Korean Chive Salad (Buchu Muchim 부추 무침)
Korean Chive Salad is probably one of the very first dishes I ever made after I married. As a newly wed, living in University of Florida’s married housing in Gainesville, we were invited to many impromptu BBQ’s arranged by other Korean student families in the same complex. And at one of parties, I tasted this Korean Chive Salad for the first time. For some reason, I don’t think I had this while I was growing up in Korea.. I certainly had Chive Geotjeori but not this kind of salad.
Wow.. I can’t believe this was more than 25 years ago.
I don’t remember many things from the past but somehow I always seem to remember those momentous occasions (😝hahaha, not sure how many people would refer to this kind of moment as such..) where I taste something really fantastic for the first time.
I still have a vivid memory of the scenery, the moment I enjoyed this wonderful dish made with fresh chives for the first time. Sitting on a warped old wooden picnic table in the shade, under a huge cypress tree with the somewhat eery Spanish moss hanging from its branches…eating this interesting dish made with chives…. thinking, ‘Wow, I need to learn how to make this. This is soo good, how all the flavors work just so well together!’
Looking back, due to the lack of good quality Korean groceries (there was only 1 Korean grocery store in the town of Gainesville with pretty sad groceries – e.g. I could only buy tteok that was frozen/thawed/refrozen for months that was all cracked and dry..) and the lack of funds (we lived a very frugal grad student life), I had to learn to make any and every Korean food that we missed. I learned to make our own Kalguksu, Jjajangmyeon, Kimchi and much more..even my daughter’s 100 day rice cake (Baekil Tteok 백일떡)!
Right, back to Korean Chive Salad. I just could not get over how all the flavors came together beautifully in my mouth. The touch of sweet, sour and salty soy vinegar dressing and the garlicky punch of fresh chives made it extra yummy. It was fresh but also pleasantly pungent. Not overly strong as a garlic sometimes can be.
When you have this buchu muchim with Korean BBQ meats, oh boy, you just can’t stop eating. Recently, many Korean BBQ restaurants serve something similar by making a light lettuce + green onion + chive salad to go with grilled meats but I still think this is the best way to enjoy the full fresh flavor of garlic chives.
What kind of Chive should I use for Korean Chive Salad?
For this Korean chive salad, you can use any kind of chives. The thicker, wider Korean or Chinese garlic chives are lot stronger in its garlic flavor when compared to the more common, thinner American chives which are quite delicate. Normally, with a Korean meal, the more pungent chives will work best since Korean dishes usually have a lot of garlic. If you are serving with more mild tasting dishes, you may want to use the more delicate, common chives.
** I made this dish months ago but somehow didn’t get a chance to post it. I was inspired to use the lovely garlic chive flowers that were flowering in my garden this summer!
If you have extra chives, you may also want to try making some Chive Pancakes (Buchu Jeon) –
Korean Chive Salad Recipe (Buchu Muchim)
Makes: 4 oz Cooking Time: 5 min Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 100g (4 oz) garlic chives (korean buchu)
- Chive Salad Dressing
- 1 1/2 Tbs soy sauce (jin ganjang) – authentic soy sauce should be gluten-free
- 1 tsp water
- 1 1/2 tsp korean chili powder (gochukaru)
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 Tbs rice vinegar
- 1/2 Tbs sesame oil
- Rinse chives and drain. Remove any brown ends. Cut into 2 in lengths.
- Make chive salad dressing by mixing all ingredients: soy sauce, water, chili powder, sesame seeds, sugar, rice vinegar and sesame oil.
- Toss cut chives with salad dressing. Serve at room temperature.
Korean Chive Salad (Buchu Muchim)
Ingredients
- 100 g garlic chives (korean buchu) (about 4 oz / 113.4 g)
Chive Salad Dressing
- 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce (jin ganjang)
- 1 tsp water
- 1 1/2 tsp korean chili powder (gochukaru)
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Rinse chives and drain. Remove any brown ends. Cut into 2 inch lengths.
- Make chive salad dressing by mixing all ingredients: soy sauce, water, chili powder, sesame seeds, sugar, rice vinegar and sesame oil.
- Toss cut chives with salad dressing. Sprinkle some extra sesame seeds on top. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
What’s the difference between Buchu Kimchi 부추 김치, Buchu Geotjeori 부추 겉절이, Buchu Muchim 부추 무침?
As you may know already, generally Geotjeori is a type of Kimchi that is served fresh (not fermented), right after it is made. Vegetables are not put in brine but left fresh and tossed in seasoning that almost always includes some type of fermented fish or shrimp sauce (jeotgal 젓갈) which makes it belong the the Kimchi category.
Muchim (which means to toss), on the other hand, is more lighter tasting, usually without any addition of jeotgal which gives it a fresher and lighter taste. Mainly why I decided to call it a ‘salad’.
Buchu Kimchi is made by first pickling the buchu in fish sauce, then seasoned and fermented for a few days. Buchu Kimchi usually has a strong fish sauce flavor which goes wonderfully well with pork soups/pork.
Note that you can also just leave Buchu Geotjeori for few days to ferment and enjoy it almost like Buchu Kimchi.
Notes
- This salad can be served right after it is dressed. It can also be left in the fridge for 2-3 days in which case the sauce will be well absorbed into the chives. Sprinkle some extra sesame seeds right before serving.
- Serve with any grilled meats (especially un-marinated Korean BBQ pork bellies and rib eye) as a side dish.
this is always my go to buchu recipe (other than buchu jeon) whenever I chance upon this veggie in the market.
Love to hear that!! It’s such a simple yet delicious way to enjoy buchu right? Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Happy Holidays!
Can I store this in the fridge for a few days?
yes you can! But note the chives will get a bit wilted and become more like kimchi – which is fine but just letting you know. Enjoy!
This is excellent. Our garden is full of chives and here in Prescott AZ the altitude makes them a little stronger in flavor than store bought. I made this and found it very very good. Ok I’m a European descent my wife is Korean. I’ve been eating proper old style Korean cuisine for over 40 years. I highly recommend this as a side to steak dishes as well as lamb.
I am so happy to hear that. Thank you so much for sharing this. So good to know!!
I bought a bunch of korean chives and it was so crazy enormous! I made a double recipe of this delicious salad, we had some rolled into vegetarian tofu ssam and everyone loved it :))
I had so many chives i also made your chive pancakes two days in a row!
Haha I love it!! Yup – that’s what happens with me too sometimes. You have chives coming out of your ears!! Isn’t Chive Salad the best?? So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for letting me know – it’s always so gratifying to know that readers actually enjoyed my recipes.