Bibim Guksu
Bibim Guksu or Mul-naengmyeon
My relationship with Korean food goes back to 1989 when I was 19 years old and living in Champaign Urbana while not attending the University of Illinios. (Yes, It’s a long story - but I shared it here where you can read my testimony). Although I did eventually graduate there, I hung out on campus with all my friends who were actually in school and we would frequent the many Korean (and Thai) food shops near campus. In fact, I ended up working at one for several years to help pay my way through school. It was a Thai, Korean, Sushi restaurant called Miko. Ahh the memories. It was at one of these truly authentic Korean food joints I first discovered Bibim Guksu as well as a cold noodle soup called Mul-naengmyeon. Once you eat it you will understand, but really there is no way to describe how satisfying it is. Believe me when I say nothing, I mean nothing compares to it. Maanchi over at Maanchi.com says.
”Korean icy cold noodles are one of my favorite things to make all year ‘round, even in the cold winter. I can’t resist the texture of the chewy and thin noodles, no matter if they are served with cold broth or in a spicy sauce”
I know, I know, I Can’t resist either! Either in a cold broth, mul-naengmyeon, or a cold spicy sauce, bibim naengmyeon, these chewy gluten free buckwheat noodles are mixed veggies and proteins and form vivid memories that impacted my culinary journey through many ethnic cuisines for decades to come. I remember specifically, when I was really, really hungry, I craved naengmyeon or burritos as big as your head (if your from central Illinois you know what I am talking about right?) Those days of food exploration launched my quest to recreate these dishes at home.
We have several great locations in Grand Rapids Mi that serve respectable Korean dishes, but we don’t really find these naengmyeon dishes on Korean menus here locally. I have however, cooked up and conquered many a Korean dish in my home kitchen, but naengmeon really never arrived on my dinner table, until now. And now I ask myself what was I thinking? In part, I thought it wasn’t accessible at home. It seemed too mysterious, too evasive, too complicated or rather, unless I was born Korean, lived in Korea, or had a Korean mother adopt me, I simply wouldn’t be able to replicate it on my own. All that changed thanks to Jin Joo. And now I introduce you to…
Kimchimari.com
I follow JinJoo @kimchimari on Instagram and she recently posted the most delightful picture that looked wildly familiar, Bibim Guksu. I said to myself, I said i said, “could that be what I think it is”? Sure enough this was very similar to the dish from my college days. Her recipe used either syomen noodles or naengmeon noodles and the memories started to flood my soul with familiar cravings. My tastebuds were dancing with joy and anticipation, so I decided to give it a try. Her recipe was easy to follow and really does come together in 20 minutes. You make the sauce, boil the noodles, chop the veggies and throw it together. Wait, I am blogging, I mean put it together as beautifully as possible and spend crazy amounts of time arranging things in order to snap an amazing photo… Then dive in. Yes, it was glorious, thank you JinJoo.
I did a few things different that I wanted to share to explain my photo. This was made on Ash Wednesday and so as a Catholic we were fasting throughout the day and abstaining from meat. I wanted some extra protein and so I added fishcake and the traditional egg. Also a few changes to the vegetables. I didn’t have Perilla or Chrysanthemum leaves and simply used a generous portion of spring salad mix that had 50% spinach. I also used a mix of cucumbers, fresh shredded brussels sprout, and fresh julienned zucchini. Finally, I did not have an apple so I used an asian pear for the sauce. It was absolutely fantastic.
Here is a link to her recipe:
But I also need to mention two other exceptional recipes that I used to compare to JinJoo’s
And finally
All 3 recipes are excellent resources. If you love Korean food, consult one or all of them and give this a try at home
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FillaUP Your Wallet Now
Cost Savers Corner! Frugal Friendly!
Noodles and Sauce (without the fishcake)
2 Servings Buckwheat noodles - $.75
1/4 fuji apple (can use other kind of apple) 1 oz apple = 1/4 of an apple (see pic) = 2 Tbs grated
$.30
0.5 oz onion 0.5 oz = 1 Tbs grated onion $.10
1 clove garlic - $.03
1 Tbsp rice vinegar - $.03
1 Tbsp Gochujang Korean red chili paste $.15
4 tsp Gochukaru (Korean red chili powder) $.05
2 tsp soy sauce (Jin Ganjang) $.10
1 Tbsp sugar $.02
1 Tbsp honey $.02
1 tsp sesame oil (more to taste) $.03
1 tsp Guk Ganjang (Soy Sauce for Soups) $.02
Vegetables
3 ounce leaf lettuce leaves - $.30
6 brussels sprouts - $.25
1 cup julienned zucchini $.25
1/2 cup cucumber (Korean/English/Persian/Japanese) julienned $.10
egg - $.15
Total cost $3.26 serves 2 people, that’s $1.63 per person. In Chicago you can order it at several restaurants for as low as $8.95 a bowl.
That’s a costs savings of $7.32