Naengmyeon

the slippery chilled buckwheat noodles of Korea served in an icy, tart beef-and-radish broth with cucumber, Korean pear, and a halved egg, the great refreshment of the Korean summer

Origin: Korea

From the journey of Buckwheat.

Naengmyeon, literally 'cold noodles', is the most celebrated of Korea's buckwheat dishes and one of the defining foods of the Korean summer. Born in the cold north around Pyongyang, where buckwheat thrived and the noodles were once eaten in winter from frozen pots of broth, it spread across the peninsula and became, after the division of the country, a beloved taste of home carried south by refugees. The noodles, made of buckwheat flour bound with a little starch, are long, thin, and remarkably chewy and slippery; they are boiled, rinsed icy cold, and coiled into a bowl. In the mul-naengmyeon ('water' version) shown here, they are bathed in a clear, intensely cold, tart-and-savoury broth of beef and radish brine, garnished with crisp cucumber, slices of sweet Korean pear, and a halved boiled egg, and sharpened at the table with mustard oil and vinegar. There is also a fiercer bibim-naengmyeon, the noodles tossed with a fiery gochujang dressing and no broth. Either way, the dish is buckwheat at its most elegant: cooling, bracing, and addictive.

Ingredients

The Noodles

200 g dried naengmyeon (buckwheat) noodles

The Broth

1.2 litres well-chilled beef broth (from brisket or shank), skimmed of fat
120 ml dongchimi (radish water kimchi) brine, or to taste
2 tsp rice vinegar, plus more to serve
1 tsp sugar
salt, to taste

The Garnish

0.25 cucumber, cut into fine matchsticks
0.25 Korean pear (or nashi pear), peeled and thinly sliced
100 g cooked beef brisket, thinly sliced
1 egg, hard-boiled and halved

To Serve

Korean mustard oil (yeongyeoja) and vinegar, to serve

Method

Several hours ahead, combine the beef broth with the dongchimi brine, vinegar, sugar, and a little salt. Taste: it should be savoury, distinctly tart, and lightly sweet. Chill until ice-cold, even part-freezing it to a slush.
Prepare all the garnishes and keep them cold. Have your serving bowls chilling in the freezer.
Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil and cook the naengmyeon noodles for the time on the packet, usually just 2 to 4 minutes, stirring so they do not clump.
Drain and rinse the noodles under cold running water, rubbing them vigorously with your hands to wash off the surface starch, until they are squeaky and ice-cold. Drain well and coil a portion into each chilled bowl.
Pour the icy broth around the noodles and arrange the cucumber, pear, beef, and the halved egg on top. Serve at once, with mustard oil and vinegar at the table for each eater to add to taste.

Notes

If you cannot make dongchimi brine, sharpen the chilled broth with extra vinegar and a splash of the liquid from any mild radish or cabbage pickle. For bibim-naengmyeon, omit the broth and toss the rinsed noodles with a dressing of gochujang, gochugaru, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and garlic. The dish is genuinely difficult to better on a hot day.

The Gastrographer

Name: Naengmyeon
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Korea
Ingredients: 200 g dried naengmyeon (buckwheat) noodles; 1.2 litres well-chilled beef broth (from brisket or shank), skimmed of fat; 120 ml dongchimi (radish water kimchi) brine, or to taste; 2 tsp rice vinegar, plus more to serve; 1 tsp sugar; salt, to taste; 0.25 cucumber, cut into fine matchsticks; 0.25 Korean pear (or nashi pear), peeled and thinly sliced; 100 g cooked beef brisket, thinly sliced; 1 egg, hard-boiled and halved; Korean mustard oil (yeongyeoja) and vinegar, to serve

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control