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Korean Spicy Chilled Noodles (Bibim Guksu)

Korean Spicy Chilled Noodles (Bibim Guksu)

By Diane UngerOctober 15, 2019

  • Makes
    4 servings
  • Cook Time
    30 minutes
  • Rating

This classic Korean dish is a pasta salad of sorts, with bold contrasting flavors and textures. Somen is the Japanese name for the type of dried wheat noodle to use here; in Korean they are called somyeon. The noodles are slender and creamy white; look for them, often packaged in bundles, in the Asian section of the grocery store or in Asian markets. Gochujang is a Korean fermented red pepper paste—it's an essential ingredient is this dish. Made with ¼ cup gochujang, the noodles are assertively spicy. To turn down the heat, reduce the amount to 3 tablespoons. If you like, add a halved or quartered hard- or soft-cooked egg on top of each portion.

Tip

Don't overcook the noodles. Somen cooks quickly—in matter of minutes—and the delicate strands quickly go from tender to overdone.

Ingredients
  • 3-4

    tablespoons gochujang

  • 2½

    tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar, plus more as needed

  • 2

    tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1½

    tablespoons white sugar

  • 1½

    tablespoons toasted sesame oil

  • 2

    tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted, divided

  • 1

    cup drained cabbage kimchi, thinly sliced, plus 2 tablespoons kimchi juice

  • ½

    English cucumber

  • 4

    scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

  • 8

    ounces somen noodles

  • Ice

  • Kosher salt

Step 1

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the gochujang, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and the kimchi juice. Set aside.

Step 2

Thinly slice the cucumber on the diagonal. Stack several slices and cut lengthwise into matchsticks. Repeat with the remaining slices. Set aside.

Step 3

Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander, then add 1 cup ice cubes on top.

Rinse the noodles under cold running water, tossing constantly, until completely cool to the touch. Remove any unmelted ice cubes, then drain well.

Step 4

Add the drained noodles to the gochujang mixture, along with the kimchi. Toss, then taste and season with salt and additional vinegar.

Transfer to a shallow serving bowl, then mound the scallions and cucumber on top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Tossing just before serving.

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