Pyongyang Naengmyeon

Ingredients

Broth

• 700 gbeef brisket or shin
• 300 gbeef bones, blanched and rinsed
• 3 litrescold water
• 1onion, halved
• 1whole head garlic, halved crossways
• 30 gginger, sliced
• 1leek, white part
• 1 tspblack peppercorns
• 2 tspsalt

Dongchimi (radish water kimchi)

• 600 mldongchimi brine, or 600 ml water with 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar and 2 tsp salt
• 200 gwhite radish from the dongchimi, sliced thin

Noodles

• 500 gdried naengmyeon noodles, 60–80% buckwheat
• ice water

To serve

• 1Korean pear, sliced thin
• 1cucumber, sliced thin
• 2eggs, boiled 9 minutes and halved
• hot mustard (yeongyeoja) and rice vinegar, at the table
• crushed ice

Directions

1. Soak the beef in cold water 1 hour, changing it twice, to draw out blood so the broth stays clear.
2. Put the meat, bones and 3 litres of cold water in a pot, bring slowly to the boil and skim the grey scum off relentlessly for the first 15 minutes.
3. Add onion, garlic, ginger, leek and peppercorns, drop to the barest simmer – a bubble every second or two, never a rolling boil – and cook 1.5–2 hours.
4. Lift the brisket out at 1.5 hours, when a skewer meets no resistance, cool it, then press it under a weight and refrigerate; slice it paper-thin across the grain.
5. Strain the broth through muslin, season lightly with salt, cool and refrigerate overnight. Lift off the solid fat cap; the broth should be pale, clean and almost bland – it is meant to be underseasoned.
6. The next day, blend the cold broth with the dongchimi brine, roughly two parts broth to one part brine, and taste: it should be gently sour, faintly sweet, and salty enough to notice only just. Put it in the freezer 40 minutes until slushy ice crystals form.
7. Boil a large pot of water hard and cook the noodles 2–3 minutes, until springy with no chalk in the middle. Buckwheat noodles overcook in seconds.
8. Drain and rinse under cold running water, rubbing the strands hard between your palms to strip the starch, then plunge into ice water and drain in tight coils.
9. Nest the noodles in chilled steel bowls, pour over the slushy broth to two-thirds up, and arrange the sliced brisket, radish, pear, cucumber and half an egg on top. Serve with mustard and vinegar for diners to add themselves, and a spoon for the broth.

Technique

• The broth is deliberately restrained. Pyongyang naengmyeon is judged on the clean, cold, slightly flat taste locals call seureongham – a rich, salty broth is considered a mistake.
• The dongchimi brine, not vinegar, is the authentic souring agent, and it also carries the faint fizz of a live ferment.
• High-buckwheat noodles are fragile and break easily; this is correct. In Pyongyang they are eaten without cutting, and slurped rather than bitten.

Substitutions

• No dongchimi? Make a quick radish brine three days ahead: 400 g radish batons in 1 litre water with 20 g salt, 1 tbsp sugar, garlic and ginger, left at room temperature until it fizzes.
• Fresh naengmyeon noodles from a Korean grocer need only 30–60 seconds; watch them like a hawk.

Variations

• Mul naengmyeon, the general southern term for the cold-broth version.
• Bibim naengmyeon, the same noodles dressed with chilli sauce instead of broth.
• Kong guksu style, a summer variant where the broth is chilled soy milk rather than beef and radish.

History

Recorded in the 1849 almanac Dongguk Sesigi as a winter dish; Okryu-gwan’s noodles were carried to the 2018 inter-Korean summit at Panmunjom.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pyongyang Naengmyeon?

Pyongyang Naengmyeon is a main from North Korea: chewy buckwheat noodles in icy beef-radish broth, the capital’s signature dish. Recorded in the 1849 almanac Dongguk Sesigi as a winter dish; Okryu-gwan’s noodles were carried to the 2018 inter-Korean summit at Panmunjom.

How long does Pyongyang Naengmyeon take to make?

Pyongyang Naengmyeon takes 45 min of preparation and 2 hr, plus overnight chilling of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Pyongyang Naengmyeon?

Yes, within limits. No dongchimi? Make a quick radish brine three days ahead: 400 g radish batons in 1 litre water with 20 g salt, 1 tbsp sugar, garlic and ginger, left at room temperature until it fizzes. Fresh naengmyeon noodles from a Korean grocer need only 30–60 seconds; watch them like a hawk.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pyongyang Naengmyeon?

Add onion, garlic, ginger, leek and peppercorns, drop to the barest simmer – a bubble every second or two, never a rolling boil – and cook 1.5–2 hours.