Korean Buckwheat Noodle Salad
Quick answer
- Total time
- 22 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Chilled buckwheat noodles get tossed with fine shreds of cucumber, red cabbage, and carrot that outweigh the noodles, and the result eats more like a salad than a noodle bowl.
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The dressing is gochujang thinned with vinegar, soy sauce, and a little sesame oil: spicy, sour, and savory at once. Rubbing the cooked noodles under cold water strips their surface starch, which keeps them from clumping and stops the dressing from pooling at the bottom of the bowl. The toss happens right before serving and the bowl spends only 5 minutes in the fridge, because buckwheat softens quickly once dressed. It makes a light meal on a hot day.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Julienne 100 g cucumber, 80 g red cabbage, and 70 g carrot into similar thin strips so they mix evenly with the noodles.
Shake off excess moisture and keep the vegetables chilled while you prepare the rest.
- 2
In a bowl, combine 1 tablespoon gochujang, 1.5 tablespoons vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
Whisk until no paste lumps remain, then taste the dressing and note the heat level before tossing.
- 3
Bring a large pot of water to a steady boil, add 160 g buckwheat noodles, and cook over medium-high heat according to the package time. Stir during the first 30 seconds to keep the strands from sticking together.
- 4
When the noodles are cooked but still springy, rinse them immediately under cold water several times.
Gently rub the strands with your hands to remove surface starch, then drain thoroughly so the dressing will cling instead of becoming watery.
- 5
Just before serving, place the drained noodles and chilled vegetables in a large bowl and pour over the dressing.
Toss by lifting with chopsticks or tongs so the noodles stay loose and the vegetables keep their crunch.
- 6
Once everything is evenly coated in a reddish dressing, chill the salad for only 5 minutes.
Serve it cold right away, because holding it too long after dressing can soften the noodles and dull the fresh vegetable texture.
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