Cold soy bean noodles (Kongguksu) by @wiedikoji
Introducing @wiedikoji, Lisa and Tommy - a dynamic duo with a shared passion for fermentation and brewing. Both PhD candidates in mathematics from ETH in Zurich, they boast an exceptional academic background.
However, their interests extend way beyond that: as true fermentation enthusiasts, they have mastered the art of making miso, koji, shoyu as well as other concoctions. You can follow their adventures on their Instagram account, where you can also sign up for the supper clubs they host. That’s where I tried this wonderful dish and had to ask for the recipe.
Kongguksu is a Korean noodle dish served in a cold savory soy bean cream, which is very refreshing and rich at the same time.
You can adapt the thickness of the sauce to your liking: traditionally it is a broth with milk-consistency, but we like it denser, similar to heavy cream.
The denser option can be served on pasta plates instead of bowls.
The dish requires some planning ahead: the soy beans need to be soaked, then peeled, cooked, blended and eventually refrigerated before serving.
Here are two possible strategies: soak them overnight, peel, cook and blend in the morning and then refrigerate. In this way you have the dish ready in a few minutes for both lunch or dinner time.
Otherwise soak them in the morning, then peel, cook and blend about three hours before dinner. Then refrigerate the sauce for a couple of hours or even freeze it
to be faster.
The soy bean sauce will keep for 2 days in a tightly closed jar or bottle. Mix it before using. The recipe is adapted from Maangchi.
Ingredients
Serves: 4 portions
Prepping time: 1h (+ soaking the beans + chilling the sauce)
Cooking time: 10 minutes
60g dried soy beans
30g peanut butter (100% peanuts)
30g miso
200g somyeon noodles (or Japanese somen noodles)
1/2 cucumber, cut into thin 5cm sticks
Nori sheets, cut into thin strips
2 soft boiled eggs, cut in half
Sesame seeds
Optional: chili oil
Preparation
Soak the beans overnight or for at least 4 hours in plenty of water.
Hull the beans. This step is important to get a smooth sauce, in particular if your blender is not very powerful. The best method is to keep them in a bowl full of water and squeeze each bean with your fingers. The shells will float on the surface and you can remove them by carefully pouring the water out. It is ok if the beans break in half.
Put the peeled beans in a saucepan with 340ml water and bring it to a boil. Once it boils reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook them for 20 min total: they will be cooked but not soft. Then pour them together with the cooking liquid in a food processor/blender.
Add the peanut butter and miso and blend until very smooth, adding fresh cold water if necessary. We like a smooth dense creamy sauce, which is pourable but not thin, similar to heavy cream in texture. Indicatively you should get around 400g of sauce. If you prefer a broth, add more water.
Taste the sauce and add more salt/ miso if needed. Keep in mind that this is the only seasoning of the dish.
Transfer the sauce to a jar/bottle and refrigerate to chill completely.
Cook the noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes (or according to package), then immediately drain and cool them under running cold water. This stops the cooking process and removes the starch so that the noodles don’t clump to each other in the plate.
To plate: Put 1/4 of the noodles in the middle of each bowl. Pour 1/4 of the sauce around them. Place 1/4 of the cucumber sticks, 1/4 of the nori strips and 1/2 egg neatly on top the noodles (see pictures). Sprinkle sesame seeds all over. If using: finish with drops of chilli oil.
