Spicy mixed noodles (bibim guksu)

This dish uses long, thin wheat noodles served cold and tossed with a spicy sauce and served with hard-boiled eggs and sliced cucumbers.

Credit: Billy Law

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g (7 oz) thin wheat flour noodles (somyeon)
• 75 g (2¾ oz/½ cup) Cabbage kimchi (recipe here), finely chopped
• ½ Lebanese or Kirby (short) cucumber, cut into matchsticks
• 1 hard-boiled egg, halved
• toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Spicy sauce

• 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) kimchi juice
• 2 tbsp Korean chilli paste (gochujang)
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. To make the spicy sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until the sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Prepare a large bowl of iced water and set aside. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil over high heat. Cook the wheat flour noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain, then immediately refresh the noodles in the iced water to stop the cooking process. Leave to chill for 2–3 minutes. Briefly stir the noodles around in the water to loosen them up, then drain.
3. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl, add the kimchi and spicy sauce and mix until the noodles are well coated in the sauce. Divide the noodles between two serving bowls. Top with the cucumber, half a hard-boiled egg, and sprinkle with sesame seeds to garnish. Serve immediately.

Note

• Typically, Bibim guksu is a vegetarian dish. You can make it more substantial by adding lettuce leaves, thinly sliced carrot or shredded cabbage.

Recipe and images from Little Korea: Iconic Dishes and Cult Recipes by Billy Law, Smith Street Books, RRP $49.99

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.