Cold Noodles with medley of toppings (Naengmyeon)

One of the most popular dishes in summer. Traditionally, you cook the beef brisket in water until tender and use the broth, and the cooked meat is sliced and served together with other toppings.

Although there is a flavorful broth, this method leaves the meat without any taste. I often grill a piece steak and slice it (or a few slices of roast beef) to add as a topping

instead of the boiled beef.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

6 cups beef broth

1/4 teaspoon mustard seed oil

2 small cucumbers, sliced and cut into thin strips

1 1/2 cups kimchi, sliced thin 1/2 Asian pear, peeled, cored and sliced into thin strips

2 EGGS, soft boiled and cut

3/4 lb/340g club steak (or roast beef slices)

Vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, crushed fine

Salt and pepper

12 oz/338g buckwheat

noodles

1. Prepare the beef broth in advance. Add mustard seed oil.

2. Prepare cucumbers, kimchi, pear and eggs. Grill the steak with vegetable oil in the frying pan. Rub with crushed garlic and add salt and pepper. Slice thin when cooled.

3. Cook the noodles in boiling water until tender but still chewy (2 minutes), drain in a strainer. If buckwheat noodles turn light gray, they are overcooked and have lost their chewy consistency. Pay attention.

4 Rinse quickly under cold running water. Cut once in the middle with scissors. Divide the noodles into individual bowls and arrange the toppings. Pour the broth carefully down the side of the bowl not to wash away the flavors from the toppings. Serve immediately.

For beef broth

2 lbs/910g beef brisket

1 onion, cut in half

1 leek, cut in half

2 garlic cloves

1 beef bouillon cube

1. Cover the meat with water and let it sit for 30 minutes. Discard the water and add 9 cups of fresh water and bring to a boil. Add onion, leek and garlic. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

2. Add beef bouillon cube and discard the meat and vegetables

You need six cups of broth.

This is an excerpt from “Korean Cuisine: Healthy Food, Full of Flavor,” (Yekyong Publishing, 224 pp., 28,000 won). The book is on sale at major bookstores such as Kyobo Bookstore, Youngpoong Bookstore and Bandi & Luni’s. – ED.