These cold, spicy noodles served on a large platter, called jaengban-guksu, were a really trendy in Korea when my children were young. They were all over the media and my friends and I all made them for our families. When developing this recipe I asked my daughter if she remembered me making this for her when she was young. She said: “Of course!”

Of course she remembered because these noodles are not only delicious and refreshing but also fun to eat. They are served to the table on a large shallow platter or tray and everyone takes their own portion from it, which makes for an instant festive mood as everyone eats together and shares with each other.

The light sauce drizzled over top is made from garlic, ginger, and vinegar, sweetened with pear and is just a little spicy. Mixed with the noodles, vegetables, and egg slices and served ice cold, all my family loved this recipe. It had been a while since I made it, I figured this was a good time to introduce it to my readers and viewers, just in time for the warm weather!

Jaengban-guksu is made to be shared and eaten all at once with no leftovers, so make these noodles soon and enjoy them with your friends and family. They are easy to make and are perfect for a summertime weekday dinner.

Ingredients

Serves 2 to 3

  • 8 ounces thin buckwheat noodles (or somyeon)
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, shelled and cut into quarters lengthwise
  • 3 cups of clean fresh lettuce, torn into bite size pieces (or mixed greens)
  • 1 small tomato, cut into 8 pieces lengthwise
  • ½ cup worth cucumber matchsticks
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 8 ice cubes

for the sauce:

Directions

Make the seasoning sauce:

  1. Blend the pear, ginger and onion in a food process to make a purée.
  2. Place a large cotton cloth over a medium-sized bowl and pour the purée in the middle. Gather the edges of the cloth and squeeze the purée through so the clear juice goes collects in the bowl. Discard the pulp and take 1 cup of the juice. If there’s less than 1 cup, add cold water to make up the difference.
  3. Pour the juice back into the bowl. Add hot pepper flakes, garlic, soy sauce, kosher salt, hot pepper paste, and vinegar. Mix it well until there are no lumps at all. Set aside at least 20 minutes up to overnight to give the hot pepper flakes time to soak nicely.

Prepare noodles:

    1. Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium high heat.
    2. Add the noodles, stirring with a wooden spoon a few times to prevent them from sticking to each other. cold spicy platter noodles (Jaengban-guksu: 쟁반국수)
    3. Partially cover and cook for 3 minutes until the noodles are well cooked a little chewy but not hard. Take a sample to taste.
    4. Transfer the noodles to a large strainer in the kitchen sink. Rinse the noodles under cold running water to remove excess starch and to make them cold. cold spicy platter noodles (Jaengban-guksu: 쟁반국수)
    5. Drain the noodles well and transfer them to a large platter.  Spread the noodles all over the platter.
    6. Add the ice cubes to the seasoning sauce and mix well to make it cold.
    7. Put the lettuce (or mixed greens) over the noodles and drizzle the cold seasoning sauce including the ice cubes. Add cucumber, tomato, and drizzle the sesame oil and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Add the eggs and serve right away. cold spicy platter noodles (Jaengban-guksu: 쟁반국수)

Mix and serve:

  1. Mix everything together on the platter with tongs or chopsticks, and serve each diner some of the noodles on a small plate. Eat all the noodles in one sitting. cold spicy platter noodles (Jaengban-guksu: 쟁반국수)

Leave your rating:

So far this is rated 5/5 from 202 votes

Be the first to rate this.

4 Comments:

  1. LaurieO United States joined 8/23 & has 1 comment

    Maangchi, I wanted to thank you for this delicious, refreshing recipe! We’re having a miserable summer here in Texas (August, 2023 – endless 100-degree days), and this really lifted my spirits for dinner last night. I wasn’t able to get an Asian pear, so subbed a honeycrisp apple and I think it worked just fine. I’m gluten-free, so used brown rice ramen and tamari, but otherwise followed the recipe. I’m so happy that I have leftovers for lunch today!

  2. Gamer_dani United States joined 3/22 & has 1 comment

    This is probably my favorite cold noodle recipe of yours! Everything goes so well together. The only modification I made was less salt. Other than that, super tasty! Thanks for the recipe! :)


    See full size image

  3. stonefly Olympia WA joined 11/11 & has 61 comments

    What a wonderful dish, Maangchi! I can’t wait for a hot day to make this. I might even add BBQ steak, sliced thinly, to add some protein! Thank you!

Leave a Reply

You must create a profile and be logged in to post a comment.