Almost-Instant Bibim Guksu (Cold Kimchi Noodles)

A fast summer lunch built entirely around my favorite pantry staples

Hello and welcome to this week’s Thursday recipe drop!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. It was on-and-off torrential downpours and T-storms in NYC, which I guess meant bad news for anyone who was planning to spend the weekend grilling or picnicking, but great news for me. I took a break from newsletter writing and spent the day fully indoors watercolor painting, eating Korean takeout, and watching Titanic with one of my best friends. We actually pre-gamed Titanic with Emily The Criminal, which we did not do intentionally nor would we recommend, but was amazing regardless.

Today’s recipe is for bibim guksu, a beloved Korean cold noodle dish of and one of my favorite quick summer lunches for when I’m feeling particularly busy or lazy and don’t have much in the fridge beyond a couple of eggs and a jar of kimchi and maybe a couple of loose vegetables leftover from making a salad. (“Bibim” translates to “mixed” and “guksu” is “noodle”.)

I typically use somyeon, a thin wheat noodle that’s simultaneously light yet filling, cooks in 2 minutes, and loves to cling to the chunky kimchi dressing. But you could use any noodle on the thinner side, such as soba, thin udon noodles, ramen noodles, or even angel hair pasta.

I’ve kept the seasonings for this recipe fairly conservative, because the beauty of bibim guksu is that everyone likes a different ratio of sesame oil to sugar to gochugaru, etc. Dress yours the way you like it best. But try not to skip the sugar—it’s the essential ingredient that brings harmony to this dish.

Shredded lettuce and/or julienned cucumbers are among my favorite toppings for bibim guksu because they add that juicy, watery, cooling crunch that’s so satisfying in summer food. But I would also happily add a big handful of leafy spring mix or arugula, or julienned perilla or shiso leaves, and call it day.

Hope you all enjoy it!

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Almost-Instant Bibim Guksu (Cold Kimchi Noodles)
Serves 2

Ingredients
1½ cups kimchi, chopped
3 Tbsp. kimchi juice (if your jar of kimchi doesn’t have enough juice, substitute water and a little salt)
1 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds, plus more for serving
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
2 large eggs
6 oz. somyeon or other thin wheat noodles
Shredded lettuce, julienned cucumbers, slivered radishes, or other crunchy vegetables, for serving

Preparation

1. Combine kimchi, kimchi juice, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, sugar, sesame oil, and gochugaru in a large bowl and mix to combine.

2. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Gently lower eggs into water and cook for 8 minutes for a medium-boiled egg. Use a slotted spoon to transfer eggs to a bowl of cool water (I never ice bath my eggs, especially not during the summer when my ice is a precious commodity, and I have never had an issue with them overcooking). Once cool, peel and halve eggs and set aside.

3. Return water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain noodles in a colander and rinse under cold running water; drain well and transfer to bowl with kimchi.

4. Use gloved and/or clean hands to toss everything together until well combined. At this point, give it a taste and add more kimchi juice, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and/or gochugaru to your liking.

5. Divide noodles between two shallow bowls and top each with an egg, a big handful of vegetables, and more sesame seeds.