When we want a quick Korean side dish with a fresh and spicy taste, we often make green onion salad, called Pa Muchim in Korean.
Pa Muchim is very simple. We only need fresh green onions and a few basic seasonings. The green onions stay crisp, while soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and Korean red pepper flakes add a nice balance of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy flavors.
We especially like this salad with grilled meat, rice, or other simple Korean dishes.
What Is Pa Muchim?
Pa Muchim is a Korean green onion salad made with thinly sliced green onions and a simple seasoning sauce.
The word pa means green onion, and muchim means a dish that is mixed or tossed with seasoning.
We like to keep the seasoning light because the fresh green onion should still be the main flavor. Soaking the sliced onions briefly in ice water also helps reduce some of their strong, sharp taste and keeps them crisp.
For us, this small step makes a noticeable difference.
Ingredients
Serves about 2–3
100 g fresh green onions
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru 고추가루)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon toasted ground sesame seeds
We use fresh green onions whenever possible. If you grow them at home, this is a useful recipe for a small harvest because you do not need a large amount of green onion.
How I Regrew Green Onions from Grocery Store Roots in Calgary
How We Make Korean Green Onion Salad
1. Slice the Green Onions
First, we wash the green onions well and remove any damaged outer leaves.
We use a Korean green onion slicer to make thin, long strips. If you do not have one, a sharp kitchen knife works just as well. Simply slice the green onions into thin, long pieces.
The thinner the pieces, the easier they are to mix with the seasoning.
2. Soak the Green Onions in Ice Water
Next, we put the sliced green onions into a bowl of ice water.
We let them sit for about 10 minutes.
This short soak helps reduce some of the strong, sharp taste of fresh green onions. It also helps the strips become crisp.
After 10 minutes, we drain the green onions well. Removing as much water as possible is important because extra water can make the seasoning sauce watery.
3. Make the Seasoning
While the green onions are soaking, we make the simple seasoning sauce.
In a small bowl, combine:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon Korean red pepper flakes
We mix everything well until the sugar starts to dissolve.
The combination is simple, but it gives the salad its familiar Korean flavor. Soy sauce brings saltiness, vinegar adds brightness, sugar softens the sharp flavors, and Korean red pepper flakes add a gentle spicy taste.
4. Toss the Salad Gently
After draining the green onions, gently pat them dry with paper towels or use a salad spinner to remove the extra water.
Then we add the seasoning sauce.
We gently toss the green onions with the sauce. We do not mix too aggressively because the thin strips can become soft or crushed.
Finally, we add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon toasted ground sesame seeds.
A quick final toss is all we need.
Our Simple Pa Muchim
When we make Pa Muchim at home, we enjoy how a few simple ingredients can bring a meal together.
The fresh green onions have a sharp taste at first, but the sweet and sour seasoning gives them a softer balance. We like to keep some of their natural crunch because it makes the salad feel fresh with every bite.
For us, Pa Muchim is not just another side dish. It is something we can prepare quickly when we want a little extra flavor with our meal. We also enjoy using fresh green onions from our garden when they are available.
After mixing the salad, we prefer to serve it soon. The green onions still have a pleasant crunch, and the seasoning tastes fresh.
Sometimes, the simplest side dishes are the ones we reach for most often.
How We Serve Pa Muchim with Boiled Pork and Perilla Leaves
We love enjoying Pa Muchim with tender boiled pork and our homemade doenjang perilla leaves. This combination brings together fresh green onions, savory pork, and the rich flavor of seasoned perilla leaves.
In the photos, we serve thinly sliced boiled pork with Pa Muchim and doenjang perilla leaves. We place a piece of pork and some green onion salad on a perilla leaf, then wrap everything together for a simple Korean-style bite.
The crisp green onions add a fresh, slightly tangy taste, while the tender pork brings a satisfying savory flavor. Our doenjang perilla leaves add a deep fermented flavor and a fragrant herbal aroma.
We like to place a perilla leaf on our plate, add a slice of boiled pork, and top it with Pa Muchim. Then, we gently fold the leaf around the ingredients and enjoy them together.
This is one of the simple ways we enjoy Korean home cooking. A few well-prepared ingredients can make a meal feel special without requiring many complicated side dishes.
If you would like to learn how we make our homemade doenjang perilla leaves, you can read our recipe here:
Doenjang Perilla Leaves: A Taste of Grandma’s Kitchen
In that recipe, we explain how we prepare the perilla leaves, mix the doenjang sauce, layer the leaves, and let them rest in the refrigerator. We also share how this dish connects to memories of my grandmother’s kitchen.
For us, serving Pa Muchim with boiled pork and doenjang perilla leaves is more than just preparing a meal. It is a simple way to enjoy fresh vegetables, homemade flavors, and the comfort of Korean food here in Calgary.
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