Culinary Explorer
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Makguksu (Gangwon Buckwheat Noodles)
Created by Chef Jeong-sun
Gangwon's plain buckwheat noodle bowl, chilled hard and seasoned with restraint: chewy memil strands, dongchimi broth, cucumber, radish, sesame, and just enough sauce to wake it.
Cook the month you're standing in. Makguksu belongs most naturally to hot weather, when a cold metal bowl on the table feels like mercy, but its heart is mountain food: buckwheat grown where rice was less willing, made into noodles that taste nutty, slightly rough, and honest.
The misunderstanding is the red sauce. People bury makguksu under gochujang until it could be any noodle. Gangwon makguksu should still taste like memil (buckwheat). The sauce is there to sharpen the bowl, not paint over it. Use enough chilled dongchimi (radish water kimchi) brine or clear beef broth to loosen the noodles, and keep the seasoning light enough that the first thing you taste is grain.
Tonight this dish asks for three careful things. Chill the broth harder than you think. Rinse the noodles with your hands until the starch is gone and they feel clean. Cut the cucumber and radish thin so they cool the mouth instead of weighing down the bowl. 손맛 is real. I still measure it, so it can be handed on.
Ingredients
makguksu or memil guksu (buckwheat noodles)
Quantity
200g dried
preferably at least 30 percent buckwheat
dongchimi brine or clear beef broth mixture
Quantity
2 cups
well chilled
rice vinegar
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for broth, plus more to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| makguksu or memil guksu (buckwheat noodles)preferably at least 30 percent buckwheat | 200g dried |
| dongchimi brine or clear beef broth mixturewell chilled | 2 cups |
| rice vinegarfor broth, plus more to serve | 1 tablespoon |
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