Spicy Korean noodles with cucumber and egg (bibim guksu)

Made with thin, wheat-flour noodles called so myeon, bibim guksu is easy to prepare, extremely tasty and especially popular during the summer months in Korea. Adjust the chilli to suit and add tomato sauce to balance the heat.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1–1½ cups kimchi (see Note), chopped
• 2 tbsp Korean chilli paste (gochujang) (see Note)
• ½–1 tbsp Korean chilli powder (kochugaru) (see Note)
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1½–2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 100 g so myeon noodles (see Note)
• 1 cucumber, peeled, thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler
• ½ cup thinly sliced lettuce or cabbage
• 2 hardboiled eggs, halved
• sesame leaves, to serve (optional)

The following recipe has been tested and edited by SBS Food and may differ slightly from the podcast.

Instructions

Combine the kimchi, chilli paste, chilli powder, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil together in a bowl. Set aside.

Cook noodles in boiling water for 3–4 minutes until soft. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again and allow to cool in the colander.

Add the cool noodles to the prepared sauce and mix well. Divide noodles between bowls, top with a sesame leaf, sliced cucumber, lettuce or cabbage and half a boiled egg.

Note
• Kimchi, gochujang, kochgaru, so myeon noodles and sesame leaves are all available from Korean supermarkets.

Photography by Alan Benson

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.