A while back, I had had a can of Bai Top sea snails sitting in my pantry for ages, so I decided to put them to good use by making golbaengi muchim, or Korean snail salad popularized by the Korean K-pop band BTS.
If you don’t know BTS, they are the wildly famous and popular Korean boy band with a show called Bon Voyage where they occasionally cook their favorite recipes. (If you’re interested in watching them make this recipe, check out Season 4, Episode 7 in the link above.)
This salad combines thin Japanese somen noodles with the snails, cucumber, and red onion.
The recipe calls for a can of sea snails, or gulbaengi in Korean; somen noodles; and sesame oil(Amazon affiliate links.) You’ll also need some fresh cucumber and red onion (which will be sweeter than a yellow or a white.)
Mixed with delicious bibim sauce and topped with sesame seeds, it’s perfect for a hot summer day or evening.
Finally, I should note that this is not the traditional way to make colbengi muchim — this is just the BTS version. I tested Kwon Corner’s recipe here to make mine. If you want a little more of a traditional version, you can follow Maangchi’s recipe here.
Golbaengi-muchim, or Sea Snail Salad
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Pasta strainer
- Medium sauce pan
Ingredients
- 10 sea snails canned
- 5 tbsp Paldo sauce
- 1 drizzle sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds white
- 2 bundles somen noodles
- 1 red onion small, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cucumber small, thinly sliced
Instructions
Prepare salad
- Halve, then thinly slice onion
- Thinly slice cucumber into half-inch strips
- Drain off liquid from sea snails, then cut snails in half
- In large mixing bowl, combine snails, cucumber, and onion
- Add Paldo sauce (adjust amount to personal taste)
- Wearing latex kitchen gloves, or using tongs, mix in sauce well
Prepare somen
- To gently boiling water add two sleeves of somen noodles. Cook 3-4 minutes.
- Drain and then rinse under cold water.Ā
Plating
- Take a handful of noodles and wrap around index finger, forming a circular swirl. Place three of these on each plate.
- Add snail salad on side.Ā
- Drizzle sesame oil onto noodles.Ā
- Sprinkle sesame seeds onto salad.