart!
- Taste and adjust with salt, and optionally, add gochugaru to make it spicy.
- Plate, garnish with sesame seeds, serve, and enjoy!
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