Jinju Naengmyeon

About the dish

Naengmyeon — cold noodles that 'fight cold with cold' — has charmed Korean palates since long ago, and today it is above all a summer dish, often enjoyed after a meal of bulgogi or galbi. Yet it began as a winter food of the northern provinces: dongchimi was ladled from jars buried in the frozen ground, thin ice cracked open, and the noodles were eaten teeth-chattering in a heated ondol room.

Key ingredient

Buckwheat (memil) — good for the skin and weight control, and helps ward off high blood pressure; it supports the liver against hangovers, aids diuresis, and helps the pancreas secrete insulin. Harvested in October, mainly from Jeju.

Ingredients

Pheasant 200g, buckwheat flour 300g, sweet-potato starch 300g, radish 500g (about 1/2), cucumber 280g (2), pear 150g (1/2), onion 100g (2/3), water as needed, whole garlic as needed, red-pepper threads as needed, ginger 20g (5 pieces), scallion 30g (1 stalk), egg 50g (1), salt as needed, soup soy sauce as needed, mustard as needed [Meat seasoning] red-pepper powder, chopped scallion, minced garlic [Sauce] salt 2 tsp, soy sauce 2 Tbsp, minced garlic, chopped scallion as needed

Simple recipe

1. Bring water to a boil, add the cleaned pheasant and thick-cut radish, simmer, then lift out the pheasant and shred the meat finely.
2. Return the bones to the broth, boil for about an hour, add scallion, onion and garlic, simmer gently 30 minutes more, and season with salt and soup soy sauce.
3. Toss the shredded meat with chopped scallion, red-pepper powder, minced garlic and salt.
4. Knead the buckwheat flour and sweet-potato starch into a dough and press through a noodle press.
5. Julienne the cucumber lengthwise, salt it, squeeze dry and season.
6. Boil the noodles, place in bowls, pour over the broth, top with the seasoned meat, cucumber, red-pepper threads, julienned pear and egg ribbons, and serve with mustard and the sauce.

▶ Watch recipe videos

A Glass · Traditional pairing