Rice & Noodles
Makguksu (Chilled Buckwheat Noodles)
Prep
20 min
Cook
5 min
Servings
2
Photo: KOREA.NET - Official page of the Republic of Korea · CC BY-SA
Steps
- 1
Whisk gochujang, gochugaru, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and garlic into a sauce and chill.
- 2
Boil the buckwheat noodles for the time on the packet, usually 4-5 minutes.
- 3
Drain and rinse under cold running water, rubbing the strands until the water runs clear.
- 4
Drain very thoroughly - shake the colander hard.
- 5
Toss the noodles with the sauce until evenly coated.
- 6
Pile into bowls and top with cabbage and cucumber.
- 7
Add the halved egg.
- 8
Finish with sesame seeds and crumbled seaweed.
Did you know — Korean culture
Makguksu belongs to Gangwon province, and the reason is agricultural rather than culinary. The region is mountainous with poor, thin soil where rice struggles but buckwheat thrives, so buckwheat noodles became the local staple by necessity. Chuncheon, better known abroad for dak galbi, is the city most associated with it.
Makguksu sits between a cold noodle soup and a dressed noodle salad, and the Gangwon version most people mean is the dressed one. There is no broth to hide behind, so the sauce has to cling to every strand - which means the noodles need to be dry when they meet it.
Buckwheat noodles are starchier than they look and they clump fast. Rinsing is not a quick pass under the tap; work the strands between your hands until the water coming off them is clear rather than milky. That is what gives makguksu its loose, separate texture.
The name is a clue to how it should feel. Mak roughly means roughly or carelessly - this is not a composed dish. The vegetables are shredded rather than precisely cut and the whole thing is tossed at the table.
Troubleshooting
Noodles clumping into a block? Under-rinsed. Rub them under cold running water until it runs clear.
Sauce pooling at the bottom? The noodles were still wet. Drain far harder than feels necessary.
Too sharp? Buckwheat is assertive and the sauce is meant to match it, but add sugar a teaspoon at a time to round it off.