Korean Bean Sprout Salad (Kongnamul Muchim)

This classic banchan, which we fell in love with all over again when we reviewed Robin Ha’s Cook Korean!: a Cookbook with Recipes, is way more delightful than its humble recipes would seem to suggest.

Makes 2 cups.

Ingredients

12 ounces soybean sprouts

1 teaspoon salt

1 scallion, green and white parts, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, plus additional for garnish if desired

Gochugaru (Korean red chile flakes), optional, for serving

Instructions

1. Discard any brown bean sprouts, then rinse the sprouts with cold running water and drain. Put them into a medium saucepan, add 1 cup water and the salt. Cover, bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium and cook for 7 minutes. Drain the sprouts in a colander or strainer, cool them with cold running water, then drain again. Gently squeeze as much water as you can from the sprouts and put them in a medium mixing bowl.

2. Add the scallion, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds. This may be served room temperature or chilled. Garnish with sesame seeds, if desired. If you like it spicy, add chile flakes to taste at the table.