Spicy whelks with noodles (Golbaengimuchim: 골뱅이무침)
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/golbaengimuchim You can get a can of whelks (Korean: "golbaengi") at a Korean grocery store, but if it s not available in your area, you can replace it with any of your favorite seafoods: clams, mussels, scallops, or shrimps. You can serve this as a side dish to rice or noodles, and it s also good party food. Make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. When your guests come, cook the noodles. When you re ready to eat, place the noodles on a large plate and add golbaengi muchim over top and sprinkle some sesame seeds. They ll love it. Ingredients: Whelks (sea snails), cucumber, carrot, onion, green onions, garlic, green chili pepper, red chili pepper, salt, hot pepper flakes, hot pepper paste, honey, sugar, sesame oil, roasted sesame seeds, noodles. Cooking time: 30 mins Directions (for 4 servings): Prepare ingredients: 1. Rinse a can of whelks (golbaengi) in cold water, drain, and cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside. 2. Put these vegetables into a bowl mixed with 1 ts salt and set aside: ◦ Slice 1 Kirby cucumber into thin strips (1½ cup worth) ◦ Slice ½ cup worth of carrot into thin strips ◦ Slice ½ cup worth of onion thinly  Let s make sweet sour spicy sauce in a bowl: 1. Mix ¼ cup hot pepper paste, 2 tbs hot pepper flakes, 2 tbs vinegar, 1 tbs honey, 1 ts sugar, 1 tbs sesame oil, and 2 cloves minced garlic. 2. Add 1 chopped green, 1 red chili pepper, and 2 stalks of chopped green onion to the sauce. *tip: Adjust the amount of hot pepper flakes or hot pepper paste to your taste. If you don t like spicy food, skip them both and use soy sauce  3. Boil water in a large pot for the noodles. 4. Squeeze the excess water out of the vegetables and add to the sauce in the bowl. 5. Add the whelks to the bowl and mix well with a spoon. Cook noodles: 1. Spread out about 3 oz (84 grams) noodles in the pot of boiling water. Stir them with a spoon to prevent them from sticking together. Close the lid. 2. A few minutes later, they ll start boiling over. Open the lid and stir the noodles. Cook a few minutes more with the lid open until they are cooked well. *tip: You can tell if they are cooked enough by taking a sample. The noodles are very hot, so add a few noodles to a small bowl filled with cold water to let them cool down before tasting. The noodles should be chewy and soft when you chew them. 3. When the noodles are cooked, rinse them in cold water couple of times,strain them, and set aside. The noodles will expand and lose their chewiness as time passes, so the last step of preparing this dish is always cooking the noodles. Let s serve! 1. Place the cooked noodles on a large plate and then ladle the spicy whelk over the noodles. 2. Sprinkle 1 tbs roasted sesame seeds on top and serve.
