Golbaengi-muchim: A Korean Side Dish to Pair with Alcohol

When it comes to Korean cuisine, many people are familiar with popular dishes like bibimbap and bulgogi. However, there's another side dish that's often overlooked by tourists and locals alike: golbaengi-muchim. This sweet, sour, spicy whelk dish is a staple at Korean bars and is typically served as a accompaniment to beer or soju.

Golbaengi-muchim is made with whelks, which are actually sea snails that have been cooked and canned. The whelks are usually served in a Korean grocery store, along with other canned seafood options. To make the dish, you'll need a few ingredients, including large green onions, garlic, ginger, gochugaru (Korean chili flakes), vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice syrup, salt, and soy sauce.

The first step in making golbaengi-muchim is to slice the large green onion thinly. If you're using a regular green onion, be sure to use four or five onions and slice them very thinly. The green onion will help add flavor and texture to the dish. Next, chop the garlic and ginger into small pieces, as they'll need to be minced for added flavor. You can also use fresh ginger if that's what you prefer.

To make the seasoning sauce, combine two large garlic cloves, half a teaspoon of grated ginger, quarter cup of gochugaru, quarter cup of vinegar, quarter cup of apple cider vinegar, and two tablespoons of rice syrup in a bowl. Mix well until everything is fully incorporated. You can also use sugar if you prefer a sweeter sauce, but the rice syrup will add a more complex flavor.

Now that the seasoning sauce is ready, it's time to cook the noodles. Golbaengi-muchim is often served with noodles, so be sure to cook your noodles according to package instructions. If you're using a dae-pa (large green onion), slice it thinly and soak it in cold water to remove some of the spiciness.

Once the noodles are cooked, rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process. Next, strain the canned whelks and cut them into bite-sized pieces. You can eat the whelks straight from the can if you prefer. To make the dish more interesting, add other ingredients like cucumber, green chili peppers, and pear.

To prepare the vegetables, slice a large English cucumber in half and cook it for about two minutes until it's tender but still crisp. Cut the green chili pepper into small pieces, as they'll need to be added to the dish later. For the pear, chop it into bite-sized pieces and set them aside. The key is to use a sweet and crispy pear that will add a nice texture contrast to the dish.

Now that all the ingredients are ready, it's time to assemble the golbaengi-muchim. Combine the noodles, whelks, cucumber, green chili peppers, and pear in a bowl. Drizzle the seasoning sauce over the top of everything, making sure each component is well-coated. If you're using sesame oil, add two tablespoons on top of the dish for extra flavor.

To serve, place the noodles with golbaengi-muchim in a single serving dish or bowl. You can also garnish with additional green onions, cucumber slices, and sesame seeds if desired. The key to enjoying golbaengi-muchim is to eat it quickly and enjoy all the different textures and flavors at once.

Tips for Making Golbaengi-muchim

One tip for making golbaengi-muchim is to use fresh ingredients whenever possible. Fresh garlic, ginger, and green onions will add more flavor to the dish than dried or processed versions. Additionally, be sure to adjust the amount of gochugaru according to your desired level of spiciness.

Another tip is to not overcook the noodles, as they can become mushy and unappetizing. Cook them until they're just tender but still slightly firm in the middle. This will help them hold their texture when served with the golbaengi-muchim.

Finally, be sure to toast your sesame seeds before adding them on top of the dish. Toasted sesame seeds have a nuttier flavor and a crunchier texture than raw ones, making them an important addition to any Korean-inspired meal.

