Bibimguksu

Just yesterday, I shared my love for Bibimbap in this post. Bibimbap is a Korean rice bowl dish with different kinds of stirfried or fresh vegetables with a spicy gochujang (learn more about gochujang by clicking the link) sauce. Bibimguksu, on the other hand, is a cold noodle dish that is mixed with a similar sauce. Traditionally, you eat the noodles with thinly sliced cucumbers but cucumbers were nowhere to be found in my fridge today. Sad day, yes, but the noodles were amazing with just the sauce and some hard boiled eggs.


Bibimguksu is one of the most popular noodle dishes in Korea, especially during hot Summer days. The weather in Korea during Summer is ridiculously hot and humid. For that reason, a lot of people in Korea look for something cold for meals. This dish is cold and spicy, which is just perfect for any Korean’s taste buds.

Adding thinly sliced cucumbers to this noodle dish does ease the heat in your mouth. The sauce is spicy but it’s got a hint of sweet and tangy flavors. Since I grew up eating this dish countless times, I’m used to the heat… but for those who are not used to this kind of heat will definitely have to have a glass of milk in their hand. But don’t worry. After a while, you’ll get used to it and maybe even have a second bowl.

Now, you’re probably wondering how to make this dish.. It’s very simple. You just need a few ingredients. Most ingredients are available in any grocery stores… except maybe gochujang. You can find it at any Korean market. It’s one of the “must have” ingredients in Korean cooking.

After the noodles are done, run it under cold water for a few minutes, stirring constantly using your hand. But the noodles are hot at first, so be careful not to burn yourself. Just run cold water over the hot noodles for about a minute before stirring to make the noodles cold evenly.

When the noodles are completely cooled and cold, transfer it into a bowl.

Pour the prepared gochujang sauce over the cold noodles.

Stir the noodles with the sauce using chopsticks or forks, whatever is easier for you, until the noodles are coated evenly with the sauce.

Serve the noodles over cut lettuce, thinly sliced cucumbers (optional but I definitely recommend it), and hard boiled eggs.
So… what do you think? If you love Bibimbap, you’ll also love this yummy Bibimguksu.

Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 80g somen noodles (about 1 bunch)
  • 3 tablespoons Gochujang paste
  • 1/2 tablespoon corn syrup or mulyeot
  • 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves garlic)
  • 3 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1/2 tablespoon Korean fine red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • Lettuce to garnish
  • Thinly sliced cucumbers
  • 1 hard boiled egg, cut into 4 quarters
Directions
  1. In a medium sized pot, bring enough water to boiling. Add somen and cook until water starts to run over. Add one cup cold water into the boiling water and stir the noodles using chopsticks to make sure the noodles are separated. Let it boil again.
  2. When the water boils again, remove from the heat and drain the water, with the noodles placed in a colander. Place the colander with noodles under running cold water, about 1 minutes. Stir the noodles with your hand under cold water, until noodles are cooled evenly. Transfer the cold noodles in a bowl and set aside.
  3. Make Gochujang Sauce by combining all ingredients except noodles, lettuce, and eggs in a bowl. Stir until well mixed. The sauce will be thinner than the normal gochujang paste.
  4. Pour the sauce over the cold noodles and stir together with chopsticks or forks, until the noodles are coated with the sauce evenly.
  5. Serve noodles over chopped lettuce, sliced cucumbers, and hard boiled eggs.

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