Hoe-guksu (Raw Fish Cold Noodles)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large pot for boiling noodles
• •Colander
• •Two stainless steel serving bowls, chilled
• •Disposable food-safe gloves for tossing spicy noodles
• •Very sharp knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the bowls

   Put two stainless bowls in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. This is a cold noodle dish with very little broth, so the bowl itself has to help keep the noodles tight and lively.

2. 2

   Cut the fish

   Keep the fish cold while you work. Slice it across the grain into pieces about 5 cm long, 1 cm wide, and 3 mm thick. Thin slices season quickly and stay tender; thick pieces taste raw in the wrong way, with sauce only on the outside.

   Use only fish sold for raw eating. If the market cannot give you that clearly, cook another noodle today. Technique first, but safety before technique.
3. 3

   Lightly cure fish

   Toss the sliced fish with 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and refrigerate 20 minutes while you make the sauce. This short cure firms the surface and gives the seasoning a clean place to hold. It does not make unsafe fish safe.

4. 4

   Salt the cucumber

   Toss the julienned cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon salt and let it stand 10 minutes. Squeeze it gently, just until it stops dripping. Unsalted cucumber waters down the sauce, and hoe-guksu has no patience for watery dressing.

5. 5

   Mix the sauce

   In a large mixing bowl, stir together the gochugaru, gochujang, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, maesil-cheong, soy sauce, cold broth or water, sesame oil, mustard paste, garlic, sesame seeds, and ginger. Taste it before it touches the noodles. It should be sharp first, then spicy, then lightly sweet. Add the extra 1 teaspoon sugar only if the vinegar is biting without balance.

   Do not bury this bowl under gochujang. Gochugaru gives color and dry heat, while a smaller amount of paste gives body. That is why both are measured separately.
6. 6

   Season the fish

   Drain off any liquid from the cured fish. Fold the fish through 2 tablespoons of the sauce and return it to the refrigerator while you cook the noodles. Seasoning the fish alone first lets it read as fish, not as a red garnish hiding in the noodles.

7. 7

   Boil the noodles

   Bring a large pot of water to a hard boil. Shake loose the starch noodles and boil according to the package, usually 2 to 4 minutes. Stir constantly for the first minute so they do not knot together. These noodles overcook fast, and once they go soft they do not forgive you.

8. 8

   Rinse them hard

   Drain the noodles and rinse under cold running water, rubbing them between both hands until they are cold, firm, and squeaky. This takes 1 to 2 minutes, not a polite splash. Drain hard, then squeeze lightly by handfuls so the sauce will cling instead of sliding off.

9. 9

   Toss and loosen

   Add the cold noodles to the remaining sauce and toss with gloved hands until every strand is coated. If the noodles feel stiff, add 1 to 2 tablespoons cold dongchimi brine or cold beef broth, one spoon at a time. The bowl should look glossy, not soupy.

10. 10

    Finish the bowls

    Divide the noodles between the chilled bowls. Top each with the seasoned fish, salted cucumber, pear matchsticks, half an egg, and a pinch of sesame seeds. Serve at once with more mustard and vinegar at the table, so each person can sharpen the bowl to their own mouth.

Chef Tips

• •Skate is traditional for many Hamhung-style hoe bowls, but it must be very fresh and suitable for raw eating. If your fishmonger hesitates, buy sashimi-grade fluke, halibut, or sea bream instead. 시대가 바뀌면 음식도 바뀌어야 해요. When times change, food must change too.
• •The safe shortcut is buying ready-made Hamhung naengmyeon noodles and good sashimi. The corner you cannot cut is the rinsing. Starch left on the noodles makes the sauce dull and gummy.
• •Use maesil-cheong if you have it. Its tart sweetness suits the vinegar better than plain sugar. If you use sugar, start with 2 teaspoons in the sauce and add only the last teaspoon after tasting.
• •Serve with cold dongchimi, oi-muchim (seasoned cucumber), or a small plate of kimchi. This bowl is fierce, so the side dishes should cool or clean the mouth, not compete.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be mixed up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. It tastes rounder after a night, but loosen it with 1 tablespoon cold broth or water before tossing if it thickens.
• •The cucumber and pear can be cut 2 hours ahead and kept cold, with the pear covered tightly so it does not brown. Slice and cure the fish only shortly before serving.
• •Do not boil the noodles ahead. Hamhung-style starch noodles lose their chew as they sit, and this dish depends on that chew.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 530g)