Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles in a Chilled Broth – Asian Recipes At Home (2024)

Korean-style cold buckwheat noodles served in a delicious chilled broth. We made this homemade broth from Kombu seaweed, dried anchovies, and juices from white kimchi. This is a light, refreshing, and the perfect meal to eat on a hot day.

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Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles in a Chilled Broth – Asian Recipes At Home (1)

We are still experiencing hot temperatures during these last several days of summer. And this chilled noodle bowl is a perfect meal to cool you off. There are many different variations of Korean cold noodles recipes online. There are even some packages of noodles that include pouches of premade broth. These pouches of premade broth are popular in Korea for a really quick and easy meal.

Homemade broth

We made our own homemade broth for this recipe. Making this broth is worth it and it really doesn’t take that much extra time to make it. We are using Kombu seaweed, juices from a batch of white kimchi, and dried anchovies to make an umami filled and slightly tangy broth. Just remember, you will need to prepare this broth a little ahead of time to allow it to chill before assembling the noodle bowl.

Key features and tips

We highly recommend using the liquid from a batch of white kimchi for this recipe. You can use our recipe here if you’re up for the task of making a batch of white kimchi for yourself. You won’t be disappointed and you will be able to use it for this recipe and have it ready to go every time you have a kimchi craving. You might be able to get a similar result by mixing up some water, salt, and white vinegar or rice vinegar in a pinch instead of using the liquid from a batch of white kimchi. However, we have not tested that out yet ourselves, so we can’t confidently recommend a substitute for the white kimchi liquid at this time.

Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles in a Chilled Broth – Asian Recipes At Home (2)

We top these cold noodles with sliced white kimchi, fresh cucumbers, carrots, and green onions. This is a very light and mild cold noodle bowl. It’s perfect for anyone who doesn’t tolerate spice well, and is even good for children. If you’re wanting a spicy cold noodle bowl, be sure to check out our Korean Cold Noodles with Spicy Sweet and Sour Gochujang Sauce recipe.

Ingredients needed to make this cold buckwheat noodle bowl

Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles in a Chilled Broth – Asian Recipes At Home (3)

How to make these cold Korean noodles

Step 1: Hard boil the eggs

First, let’s prepare the eggs. We want hard-boiled eggs for this recipe. Boil the eggs for about 10 minutes, remove the eggs and place in a cold-water ice bath. Once the eggs are cooled, cut them in half and set aside for later.

Step 2: Make the clear broth

Put water, dried anchovies, kombu seaweed, and salt in a medium/large-sized pot and place it on the stove burner, and set the temperature to high heat. Once the broth comes to a boil, remove the anchovies and kombu seaweed and discard. Turn off the heat and remove the broth to cool.

Once the broth is cooled, add the juice from the white kimchi, rice vinegar, and sugar. Stir well.

Step 3: Cook the noodles

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Once noodles are cooked, rinse the noodles with cold water.

Step 4: Top the noodles with fresh vegetables and enjoy

To serve, place a serving of noodles into a bowl and pour some of the cold broth on top of it. Place a serving of cucumbers, carrots, green onions, and white kimchi on top. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

We hope you enjoy our Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles in a Chilled Broth recipe!

Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles in a Chilled Broth – Asian Recipes At Home (4)

Want more noodle recipes?

  • Korean Cold Noodles with Spicy Sweet and Sour Gochujang Sauce
  • Best Korean Warm Noodle Soup
  • Upgraded Instant Ramen Recipe Hack

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Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles in a Chilled Broth – Asian Recipes At Home (5)

Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles in a Chilled Broth

Yield: 4 Servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Korean-style cold buckwheat noodles served in a delicious chilled broth. We made this homemade broth from Kombu seaweed, dried anchovies, and juices from white kimchi.

Ingredients

  • 4 servings buckwheat noodles
  • 2 large eggs
  • 8 cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
  • 1 cup pickling cucumber, julienned
  • ½ cup carrots, julienned
  • ½ cup green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
  • 4 large-sized dried anchovies
  • 2 2-inch pieces (15g) Kombu dried seaweed
  • 1 cup white kimchi, thinly sliced (see our recipe)
  • 1 cup liquid from white kimchi
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp white sugar
  • 5 cups of water
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 cayenne chili pepper (optional), thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. First, let’s prepare the eggs. We want hard-boiled eggs for this recipe. Boil the eggs for about 10 minutes, remove the eggs and place in a cold-water ice bath. Once the eggs are cooled, cut them in half and set aside for later.
  2. Put water, dried anchovies, kombu seaweed, and salt in a medium/large-sized pot and place it on the stove burner, and set the temperature to high heat. Once the broth comes to a boil, remove the anchovies and kombu seaweed and discard. Turn off the heat and remove the broth to cool.
  3. Once the broth is cooled, add the juice from the white kimchi, rice vinegar, and sugar. Stir well.
  4. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Once noodles are cooked, rinse the noodles with cold water.
  5. To serve, place a serving of noodles into a bowl and pour some of the cold broth on top of it. Place a serving of cucumbers, carrots, green onions, and white kimchi on top. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Add sliced cayenne chili pepper if you want a bit of spice, this is optional.
  6. Serve and enjoy!

