Mul-naengmyeon 물냉면
One of my favourite Korean summertime dishes is mul-naengmyeon, cold noodles in chilled broth. It seems like a simple dish but to get it right takes a lot of effort and days in preparation. Below recipe is based on Maangchi's recipe.
When you buy naengmyeon-yong-guksu 냉면용국수 (the dried buckwheat noodles) you will usually get a package of liquid or powdered broth. To make the broth from scratch you will need the brine of fermented radish water kimchi (dongchimi: 동치미) and beef stock. It is a time consuming proces since the dongchimi needs about five days to ferment. You can make a quicker broth from 8 cups of water, 3 or 4 shiitake mushrooms, 4 inch piece of dried kelp and 8 to 10 dried anchovies. Boil for 20 minutes and cool.
To do it the proper way:
1. Make Dongchimi 동치미
Roll about 7 small Korean radishes Mu 무 in plenty of salt to coat the radish. Put the salted radish in a glass jar. Put some green radish leaves on top and add the leftover salt. Close the lid and keep it in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Then add 4 garlic cloves, minced, 2 teaspoons minced ginger, 2-3 green chili peppers, 2-3 red chili peppers, half a Korean pear, cut into chunks, 3 green onions (including the roots), washed and drained, onion, sliced into pieces and 2 liters of water. Close the lid and let it sit at room temperature for 2-3 days until it ferments.
2. Make beef stock
Bring water to a boil, add washed beef brisket and simmer for two hours. Cool the stock and thinly slice the beef.
Combine beef stock and dongchimi in approximately a 2 : 1 ratio.
Once you have the broth chilled in the freezer to the point you will get chunks of ice or slush, you assemble the mul-naengmyeon as follows:
Put the cooked and cold water rinsed noodles in a bowl and pour over the icy broth. Place pickled cucumber and sliced pear on top. Add mustard oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds powder and add half a hard boiled egg.
Pickled cucumber: mix sliced cucumber, salt, half a teaspoon of sugar, and vinegar in a bowl.
The mul-naengmyeon 물냉면 below was served in Gyeongju (경주) in a small restaurant near my hotel, which was apparently one of the infamous "love hotels" (러브호텔). The free condoms I found in my room were the first give away.
