Vegan Bunny Elle

Meet your new summer favorite – naengmyeon, a classic Korean dish that’s cooling, flavorful, perfect for hot weather, and super easy to make.

Hard to beat a bowl of refreshing, slurpy goodness on a hot summer day! Naengmyeon is an iconic Korean dish and a top childhood fave of mine. It consists of silky, chewy, slightly elastic buckwheat noodles and a tangy, umami, ice-cold broth that’s so chilled it is often served with a slushy, icy texture.

The flavor balance of this simple cold noodle bowl is almost poetic to me. You have the deep savoriness and umami from the broth, sweetness from the Asian pear, earthiness from the buckwheat, and a zingy spicy kick from the mustard oil. Not to mention the layers of different textures!

There are two variations of naengmyeon: mul-naengmyeon, which is the classic icy broth version; and bibim-naengmyeon, which is the spicy version. This recipe is for the classic mul-naengmyeon, crowd pleasing and kids friendly!

Naengmyeon Easy Korean Cold Noodles

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Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 servings of naengmyeon noodles see notes for online purchase option
• 2 packets Naengmyeon broth see notes for substitution
• 1 Asian pear
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Mustard oil

For the pickled cucumber

• 1/2 English cucumber thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon sugar

For the vegan hard boiled "egg"

Method

 

1. Toss the cucumber slices and the rest of the pickle ingredients in a bowl, let them sit while you get everything else ready;
2. Prep the broth, there are two ways you can go about it, if you are planning this meal ahead of time, mix the naengmyeon broth concentrate that comes with the noodle package with water according to package instruction, place the broth mixture in the freezer for 4-5 hours, and it’ll become an icy slushie texture;
3. Or, if making the broth for immediate serving, use half the amount of water and substitute the other half with ice, and coarsely blend the broth mixture;
4. Peel the Asian pear, thinly slice half of the pear for serving, grate the other half, squeeze out the pear juice through a fine mesh or nut milk bag and add the juice to the broth, keep the broth in the fridge until ready to serve;
5. Bring a large pot of water to boil, cook the noodles for 3-4 minutes until soft, no hard core left but not mushy;
6. Immediately drain the noodle and rinse under ice cold water until they’re no longer sticky, transfer into two bowls;
7. Pour the icy broth over the noodles, add cucumber pickles, sliced pears, and vegan hard boiled “egg” on top, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and finally drizzle on the mustard oil packets that come with the noodles;
8. Serve cold, enjoy!

Video

Notes

• You can usually find Naengmyeon noodle packets in Asian grocery stores as well as online, I used this one I bought online;
• If you’re not using the naengmyeon broth concentrate that comes with the noodle packet, you can make your own by mixing two cups of vegetable broth, a couple tablespoons of soy sauce, about two teaspoons of brown sugar, taste and adjust the amounts of seasonings to your liking;
• It’s surprisingly easy to make your own vegan hard boiled “egg”! I make these so often they’re really fun to have on hand, follow this recipe here.