I’m kinda getting into these cold noodles dishes for when it is hot! Like, kimchi bibimguksu, these Korean noodles are flavorful, cool, refreshing and not too heavy. There are two names I came across for these noodles: bibim guksu and bibim naengmyeon and through a little research and some fun reading (here and here and here), I think naengmyeon are cold noodles, chewy and made out of buckwheat and other starches, and guksu are wheat noodles that could have buckwheat in them, but are not chewy. Since I used soba which are definitely not chewy, I think we’ll call this bibim guksu. But really, I’m not sure!

Anyways, the noodles are mixed with a gochujang sauce which is gochujang(a Korean hot pepper paste made from rice, chilis, soybeans and salt-you can get it at a Korean market or even on Amazon) mixed with vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil, etc. and topped with cucumber and hard boiled eggs. We didn’t have cucumber and while sometimes I get a little crazy and pick up every possible ingredient I might need, I didn’t feel like it this day and went with a substitute of carrots and cabbage.

Gochujang(Korean chili paste) is really necessary in these noodles. I can’t think of any suitable substitute. Gochujang is a great item to stock and it lasts forever which is great if you only cook Korean dishes once in a while. I get it in a plastic container that doesn’t seal great, so I transfer it to a glass jar to keep in the fridge.

This recipe is adapted from My Korean Kitchen. 

2 eggs
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Cucumbers sliced into matchsticks (I used carrots and cabbage since we didn’t have cucumbers)
6 ounces buckwheat or soba noodles

1. Boil eggs, let cool, peel and cut into long 4ths.
2. Toast the sesame seeds until brown and fragrant, let cool.
3. Mix together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, and sesame oil.
4. Boil the buckwheat noodles according to the package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water.
5. Toss the noodles with the sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and top with cucumbers or carrots or cabbage (cucumbers would be best!) and the egg.