Golbaengi-muchim is a delicious and refreshing side dish that's perfect for pairing with beer or soju. With its sweet, sour, spicy flavors and crunchy textures, it's sure to be a hit at your next Korean-themed gathering.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(knife chopping)(upbeat happy music)- Hi, everybody!Have you ever seen thiskind of canned foodin a Korean grocery store?It's whelk, it's sea snail.It's already cooked and canned.We Koreans make a deliciouskind of side dish with this,especially you serve with alcohol.When Koreans drink alcohol, wealways eat with a side dish.This is one of the mostpopular side dishesat a Korean bar.You drink beer, soju, andyou eat with this side dish.So golbaengi-muchim, everybody knows.Golbaengi-muchim, sweet,sour, spicy whelks.Usually, we serve with noodles.We can change into one bowl meal even.So you don't have todrink alcohol to eat this.This is a dae-pa, large green onion.I'm going to slice thinly.If you use a regulargreen onion, use four,four or five green onionand slice very thinly, shred this.(knife chopping)And a little bit of onion,maybe around one ounce.(knife chopping)And I'm going to put this into my bowl.I'm going to soak this in cold waterto remove some spiciness.(water splashing)I'm going to use my large bowland I'll just put everythingincluding seasoning sauce.So I'm going to make the seasoning sauce,two large garlic cloves andaround half a tea spoon ginger.You gotta believe this is ginger. (laughs)Mince.Garlic and ginger.Quarter cup gochugaru.Quarter cup vinegar.This is my apple cider vinegar.Quarter cup gochujang.To make it sweet, I'm using my rice syrup.Around two tablespoons.One, two.Of course you can use sugar,sugar, two tablespoons.I'm going to use this cannedgolbaengi, I need the brine.Long time ago, I usedto get rid of this brineand only use the whelks.I just got a good tipfrom a restaurant owner.He said he's using this brine,so I'm going to use one third of a cup.(can lid tearing)One third cup and mix.So this is going to bekind of sweet, sour, spicy.And we need to add salt.Half a teaspoon of salt.One teaspoon of soy sauce.Mix well.This is a perfect taste.To make this video, I madethis sauce many times.You guys can just follow my directionand you'll get this kind of nice shinyand delicious kind ofseasoning sauce, okay?Now, I'm boiling water to cook my noodles.Next, I'm going to rinsemy green onion and onion.(water draining)(water splashing)Wash in running water so thatwe remove some spiciness.(water splashing)(bowls clanging)Drain the water.Then I strain the golbaengi.I'm going to cut into bite-size pieces.You can eat it just from thecan, delicious. (chuckles)I'm using these vegetables,cucumber, green chili pepperand later this fruit, Korean pear.But you guys can use, you know,any pear, any regular pear.It should be sweet and crispy.This kind of combinationis really amazing.You will feel so many differenttextures and delicious.Okay, the cucumber, this isa large English cucumber.I'm going to use around half.I cut in half.(knife chopping)Slice about one and a halfcup, and green chili pepper.Just this amount.(knife chopping)And then let's add all this in here.Golbaengi, cucumber, green chili pepper,and don't mix this yet,just put it here like this.If you mix this now,it'll all sink quickly.My water is boiling, let's cook noodles.Today I'm making for two servings.It's just a little bit,like six ounces of noodles.These noodles, when it'scooked, it's going to float.And then I'll cook just longer.After two minutes youcan take out and taste.And it should be verychewy, but also cooked.Last thing we have todo is slice the pear.Because a pear's colorchanges brown quickly.(knife chopping)(knife chopping)Three minutes cooked, let's taste.(Maangchi slurping)Nice, a little chewy, but cooked.Let's rinse.(water draining)(water splashing)So, this is noodlesand then slice my pear.(knife chopping)So, now I'm going to mix all these thingsand then put this on top of the noodlesand then just serve.And you gotta eat quickly.Look at that, nice.Very fresh.And then sesame oil, one,two, two tablespoons.Like this.And then pear and greenonion and sesame seeds.The sesame seeds,yesterday I just toasted.Really crunchyHere you go!This is golbaengi-muchim with noodles.And this a one bowl meal, yeah?One noodles.(Maangchi slurping)Mm!Mm!Cold and refreshingand sweet, sour, spicy,golbaengi is chewy and sweet.Everything's so good.And sweet and crispy pear,please don't skip pear.I'm sure you'll enjoy it a lotif you like some spicy food.What I suggest is don't be afraid,some of you guys may be, \"Oh,how can I eat sea snail?\"But taste is so good.Ever since I was young, myfather's hometown, that island,and my aunt who was livingwith my grandmother,when the tide is out she used to catchsome kind of these whelk.In Korean, we say the godong.And then she brought home and she made.She cooked and took outthe meat, really tiny meat.She made some islandstyle, some kind of a stew.Someday I can show youthat kind of recipe.It's kind of really an island food.You can make this recipe so easily,because you go to a Korean grocery store,pick up a can of golbaengi,bring home and then make this.Today, I showed you howto make golbaengi-muchimand served with noodles.Enjoy my recipe.See you next time!Bye!(upbeat happy music)\n"