Sangchu-geotjeori (Spicy Lettuce Salad)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Salad spinner or clean kitchen towels
• •Wide mixing bowl
• •Small bowl for dressing
• •Measuring spoons

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the lettuce

   Wash the lettuce in cold water, then dry it completely in a salad spinner or between clean towels. Water left on the leaves thins the dressing and makes the bowl taste tired before it reaches the table. Tear the leaves by hand into 2 to 3 inch pieces. Do not chop them with a knife; torn ruffled edges hold the seasoning better and bruise less.

   If the lettuce is already washed, still check it with your hands. A wet leaf is enough to weaken the whole dressing.
2. 2

   Prepare the aromatics

   Slice the onion as thinly as you can. If it smells sharp, soak it in cold water for 5 minutes, then drain and dry it well. Slice the scallion on the diagonal. Tear the perilla leaves, if using. Keep everything cold and separate until the dressing is ready, because lettuce collapses faster once salt touches it.

3. 3

   Mix the dressing

   In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, maesil-cheong, gochugaru, and minced garlic. If you want the deeper anchovy taste some homes use, add the fish sauce and reduce the soy sauce to 1 tablespoon. Let the dressing sit for 5 minutes so the gochugaru softens instead of sitting on the leaves like dry dust. Stir in the sesame oil only at the end, so its aroma stays clear.

4. 4

   Toss by hand

   Put the lettuce, perilla, onion, and scallion in a wide bowl. Spoon 4 tablespoons of dressing around the inside wall of the bowl, not straight onto one pile of leaves. Lift and turn with your fingertips 8 to 10 times, light hands only. Taste one leaf. If it still tastes plain, add the remaining dressing 1 teaspoon at a time. The measure matters because 180g of spring lettuce and 180g of late-summer lettuce do not drink seasoning the same way.

   No pressing, no squeezing. This is geotjeori, a fresh dressing, not a salted kimchi. The leaves should stay loose.
5. 5

   Finish and serve

   Scatter the crushed sesame seeds over the top and give the salad one final lift. Serve within 5 minutes, beside grilled pork belly, galbi, or a plain rice bowl. If it waits 15 minutes, it will still be edible, but it will no longer be the dish. Dress it when people are already sitting down.

Chef Tips

• •Buy tender leaf lettuce, not tight iceberg. Red leaf sangchu gives a little bitterness and color; green leaf gives a clean crunch. Avoid leaves with dark wet edges, because they will collapse the moment dressing touches them.
• •Do not use gochujang here. Paste is too heavy for lettuce and turns the dressing sweet and thick. Gochugaru gives color and warmth while letting the leaves stay green in flavor.
• •The safe shortcut is washing and drying the lettuce ahead. The corner you cannot cut is timing. Toss only when the table is ready, because salt pulls water from lettuce faster than people expect.
• •Perilla leaves are optional, but good with pork. Their sharp herbal taste cuts fat beautifully. If you leave them out, do not replace them with more onion; the salad will turn harsh.

Advance Preparation

• •Wash and dry the lettuce up to 6 hours ahead. Wrap it loosely in a dry towel and refrigerate it in a covered container so the leaves stay cold and crisp.
• •Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, maesil-cheong, gochugaru, and garlic up to 2 days ahead. Add sesame oil and sesame seeds just before tossing, because their aroma fades in the refrigerator.
• •Do not dress this salad ahead. After 10 to 15 minutes it starts giving off water; after 30 minutes it becomes a different, limp side dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 80g)