It’s known as bibim guksu in Korean, and if you’ve ever had bibimbap, it’s a lot like that, but chilled, and with thinly sliced raw vegetables and a hard cooked egg. The sauce that holds it all together is sweet and spicy and made with red chili paste, rice vinegar, sugar, and sesame. So good! I recommend making extra sauce and just keeping some around to dress up leftovers. The meal comes together quickly, the most time needed to cut up the vegetables. Here’s what Kerissa has to say about it: “Having lived in Korea, where summers are not only hot but extremely humid, when I think summer, I think spicy cold noodles (bibim guksu in Korean). Also, having grown up in a very hot part of California with a mother who literally forbade us to turn on the oven from June until October, I understand the importance of dishes that require little to no cooking to get us through these hottest of months. However, do not be fooled by the simplicity of preparation. Korean food, and in particular these Korean noodles, are extremely flavorful. Between the red chile paste, sesame oil and rice vinegar these noodles hit all the flavor notes: spicy, sweet, salty, tangy and nutty. Feel free to use the dressing to make any variety of cool summer dishes. It would make a great salad simply by tossing with lettuce or thinly sliced cucumbers, or even being poured over sliced cold tofu or cooked chicken.” Do you have a favorite cold noodle dish for hot summer days? Please let us know about it in the comments. The toppings are flexible as well. Add, subtract, adjust to your taste and availability.
Lettuce, thinly sliced Green and/or red cabbage, thinly sliced Cucumber, julienned Carrot, julienned Asian pear, julienned Green onions, thinly sliced Sesame (perilla) leaves, thinly sliced (while traditional for this dish, you can skip) Radish sprouts Cabbage and/or radish kimchi 2 hard-boiled eggs
Sauce:
4 tablespoons gochujang 4 tablespoons rice vinegar (unseasoned or seasoned will both work) 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark) 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
