Spicy Pickled Garlic Scapes | Maneuljjong Moochim (마늘쫑 무침)

My little town has a farmers market every Saturday in the late spring through early fall. Since biking is my sister and my new favorite hobby (George Michael, my dog, loves it too) and we ride past the market every weekend, we finally made an effort to stop by and do a bit of shopping.

Last weekend, we managed to get our hands on some garlic scapes. They do have a short season (late spring into early summer) so I wanted to share this recipe while it's still relevant. I have two recipes to share, one pickled and one sauteed; I'm sharing the second later this week.

Today's recipe is a spicy Korean version that my family loves. We hadn't had these in years so it was a nice throwback and probably an awesome treat for my dad because he really loves garlic scapes. It worked out nicely because last Sunday was Father's Day.

Ingredients:
6 to 8 garlic scapes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Start by cutting the garlic scapes into pieces, about 1" in length.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Toss in the scapes and blanch for about 1 minute. Shock in ice cold water and then drain.

In a bowl, combine all of the seasonings - the minced garlic, hot pepper flakes, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Mix it all together.

Add in the garlic scapes and toss to combine. Refrigerate and allow to pickle overnight. These can be enjoyed immediately but giving it a day to absorb the flavors does make a significant difference. They're just so much better.

When you're ready to serve, garnish with some more sesame seeds (just because it looks nice and presentation matters).

These pickled garlic scapes are super delicious; I would enjoy this entire serving with a bowl of rice on my own. Garlic scapes themselves are crunchy, subtly sweet, with just a hint of garlicky flavor. There's enough garlic flavor to be enjoyable without killing your breath completely. And when you combine them with a punchy, spicy dressing, they become really delicious.

Like I said, I made this for Father's Day and because my dad loves seafood, I made a seafood stew and really took it up a notch by adding clams, mussels, crab, pink snapper, squid, and pollack roe.

Here's the recipe page: