This is the perfect noodle dish for summer! How to make easy, refreshingly cold kimchi bibimguksu, or Korean mixed noodles.

This hot weather lately had me craving for dishes that are refreshing – such as this cold bibimguksu! Bibimguksu, which refers to “mixed noodles” are noodles coated in a spicy, savoury kimchi-based sauce. This is similar to bibimbap or Korean mixed rice, with one key difference in this recipe: vinegar for a refreshingly tangy finish. The best thing about these noodles is that it is incredibly easy to make, and pulls together very quickly.

Why you will LOVE this Bibimguksu recipe?

Refreshing and Cooling: Bibimguksu is great warm, but even better when cold! Cold bibimguksu provides a respite from hot weather, making it an ideal dish to enjoy during the summer months. The chilled noodles and fresh vegetables offer a cooling sensation, helping to beat the heat and provide relief from high temperatures.
Quick and Convenient: Cold bibimguksu is a quick and convenient meal option, as it requires minimal cooking and preparation time. The only cook time here are the noodle blanching, and the best part is that you can cook the noodles in advance.
Cold & Spicy: The cold temperature mellows down the spiciness of the gochujang sauce, making this one addictive bowl! Not the biggest fan of spice? Add less of the gochujang and gochugaru and you’ll still have a refreshing bowl of cold noodles.
Versatile and Customisable: Bibimguksu is highly versatile and can be customised according to personal preferences. Spiciness can easily be adjusted by adding more or less gochujang and gochugaru, and you can top with your favourite vegetables and protein options to create a personalized bowl of bibimguksu – can we say ‘clear-fridge’ dish?

Ingredients for Bibimguksu

Bibimguksu is EASILY customisable. These are the main ingredients and sauce elements that you need for Bibimguksu:

Noodles: Somyeon or Korean thin wheat noodles, typically make the base of bibimguksu. Other thin noodles work the best for this, such as buckwheat, soba noodles or angel hair pasta! I used angel hair pasta here, since I always have that in my pantry.
Fresh Vegetables: I love using just refreshing cucumbers for my bibimguksu, but you can add an array of other fresh and crunchy vegetables, such as carrots, cabbage, and scallions. These vegetables add a refreshing element to the dish, balancing the heat of the gochujang.
Protein: While traditional bibimguksu is typically vegetarian, you can usually find a boiled egg as a topping. This is my topping of choice too, and other proteins you can try include seared sliced beef, or boiled seafood.

Sauce:

Kimchi and Kimchi Liquid: Chop kimchi into bite-sized pieces and save the liquid. If you don’t want a strong kimchi flavour however, you can exclude the kimchi liquid and replace with just water to create the base sauce.
Cold Water or Cold Apple/Pear Juice: This will help to chill the noodles further. Using apple or pear juice will add a fruity sweetness that goes well with the kimchi flavours.
Gochujang: Korean red pepper paste is the star of this dish.
Gochugaru (optional): For extra spice, I like to add gochugaru or red pepper flakes.
Garlic
Vinegar: Any vinegar will work, but I love using apple cider vinegar for this.
Sesame Oil
Sesame Seeds
Sugar: You can add sugar to your sauce, but I didn’t add this in this time round. Instead for that hint of sweetness, I ate my bibimguksu with some apple slices. You can also try adding apple or pear juice to the sauce instead!

How to make Bibimguksu

1. Cook noodles to al dente

Boil the noodles according to packet instructions or until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water (or dunk in iced water and drain).

2. Meanwhile make the sauce

Combine all of the sauce ingredients together.

3. Add noodles to sauce and toss to combine

Add cooked noodles to the sauce and combine to evenly coat noodles. You can use tongs to do this, or you can just use your hands. Wear gloves if you’re making this for others.

4. Garnish and eat!

Add toppings of choice – I finely sliced some cucumbers and halved a boiled egg for this. Even better, keep in the fridge and allow the flavours to fully develop overnight.

How to serve bibimguksu cold?

There are a couple of tips to get your bibimguksu cold as soon as possible:

Use cold or ice water to rinse the noodles after boiling.
Keep the rest of the sauce ingredients such as the kimchi cold.
If you’re good at planning, make this beforehand and store it in the fridge to chill! If you’ve properly rinsed the noodles with water, it should not be soggy. For best results, use angel hair pasta.

Of course, a gentle reminder as well that you can have Bibimguksu warm too. To have hot bibimguksu, I recommend removing the vinegar, and top with a fried egg with runny yolk – this is SO GOOD.

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