What do you make for lunch, or dinner for that matter, when there seems to be nothing in your fridge? For Koreans, it’s usually a dish made with kimchi because there is almost always some kimchi in our fridges. So, when your fridge has nothing substantial but has kimchi, make this kimchi bibim guksu (김치비빔국수) for a quick lunch or a light meal any time of the day. It’s deliciously spicy, sweet and tangy with a kimchi crunch!
How to make kimchi bibim guksu
Unlike my other bibim guksu recipe which uses a few different vegetables, kimchi is truly all you need for this humble dish. But, you can add other vegetables such as cucumbers or lettuce, if you want. I also like to use some perilla leaves (kkaennip) for a wonderful aroma and flavor it adds to the dish. Thinly sliced gim (dried seaweed sheet) is also an excellent addition.
For the seasoning, I mix kimchi and some juice from kimchi with a few staple ingredients such as soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste), and some gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes). You can leave out gochugaru if you like the noodles to be less spicy. For the sweetener, I use a combination of corn syrup (or oligo syrup) and sugar. The syrup gives a nice sheen to the dish, but you can simply use more sugar if you want.
What noodles to use
Typically, kimchi bibim guksu is made with thin wheat noodles, which come in two slightly different thickness — somyeon (소면), very thin noodles, and joongmyeon (중면), slightly thicker noodles. You can use either one for this recipe, depending on your preference.
This kimchi bibim guksu recipe was originally posted in July 2011. I’ve updated it here with new photos and minor changes to the recipe.
More similar cold noodle dishes
Bibim guksu (spicy cold noodles)
Jjolmyeon (spicy chewy noodles)
Jaengban guksu (cold noodles and vegetables platter)
For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ingredients
- 8 - 10 ounce somyeon, 소면, (thin wheat noodles)
- 1 cup thinly sliced kimchi preferably fully fermented
- 1/4 cup juice from kimchi use a little more soy sauce and vinegar if unavailable
- 1 tablespoon gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or any other clear vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup (or oligo syrup, 올리고당) use more sugar if unavailable
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Optional Garnish
- 4 perilla leaves (kkaennip) thinly sliced
- or cucumber thinly sliced
- 1 hard boiled egg
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil while preparing the kimchi sauce.
- Thinly slice the kimchi and place it in a medium size bowl. Add the juice from the kimchi and remaining sauce ingredients, and mix everything well.
- Add the noodles to the pot of boiling water. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions (3 – 4 minutes). Drain quickly and shock in icy cold water to stop cooking. Drain and rinse in cold water again. Repeat until the noodles become cold. Drain well.
- Combine the noodles with the kimchi sauce, and toss everything until the noodles are evenly coated with the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning to taste by adding more soy sauce, sugar and/or vinegar, if necessary. Garnish with your choice of the optional vegetables and/or the boiled egg and serve cold.
Apple Moon says
The best recipe! Thank you for sharing:)
Marian Lee says
I ate way too much but this was really good. I’m so glad I found this recipe! You are definitely my number 1 Korean food go-to website now.
Edna says
Can I use the glass noodles as well. They are my favorite! I wish that I could learn more from you locally! You should have a real Korean cooking show!
Rebecca says
Just made this and it was perfect! My husband loved the sauce
Hyosun says
Yay! Great to hear that.
lakshmi priya Pampati says
This looks really good and tasty! I can’t wait to try it out in my kitchen. I’d love to visit Korea someday and eat it over there!
Hyosun says
Thank you! Hope you get to try it and visit Korea soon. You’ll love the food over there.
Lin says
I want to try this today or tomorrow. The weather is too warm and too humidity, makes me almost lose my appetite. This cold noodle will be perfect for the hot days. 🙂
Jas says
Oh man this looks so good! Oddly enough without knowing this was actually a thing, I’ve been doing something similar at least once week. When I don’t want to cook, I heat up some rice, top it with kimchi, gochujang, sesame seeds, and a fried egg with a runny yolk and eat with a side of whatever veggies I have peeled/sliced in the fridge – usually carrots, cucumber and radish. I’ll have to try it with noodles sometime too.
Dorothy says
Hyosun,
Thank you got posting one of my favorite noodles and for giving me ideas for what to do with my perilla leaves in my garden. Lettuce wraps, spring rolls, and kimbop rolls could also use a little extra flavor burst from the perilla leaves.
