Bibim-guksu (Spicy Mixed Noodles)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large pot, 3-quart or larger
• •Colander
• •Wide stainless mixing bowl
• •Kitchen tongs or food-safe gloves

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the cucumber

   Put the julienned cucumber in a small bowl with the 1/8 teaspoon salt and toss. Let it stand 8 minutes, then squeeze it lightly and pour off the water. This is not to make a pickle. It keeps the cucumber crisp and stops it from thinning the sauce later.

2. 2

   Mix the sauce

   In a wide mixing bowl, stir together the gochujang, vinegar, kimchi brine, soy sauce, sugar or maesil-cheong, gochugaru if using, garlic, sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon of the sesame seeds. Taste it now. It should be sharper and a little stronger than you want the finished noodles, because cold somyeon will dull the seasoning.

   If your kimchi is very sour, use 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar instead of 2. If your kimchi is mild, keep the full 2 tablespoons and do not add more gochujang first. The tartness carries this bowl.
3. 3

   Boil the noodles

   Bring 2 1/2 liters water to a hard boil in a large pot. Add the somyeon and stir right away so the strands do not cling. When the foam rises, add 1/2 cup cold water; when it rises again, add another 1/2 cup cold water. Cook 3 to 4 minutes total, until the noodle has no hard white core but still has bite.

4. 4

   Rinse them hard

   Drain the noodles and rinse under cold running water, rubbing the strands between both hands until the water runs mostly clear and the noodles feel cold and slippery, not gummy. If the kitchen is hot, swish them in ice water for 30 seconds. Drain hard for a full minute. Wet noodles make a weak bowl.

5. 5

   Toss and correct

   Add the drained noodles to the sauce and toss with tongs or a gloved hand, lifting from the bottom until every strand is coated. Add the chopped kimchi and squeezed cucumber and toss again, gently this time. Taste one mouthful. If it is flat, add 1 teaspoon vinegar. If it is harsh, add 1/2 teaspoon sugar. If it is too thick to coat, add 1 tablespoon cold water or kimchi brine. Make small corrections; a tablespoon of gochujang is not a correction, it is a new dish.

6. 6

   Serve at once

   Divide the noodles into two bowls while they are still cold. Top with the halved egg, gim strips, scallion if using, and the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Bibim-guksu should be eaten the hour it is mixed. After that the noodles swell, the cucumber weeps, and the sauce loses its clean edge.

Chef Tips

• •Use sour, well-fermented kimchi. Fresh kimchi tastes lively on its own, but it will make this bowl flat and sweet unless you correct it with more vinegar.
• •Somyeon is thin and unforgiving. Set the table before you boil it, because the noodles should go from pot to rinse to sauce without waiting.
• •Cook the month you're standing in. Summer cucumber is best here; in winter, use a small handful of julienned Korean radish or pear for crunch instead of a tired cucumber.
• •The safe shortcuts are these: mix the sauce ahead, boil the egg ahead, and chop the kimchi ahead. Do not boil the noodles ahead. Cold storage turns them stiff, and reheating defeats the dish.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be mixed up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Stir it before using, because sesame oil separates and garlic grows stronger as it sits.
• •The egg can be boiled up to 5 days ahead. The kimchi can be chopped 1 day ahead and kept with its brine in a covered container.
• •Boil and rinse the somyeon only at serving time. Leftovers are safe refrigerated for 1 day, but they are not good noodles anymore.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 500g)