[Taste of Hansik] Cold bibim kalguksu is the ticket to a refreshing summer

Kalguksu, or knife-cut noodles, is commonly served in warm broth in Korea. However, for anyone who wants to get the most out of the noodles' texture, a cold-dish version may be just the ticket. The dish in question: bibim kalguksu.

The more common bibim guksu, which translates to mixed noodles, is made with thinner somyeon noodles and gochujang sauce, a hot pepper paste. Here, somyeon is being substituted for kalguksu.

The thicker kalguksu noodles can take to thicker seasonings as well. Add ground up deulkkae, or perilla seeds, to the gochujang sauce to give it more viscosity.

Break away from the typical thin somyeon noodles and try something a bit different with this recipe by chef Im Saet-byeol of restaurant Onyva in Seoul.

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, 1/3 cucumber, a handful of buchu (chives), 3 lettuce leaves, 2 red beet leaves, 1/4 large carrot, 1/4 red cabbage, 200 grams of kalguksu noodles, 1 spoon of salt, sauce in the following recipe

Sauce:
1 spoon of gochujang, 2 spoons of gochugaru (red pepper flakes), 1 spoon of dealggae garu (ground perilla seeds), 1 spoon of jinganjang (soy sauce), 2 spoons of starch syrup, 1 spoon of minced garlic, 2 spoons of sesame oil, 1 spoon of vinegar, 1 spoon of sesame seeds

Directions:
Chop all the vegetables and set aside.

Combine and mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Boil water in a pot and add the salt. Add kalguksu noodles to the boiling water and boil for three minutes.

Remove the cooked noodles from the heat and immediately place in icy water.

Move the noodles to a dish and add the chopped vegetables and sauce on top. Stir together and eat.

BY LEE SUN-MIN [lee.sunmin@joongang.co.kr]