Easy Cold Kimchi Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 package Sempio Ssal Somyeon (Gluten Free Rice Noodles) or other thin Somyeon noodles

Soup

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 10 Tbsp water
• 1/4 cup kimchi juice 
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2.5 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp soy sauce 
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 each cucumber

seasoned cabbage kimchi

• 3/4 cup cabbage kimchi julienned
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp rice vinegar 
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil 

garnish

• 1/4 cup Putbaechu (Seoul Green Cabbage) Kimchi optional
• 2 Tbsp roasted sea laver (gim)
• 1 each egg

Instructions

1. Boil a pot of water to cook noodles in.
2. Boil an egg using your favorite method. For hard boiled eggs, I usually just add eggs to a pot with cold water, turn heat to medium and then let it come to boil slowly (so the egg doesn’t crack) and let it cook for 10-12 min. Then transfer eggs to an ice bath and peel after couple minutes. Slice it in half. Each bowl should get 1/2 an egg.1 each egg
3. While the water is boiling, julienne cucumbers set aside.1/2 each cucumber
4. Cut kimchi into small thin strips, season it with sugar, sesame seeds and optionally sesame oil.3/4 cup cabbage kimchi,1/2 tsp sugar,1/4 tsp rice vinegar,1 tsp sesame seeds,1/2 tsp sesame oil
5. To cook the gluten-free Ssalmyeon 쌀면 which i used in this recipe, you just need to cook the noodles for 4-5 minutes, then rinse in cold water 2-3 times. Let it drain. If using other Somyeon 소면, follow directions on the package.1/2 package Sempio Ssal Somyeon (Gluten Free Rice Noodles)
6. Prepare soup – In a bowl, add chicken broth, water and kimchi liquid. I had ripened Putbaechu Kimchi which was perfect for this recipe. Regular Napa Cabbage Kimchi liquid will work just fine too. Just make sure it’s fully ripened or slightly sour. Add vinegar, soy sauce, salt, sugar and taste. You may want more vinegar or sugar. Keep it chilled in the fridge until serving time. To make it EXTRA ICY – put in freezer for 1 hr or so to make it a slushy consistency.1 cup chicken broth,10 Tbsp water,1/4 cup kimchi juice,1 Tbsp rice vinegar,2.5 tsp sugar,1 tsp soy sauce,1/8 tsp sea salt

Assemble

1. In a bowl, add noodles, the cold soup and the toppings of cucumber, seasoned kimchi and in my case I added extra pieces of Putbaechu Kimchi. If you have Yeolmu (young radish greens) Kimchi, you can add some of that instead.1/4 cup Putbaechu (Seoul Green Cabbage) Kimchi
2. Finally, add 1/2 egg per bowl, sprinkle some crushed or torn roasted sea laver (gim) for extra flavor.2 Tbsp roasted sea laver (gim)

Tips & Notes

1. EXTRA EASY SOUP RECIPE – just buy pre-made Dongchimi Naengmyeon noodles and use the broth package from that. I like Pulmuone and CJ as brands. Just add 3 Tbsp of Kimchi juice to one package of soup and that’s it!! Because these soups are already well flavored, you just need some Kimchi juice to flavor the soup, then make the toppings as above and enjoy!!
2. If you don’t want to throw away the noodles from the packages, you could even just use Naengmyeon noodles instead of Somyeon. In which case, I guess it will be Kimchimari Naengmyeon?
3. Inaccurate Nutritional Facts – the nutrition facts in this recipe is missing the nutrition for Kimchi juice so most likely the sodium level will be a bit higher. But then you don’t normally drink all the soup broth so it may be a little less.