Hyosun says
Yes, perilla leaves are great in all those dishes. Love them!
Hyosun Ro says
Tataya – Thank you! I hope you had a wonderful time in Korea. Yes, this dish is very easy to make. Let me know how it turns out. Cheers!
Tataya says
Hi Hyosun Ro,
I love Korean food. I think I ate more than enough when I was there during Christmas time. These noodles look really delicious yet easy beyond belief to make. I think I can find all the ingredient here in Tokyo.
Hyosun Ro says
Fin – That’s great! Very happy to hear it turned out delicious for you. It’s such an easy noodle dish to make. Isn’t it?
Fin says
Hallo! 🙂 I made this for lunch yesterday and it was so delicious. Reminded me of my mom’s bibim gooksu, which I thought was the best thing ever.
Thank you so much for this recipe and I’ll be making this at least once a week!
Hyosun Ro says
Spicie Foodie – Thank you for visiting and leaving the nice comments. Hope you get to try the recipe.
Spicie Foodie says
Kimchi is one of the world’s best foods! This recipe has left my mouth watering and stomach growling. Thanks for sharing:)
Hyosun Ro says
Nami – Thank you! Hope you had a great time with your mom during her visit. Also, it sounds like your mom really enjoyed her trips to Korea. Who wouldn’t! ha ha. I know the food there is amazing. I am sure the same is true with Japan, and I really hope that I will one day travel to Japan.
Spoon and Chopsticks – You can use any types of noodles. Hard to imagine, but hope it’s not too cold there for you. Thanks for stopping by!
Spoon and Chopsticks says
This is a lovely bowl of cold noodles. Looks great for summer. I will have to give this a try when it’s summer here in Sydney. Does it have to be somen noodles or can I use other types of noodles?
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
Hi Hyosun! My mom was visiting for 2 weeks and all she talked about was her trips to Korea and all the good food she had. Her visit was too short, but I really want to cook something for her from your recipe collection. Well, she probably knows a lot more food than me. I heard from a foodie friend recently that Korean also use perilla leaves (we call it shiso leaves). I was so happy to hear that because shiso is my favorite addition to the food… This noodle looks delicious Hyosun!
Charissa says
I like cold noodles…I don’t do high fructose corn syrup though…I bet honey would be a great replacement!
Looks fabulous!
Jenny says
My favorite Korean summer dish!! Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to try this on my own.
Hyosun Ro says
Pierre – Sounds like you need to start making your own kimchi. ha ha! It’s always my pleasure to see you here. Thanks.
Amy and Tiffanie – Thank you for the encouraging words. I would love to hear how my recipes turn out for you. Cheers!
Amy J. and Tiffanie A. says
I love your blog!! Now I can make all the yummy Korean food I want without having to go to a restaurant!
PFx says
This is like my no 1 favourite cold noodle thing on the planet. Shame there’s no decent kim chi in Wellington…
Hyosun Ro says
Baobabs – Thank you for the nice words! And thanks for visiting.
baobabs says
this is such an amazing bowl of noodles. Yum, stunning photos too! thanks for sharing
Hyosun Ro says
Thank you, Sandra! You have a great day too.
Sandra says
Very beautiful bowl full of delicious noodles! Wonderful recipe with tasty photo! Thanks for sharing, and have a wonderful Sunday!
Hyosun Ro says
erica – I mixed the noodles by hand wearing a kitchen glove. But, the pictures did not come out well. That said, you can also use kitchen tongs or chopsticks instead. Try to rinse somyeon noodles in very cold water a couple of times until the noodles are cold and use them right away after draining, so the noodles don’t get sticky. The sauce in this recipe has a lot of liquid, which also helps with mixing. Hope this helps and you get to try the recipe. I know you will like it.
Andrea – It’s one of my favorites too. Isn’t it nice when something you love doesn’t take much to make? Thanks for stopping by!
[email protected] says
This is one of my favorite summer dishes! I love that I can bulk it up with cucumbers and lettuce but don’t even have to if I don’t have any…
erica says
Hi Hyosin, this looks like a great, simple, and refreshing lunch! Do you have any tips on how to mix the sauce with the somyeon? Whenever I cook thin noodles (like angel hair pasta, for example), they always like to stick together! Do you use a spoon, or would you recommend mixing with your hands (wearing gloves)?