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Naengmyeon (Korean Cold Noodles)

Naengmyeon is Korea's answer to a scorching summer day. Chewy, springy buckwheat noodles are served in a bowl of icy cold broth, sometimes with actual slivers of ice floating in it, topped with crisp cucumber, sweet nashi pear and half a boiled egg.

The broth is the hero, light and beefy with a bracing tang from vinegar and a little kick of hot mustard that you stir through at the table. It's refreshing in a way few noodle dishes are, and utterly addictive once you've had it.

The restaurant version takes days of broth-making, but the home version leans on good beef stock and a few clever seasonings, and comes together while the noodles cook. Perfect for an Aussie summer.

Servings
4
Prep Time
25
mins
Cook Time
15
mins
Ingredients
14
Total Time
40
mins

Pantry bits

  • Large pot for boiling noodles
  • Small saucepan for eggs
  • Colander
  • Whisk and mixing bowl or jug
  • Kitchen scissors

Ingredients

  • 400g dried naengmyeon noodles (buckwheat, from Korean grocers)
  • 4 cups (1 litre) good-quality beef stock, chilled
  • 1 cup (250ml) chilled water
  • 3 tbsp rice vinegar, plus extra to serve
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1 Lebanese cucumber, julienned
  • 1/2 nashi pear, thinly sliced
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g cooked beef brisket or silverside, thinly sliced (optional)
  • 2 tsp Korean hot mustard (gyeoja) or hot English mustard
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 cup ice cubes

Instructions

  1. Make the broth by whisking the chilled beef stock with the water, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and salt. Taste; it should be tangy, lightly sweet and well seasoned. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes until icy cold, or until slushy at the edges.
  2. Put the eggs in a small saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 8 minutes. Cool in cold water, peel and halve.
  3. Toss the cucumber with a pinch of salt and set aside for 10 minutes, then squeeze out the excess moisture.
  4. Cook the naengmyeon noodles in plenty of boiling water according to the packet, usually 3-4 minutes. They should stay chewy, so don't overcook them.
  5. Drain the noodles and rinse thoroughly under cold running water, rubbing them with your hands to remove the starch and chill them completely. Drain well.
  6. Twirl the noodles into neat nests and place in the centre of four chilled bowls. Pour the icy broth around them and add a few ice cubes to each bowl.
  7. Top each bowl with cucumber, nashi pear, sliced beef and half an egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  8. Serve with hot mustard and extra vinegar on the side for everyone to stir through to taste. Kitchen scissors at the table make the long noodles easier to manage.

Other recipes

Nasi Kuning (Indonesian Yellow Rice)
Opor Ayam (Chicken in Coconut Curry)
Martabak Telur (Savoury Stuffed Pancake)

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