Korean · side

Oi Muchim (Seasoned Cucumber Banchan)

Oi Muchim (Seasoned Cucumber Banchan) reads funk & ferment 5.5, salinity 5.2 and umami 4.7 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Korean side, about 24 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Funk & Ferment 5.5 · Salinity 5.2 · Umami 4.7 · Marine & Briny 4.5 · Sweetness 3.7 · Sourness 3.1 · Nutty 2.9 · Allium 2.9 · Richness 2.3 · Heat 1.7 · Herbaceous 1.1 · Warm Spice 1.0 · Smoke 0.7

What's in it (10)

Time & effort: about 24 min · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 45.2 kcal, 0.7 g protein, 3.6 g fat, 2.9 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (5 steps)

  1. Toss the cucumber slices with the salt and leave them in a colander 15 minutes. They will give up two or three tablespoons of water. Press them gently between your palms, but do not wring them: a muchim cucumber should still snap.
  2. Mix the gochugaru, garlic, vinegar, sugar and anchovy sauce into a loose dressing and let it stand 5 minutes so the chile flakes soften and turn from orange to red.
  3. Toss the cucumbers through the dressing with your hands, then finish with the sesame oil, sesame seeds and scallions. The oil goes in last: added early it coats the slices and stops the seasoning getting in.
  4. Muchim means dressed or seasoned by hand, and it is the fastest of the banchan. Serve within 2 hours; after that the cucumber weeps and the dish turns into a soup. Make it while the rice is steaming, and put it out alongside two or three other small dishes rather than as a salad on its own.
  5. Substitutions: Kirby cucumbers can stand in for the Korean cucumbers.

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Keep reading: what funk & ferment, salinity, umami mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.