Pyongan · 5 h · Meat · Main course · For confident cooks
Mul Naengmyeon
For 2 servings · US units
Cold buckwheat noodles in icy beef-dongchimi broth with radish, pear and egg
When summer heat kills your appetite, these cold buckwheat noodles bring it right back: a broth of beef brisket and dongchimi brine, frozen to a slush of fine ice crystals, poured over a nest of noodles and topped with thinly sliced beef, sweet-sour radish, cucumber, pear and half an egg. The dish comes from the Pyongan region and is meant to be eaten the moment it hits the table, while everything is still properly cold. Vinegar and hot mustard paste go on the side, so everyone can sharpen their own bowl.
Ingredients
- 7 ozdried buckwheat noodles, cook per package instructionsThin, greyish Korean noodles made from buckwheat flour and starch, strikingly chewy and elastic, used mainly for cold noodle dishes.Substitute: There is no truly good substitute, because the characteristic chewiness comes from the starch. Japanese soba match the buckwheat flavour but are soft and break easily; Korean sweet potato glass noodles have the chewiness but neither the colour nor the taste. In a pinch, use thin soba and expect a noticeably softer dish.Read more
- 6⅔ ozfor the broth, later thinly sliced as toppingCut from the breast of the cow, streaked with fat; supermarkets often sell it only as stewing beef, while a butcher sells it whole or sliced paper-thin on request.Substitute: For braising and broth, chuck or beef shank works; for thinly sliced grilling, fatty beef belly slices from an Asian grocery. Lean cuts turn dry and tough.Read more
- 8½ cupsWaterfor simmering the beef
- 5¼ ozvery thinly sliced and pickled, or dongchimi radishKorean radish (mu), shorter and stouter than daikon, often pale green at the top, with firm, juicy, mildly sweet flesh.Substitute: Daikon or white radish works well, though it is more watery and less sweet, and turns softer when cooked. Some white radishes are also sharper, so taste before using.Read more
- 1⅔ cupsradish water kimchi brine, for the brothThe clear, gently sour brine from dongchimi, a Korean radish water kimchi; cool, salty and faintly fizzy.Substitute: There is no true equivalent, because the flavour comes from fermentation. The closest is the brine of nabak kimchi, another water kimchi, though it is redder and spicier. Ready-made cold noodle broth from an Asian grocer makes a usable soup but tastes more of vinegar and beef stock than of fermented radish. Lightly salted water with rice vinegar, a little sugar and grated radish catches the sourness, but not the depth or the fizz.Read more
- 1¾ ozCucumberjulienned or thinly sliced
- 1¾ ozthinly sliced into half-moons, some grated for the brothA round, very juicy pear with crisp, slightly grainy flesh, closer to an apple than to a soft pear.Substitute: A crisp, juicy apple or a firm, not quite ripe pear comes close. Eaten raw the difference is clear, while in marinades it hardly shows; there the result is a little less juicy and mildly sweet.Read more
- 1Egghard boiled, halved
- 1¾ ozOnionfor the broth
- ⅔ ozScallionswhite parts only, for the broth
- ½ tspblack peppercornswhole, for the broth
- 4 clovesGarlicfor the broth (optional)
- 3Gingerthin slices, for the broth (optional)
- 3 tbspVinegarfor pickling the radish, for the broth and to season at the table
- 2 tbspSugarfor the radish and the broth
- 1 tspSaltto season radish, cucumber and broth
- mustardhot mustard paste at the table, mustard powder in the broth
- 2 tbspSoy sauceto season the beef broth (optional)
- Sesame seedstoasted, for garnish (optional)
Method
- Soak the brisketSoak the beef brisket in cold water for about 10 minutes, then drain.
- Simmer the beef until tenderBring the meat to a boil with the water, onion, the white parts of the scallions and the black peppercorns (add the garlic and ginger if you like), skim off the foam carefully and simmer over medium heat for about 1 hour, until tender.
- Slice the beef, strain the brothLift out the meat, let it cool, trim off the fat and slice it thinly against the grain; strain the broth and let it cool down.
- Season and half-freeze the brothSeason the broth with dongchimi brine, vinegar, grated Asian pear, sugar and salt, and round it out with a little soy sauce and mustard powder if you like. Put it in the freezer for 3 to 4 hours, until it turns icy and slushy, then loosen the ice crystals with a fork.
- Pickle the radishShave the Korean radish paper-thin, cut it into strips and pickle it with vinegar, sugar and salt until the sugar has dissolved.
- Prepare cucumber, pear and eggCut the cucumber into fine strips or thin slices, salt it lightly and let it sit; slice the remaining Asian pear into thin half-moons; hard boil the egg, peel it and cut it in half.
- Cook and chill the noodlesCook the buckwheat noodles in rapidly boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes according to the package instructions, drain immediately and rinse several times in ice-cold water until they are thoroughly cold, then drain well.
- Plate noodles with brothCoil the noodles into a nest in pre-chilled bowls and pour over the half-frozen broth.
- Add toppings and serveTop with the beef, pickled radish, cucumber, pear and the egg half, scatter with toasted sesame seeds and serve straight away, with vinegar and hot mustard paste on the side.
Tips and variations
The broth works more than one way. One version mixes half beef broth with half dongchimi brine and seasons it with mustard powder and pear juice. Another builds the broth from beef broth alone and leaves the dongchimi brine out. Instead of ready-made dongchimi radish you can quick-pickle the radish sweet and sour as described. The cucumber is just as good raw and julienned as it is salted and softened. If you're pressed for time, an instant packet with noodles and a broth sachet does the job: just half-freeze the broth and add whatever toppings you like. Bibim naengmyeon swaps the soup for a sauce: the noodles are tossed with sesame oil and a spicy gochugaru-pear sauce, with only a splash of broth and a few ice cubes alongside. At the table, stir in vinegar and mustard paste and eat quickly, before the ice melts.
Allergens
Contains: Eggs, Cereals containing gluten, Mustard
May contain if you use the optional ingredients: Sesame, Soybeans
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