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Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles in a Chilled Broth – Asian Recipes At Home (2024)

FAQs

What is the Korean cold noodle dish called? ›

naengmyeon

What are cold buckwheat noodles called? ›

In Japan, where it gets plenty hot in the summer, cold soba noodles, served with a dipping sauce, are a common snack or light meal. Soba are brown noodles, made from wheat and buckwheat, and the sauce is based on dashi, the omnipresent Japanese stock.

What kind of vinegar do you use for naengmyeon? ›

Spoon slushy broth all around and top with pickled radishes, cucumber, Asian pear, eggs, chilled poached brisket, and remaining sliced scallions. Serve, passing rice vinegar and mustard or mustard oil at the table for diners to season to taste.

What do you eat buckwheat noodles with? ›

“The plain buckwheat noodles are served cold with wasabi, Japanese green onions and a dipping sauce on the side, which is usually made with dashi and soy sauce. But they can also be eaten hot in a soup. This is called kake soba.”

Are Korean buckwheat noodles healthy? ›

Authentic, 100% buckwheat soba noodles are a healthy food anyone can enjoy, but they may be especially helpful to people sensitive to gluten, a protein in wheat, barley and rye.

What is Korean noodles called in English? ›

Korean Noodle And Ramen Culture

In Korea, noodles are often called guksu (국수) or myeon (면). Guksu is the native Korean word for noodles, whilst myeon is the sino-Korean word. Korean people believe that noodles symbolize longevity, which is why noodle dishes are often eaten during birthdays or weddings.

What is Korean cold noodle broth made of? ›

Traditionally the broth is made from the brine of fermented radish water kimchi (dongchimi: 동치미) and beef stock, and if you've been following me for a long time, you know that I made it that way in a naengmyeon video years ago, and also included that traditional mul-naengmyeon in my first cookbook.

Why do Koreans eat cold noodles? ›

During a hot summer, many Koreans crave the noodle dish 'naengmyeon,' with its deep buckwheat scent and chilled soup. Naengmyeon was actually originally eaten during cold winters, however there are few things better than a cold bowl of naengmyeon to fight the summer heat.

Is Korean buckwheat noodles the same as soba? ›

Korean naengmyun noodles are made from wheat and buckwheat and are wonderfully chewy; Japanese soba is an adequate substitute but lacks the chewy texture.

Why do people eat buckwheat noodles? ›

Buckwheat noodles are delicious, with a gentle and mellow taste that never overpowers the overall dish. They are also wheat-free, which makes them ideal for anyone who is following a gluten free diet or looking to diversify what they eat.

Why do the Japanese eat buckwheat noodles? ›

Eating a bowl of buckwheat noodles before midnight on New Year's Eve is an old Japanese tradition that is supposed to bring long life and prosperity in the year ahead.

What is the English name for naengmyeon? ›

What is naengmyeon? Literally translated into cold noodles, naengmyeon is a cold noodle dish of thin, chewy noodles that are made with buckwheat and potato or sweet potato starch.

Do you put mustard in naengmyeon? ›

Some tips from the kitchen: You must add hot mustard and vinegar to make this dish complete! It's normally added at the table so everyone can add as much as they'd like in their own bowl. If you don't have time to make the broth slushy, just add a couple ice cubes to the broth.

What are the two types of naengmyeon? ›

Molinaro has since updated the recipe, combining two common naengmyeon varieties. There's bibim naengmyeon, a spicy, mixed noodle dish, and then there's mool (or “water”) naengmyeon, served in an ice-cold broth. Molinaro's version combines the best of both.

How do you enjoy Korean cold noodles? ›

How to properly enjoy cold noodle
  1. taste the broth first.
  2. add some vingar, mustard, and spicy paste.
  3. when mixing the cold noodle with the spicy sauce, also add the egg yellow.
  4. after finishing the noodle, pour the warm broth into the bowl and finish it too (this is the traditional way)
Jun 14, 2022

Are you supposed to drink naengmyeon broth? ›

Mul-naengmyeon 물냉면

Especially on hot summer days like these, I really feel my body cools right down after I slurp the cold noodles and drink the leftover cold icy broth. The cold broth is tangy, savory, and a little sweet and the noodles are soft but chewy at the same time.

Are you supposed to cut naengmyeon? ›

Traditionally, one is not supposed to cut naengmyeon noodles, as they represent longevity, but usually noodle shops offer to cut them for you, or a pair of scissors so you can snip them yourself — a prudent move considering these will be the chewiest flocks of noodles you'll ever come across in your life.

How is cold soba served? ›

Place soba into ice water and chill until noodles are cold. Drain noodles. Divide noodles evenly between the four plates, mounding the noodles. Pour dipping sauce into individual little bowls to serve alongside noodles.

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