Korean Cold Cucumber Soup (Oi-Naengguk) is the most refreshing and cooling summer food that is low calorie but loaded with nutrients. Gluten free and vegan, it can be ready in just a few minutes with simple ingredients.
Oi Naeng Guk (Korean Cold Cucumber soup) reminds me of my years in Florida because this was the first soup I learned to make as a newly wed. Summers in Florida was so hot that even someone like me kind of lost their appetite.
The crazy hot Florida summers always made me crave for something cooling and this was the perfect dish to make in just a few minutes with very little effort. My husband is not a fan of cucumber but he actually enjoyed having this Korean Cold Cucumber Soup every time.
Tips for Serving Korean Cold Cucumber Soup
- Oi Naeng Guk is enjoyed as a substitute for hot soups in the summer so serve it in small individual soup or cereal bowls
- Add ice right before serving to keep the soup chilled during the meal. But ice will melt and dilute the soup so therefore it is good to season a little more aggressively (as I have done in my recipe).
- Korean, Japanese, Persian or English cucumbers work best. These have the best crunch, thin skin and flavor for this recipe.
Food to go with Korean Cold Cucumber Soup
- Omurice, Kimchi Fried Rice or any kind of fried rice
- Bibimbap, Bulgogi Rice Bowl
- Hobak Buchimgae (zucchini fritters), Bindaetteok (mung bean pancake)
Why This Soup is a Great Summer Food
Cucumbers have great nutritional value containing various minerals that you can often lack in the summer. Here’s a great article on it’s health benefits. Some highlights –
- cucumber contains 95% water – great for hydration
- high in potassium (152 mg per cup) – good for heart health
- high in vitamin K (22% of DV) – good for bone health
How to Make Cold Korean Cucumber Soup – Step by Step
Servings: 3 Time: 15 min (10 Resting + 5 Prep) Difficulty: EASY
- Soak dried miyeok (seaweed) in lukewarm water. It should take about 10 minutes to fully rehydrate. Skip this step if you don’t have miyeok or don’t love the seaweed taste. (See below 0-4)
Korean Seaweed (Miyeok) Soaking In water - Make broth by mixing water, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and salt in a bowl.
Ingredients for Korean Cold Cucumber Soup - Julienne cucumber to make about 1 cup. It will be about 1/2 of an English cucumber and 1 whole cucumber for the other varieties.
Cutting cucumber for Oi Naengguk - Chop green onion. Set aside.
- Add cucumber and soaked miyeok (seaweed) to seasoned broth. Finish seasoning by adding green onions, red chili pepper powder (gochukaru), sesame seeds.
- Keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Right before serving, add few ice cubes to bowl. Serve in individual soup or cereal bowls.
Tips for Making this Simple Korean Cold Cucumber Soup (Oi NaengGuk)
- For even a quicker and cleaner tasting version, omit seaweed and you can make this in 5 minutes or less.
- Don’t leave seaweed in too long because the flavor can be overpowering.
- Add 1/4 tsp chopped garlic for extra zing.
- Reduce salt by 1/2 tsp and add 1/2 tsp Guk Ganjang (Korean soup soy sauce) for extra umami flavor.
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Enjoy~ ❤
JinJoo
Korean Cold Cucumber Soup (Oi NaengGuk)
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber (Korean, English, Persian, Japanese, julienned – about 1 cup)
- 1 g miyeok (seaweed or 1/4 cup wet - OPTIONAL)
- 1 green onion (chopped)
- 1 1/2 cup water
seasoning
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce (jin ganjang)
- 4 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt (Trader Joe’s)
- 1 tsp Korean red chili pepper (gochukaru)
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Soak dried miyeok (seaweed) in lukewarm water. It should take about 10 minutes to fully rehydrate. Skip this step if you don’t have miyeok or don’t love the seaweed taste. (See below 0-4)
- Make broth by mixing water, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and salt in a bowl.
- Julienne cucumber to make about 1 cup. It will be about 1/2 of an English cucumber or 1 whole cucumber for other smaller varieties.
- Chop green onion. Set aside.
- Add cucumber to seasoned broth. Finish seasoning by adding green onions, red chili pepper powder (gochukaru) and sesame seeds.
- Keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Right before serving, add few cubes to the bowl.
- Serve in individual soup or cereal bowls.
Tips & Notes:
- Oi Naeng Guk is enjoyed as a substitute for hot soups in the summer so serve it in small individual soup or cereal bowls
- Add ice right before serving to keep the soup chilled during the meal.
- Season on the aggressive side as ice will melt and dilute the soup. My seasoning does account for some ice but you may want to add additional seasoning to taste.
- Korean, Japanese, Persian or English cucumbers work best for this recipe. These have the best crunch, thin skin and flavor.
- If you add too much seaweed or leave the seaweed too long in the soup, the seaweed flavor may be too strong. Seaweed is optional so leave it out or add right before serving.
Very easy and tasty
I made it with the 미역 and it is fantastic! my housemate gave it a 10/10. he said it reminded him a lot of Spanish gazpacho, and I agree. it’s like Asian cucumber gazpacho. I *know* he loved it because like me, he drank every drop of broth! the ice cubes are very important. so refreshing on a hot day.
So happy to hear that!! Yes, you are totally right that it’s similar to gazpacho! Didn’t really think about that. I always enjoyed oi naengguk in Korean hot summers growing up – nothing like this to cool you down. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment – hope you have a great day!
Am I missing something? What do you do with the miyeok if using it?
OH! So sorry – I forgot to add it to the instructions. Yes, you just add it together with the cucumbers. I corrected it just now. Thank you SO much for asking! As I noted in the recipe, the miyeok flavor is much stronger in cold soup than in miyeok guk so add a little bit of it to see if you like it before adding all of it. Enjoy!
Sorry the rating didn’t work, rating it a second time.
Thank you Jinjoo, cannot wait to try 🙂
Awesome!! And thank you so much for leaving me the rating. BTW, I just wanted to check something with you – did you mean to leave a 4 star? or was that unintentional? If you wanted to leave me a 4 star that’s totally fine. I’m just trying to see if people sometimes leave lower rating accidentally… thank you again!!