Korean Spicy Chilled Noodles (Bibim Guksu)

• servings: Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 cup drained kimchi

3 to 4 tablespoons gochujang

2½ tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons kimchi juice rice vinegar, plus more as

½ English cucumber

4 scallions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1½ tablespoons white sugar

8 ounces somen noodles

1½ tablespoons toasted (see headnote) sesame oil

Ice

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Kosher salt

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the gochujang, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and the kimchi juice. Set aside.

2. Thinly slice the cucumber on the diagonal. Stack several slices and cut lengthwise into matchsticks. Repeat with the remaining slices. Set aside.

3. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook, stirring fre- quently, until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander, then add 1 cup ice cubes on top. Rinse the noodles under cold running water, tossing constantly, until completely cool to the touch. Remove any unmelted ice cubes, then drain well.

4. Add the drained noodles to the gochujang mixture, along with the kimchi. Toss, then taste and season with salt and additional vinegar. Transfer to a shallow serving bowl, then mound the scallions and cucumber on top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Toss just before serving.

Notes

This classic Korean dish is a pasta salad of sorts, with bold contrasting flavors and textures. Somen is the Japanese name for the type of dried wheat noodle to use here; in Korean they are called somyeon. The noodles are slender and creamy white; look for them, often packaged in bundles, in the Asian section of the grocery store or in Asian markets. Gochujang is a Korean fermented red pepper paste-it's an essential ingredient in this dish. Made with ¼ cup gochujang, the noodles are assertively spicy. To turn down the heat, reduce the amount to 3 tablespoons. If you like, add a halved or quartered hard- or soft-cooked egg on top of each portion.