Ingredients
Noodle Sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar*
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean Chili Flakes)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 Tablespoons kimchi juice (the liquid from your kimchi jar)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Kimchi Noodles:
- 2 servings cooked noodles (I used soba-Japanese buckwheat noodles)*
- 2 persian cucumbers (or half a European cucumber)
- 1 cup napa kimchi*
- 1 large shallot
- 1 Tablespoon dried wakame seaweed
Garnish:
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 scallion trimmed and sliced thin
Instructions
Make the noodle sauce:
- Combine the soy sauce, seasoned rice vinegar, water, toasted sesame oil, gochugaru, sugar, kimchi juice, and garlic.
- Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
Prep your vegetables:
- Trim the cucumbers and cut them into thirds. Then cut the logs into thick slices. Stack the slices and then cut through them again so you yield thick matchsticks. Put them into a large bowl and set aside.
- Trim and peel the shallot and then slice thinly. Add it to the cucumbers.
- Rehydrate the wakame in water for several minutes until it blooms and softens. Then drain and squeeze the excess water out with your hands. Add it to the vegetables.
- If you’re kimchi is not cut, cut off the core, and then chop it into small pieces. Otherwise, just add it to the vegetable bowl. Mix the vegetables together lightly.
- Divide the noodles into 2 shallow bowls and mound the vegetables on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with sliced scallions and serve with the sauce on the side. Serve immediately.
Notes
*If you do not have seasoned rice vinegar (which has salt and sugar added), you can use regular rice vinegar and adjust the seasoning by adding an additional teaspoon of sugar and ⅛ teaspoon of sea salt.
* You can use whatever noodles you like. Rice noodles, Soumen, Soba, Udon, Korean buckwheat noodles, ramen, or even thin spaghetti are all good. This is a great dish to clean out your pantry. I’ve been known to serve different noodles to different people in an effort to use up what I have ;)
*I used cut napa kimchi (called mat kimchi) in this recipe but I also like daikon kimchi in this too. Really most types of kimchi will work, so use up that jar sitting in the back of your fridge.
*This dish is great for making ahead. Keep the servings covered in the fridge and the sauce separate until you are ready to serve.
Keywords: noodles, summer, kimchi, korean, japanese, spicy, hot weather, no cook,