What is/are Naengmyeon ?
Naengmyeon 냉면 can refer to the cold noodle soup itself or the noodles that's used in the soup. The noodles also go by Naengmyeon Guksu 냉면국수 where Guksu means noodles.
These Naengmyeon noodles are typically very thin and chewy. Noodles can be made from a combination of wheat, buckwheat, rice flour but can also made with just buckwheat (maemil 메밀) flour which is a special kind and is called Maemil Naengmyeon 메밀냉면. 100% buckwheat Naengmyeon noodles are usually not as chewy.
They are usually brown in color and come in dried or wet form.
Not To Be Confused With
Buckwheat noodles (Maemil Guksu 메밀국수)
Where and What To Buy
Korean or Asian Grocery Store, online, Amazon.
Stores either sell the dried Naengmyeon or fresh ones that are sold in the refrigerator section. See picture above.
I actually like the dried Naengmyeon slightly better because the noodles are more firm and soup packet flavor is not too sweet. My favorite brands are - Choungsu Mul Naengmyeon 청수 물 냉면 and Chil Kab Farm Products (칠갑농산) Mul Naengmyeon.
Wet fresh ones are almost as good and a good brand to buy is Pulmuone 풀무원 because they don't use MSG. They have Dongchimi Naengmyeon 동치미 냉면 where the broth has the Dongchimi Kimchi liquid added.
How to Use/Cook
Follow directions on the package for the noodles. These noodles should be cooked for a short time as when they are overcooked, the noodles are not good. Usually boil noodles for 2-3 minutes for dried ones and 1 min or so for refrigerated fresh ones.
Have an ice bath ready and immediately dunk the noodles in the cold water and rinse multiple times and let it drain. Serve noodles cold. The more times you rinse the noodles, they will remain chewier and not stick to each other as much.
Follow instructions for the broth or what I do a lot is to use canned chicken stock then some of the seasoning packet from the noodles. Then finish by adding vinegar, soy sauce, salt, sugar to taste. You can also make your own beef broth from scratch following my RECIPE HERE.
How to Clean/Store
Keep the dried noodles in a sealed package and in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight.
Keep the fresh noodles in the fridge. Keep cooked noodles in the fridge for a few days - they won't be the same as freshly cooked ones though. The cold noodles will need to be softened by splashing some hot water on it otherwise the cold noodles from the fridge will be very brittle.
Nutrition/Health Info
- Naengmyeon noodles are very low calorie, especially the buckwheat noodles.
