Cold buckwheat noodle soup is a number one summer dish in Korea. It is a very cool and refreshing meal. Some people like to eat this in the cold of winter too. You can make a large portion of broth and beef and then freeze them. This way, whenever you want to have this dish, you can quickly and easily prepare it. There is a package that is sold for this noodle, which includes the buckwheat noodles, broth powder, and liquid seasoning. With that, you only need some garnishing such as the beef, egg, pickled radish, pickled cucumber, or Asian pear depending on your tastes. However, many people asked me to teach them how to make this soup from scratch, so I’m happy to share this recipe with you. It can be a little complex and time consuming to make it, but it is worth it to get the great flavor and good health. 
Yield: 4 Servings
Short Korean Lesson: *^^*
- Mul (물) = Water
- Bul (불) = Fire
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 3-4 Servings Buckwheat Noodles for NaengMyeon
- 10 oz Beef
- 2 Hard Boiled Eggs
- 1 Asian Pear
- Some Pickled Radish
- Some Pickled Cucumber
- Some Sesame Seeds
Beef Broth Ingredients
- 4 oz Korean Radish
- 12 Cups Water
- ½ Onion
- 2 Green Onions
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Finger Nail Sized Piece of Ginger
- 5 Pieces Kelp (1×2 inch)
- ½ tsp Peppercorns
- 2 tsp Soup Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 1½ Tbsp Vinegar
Directions
To make the broth, in a large pan, add 12 cups of water, 10 oz of beef, 4 oz of Korean radish, ½ of an onion, 2 green onions, 6 garlic cloves, 1 finger nail sized piece of ginger, 5 pieces of kelp (1×2 inch), ½ tsp of pepper cones.
Once it starts to boil, wait 5 more minutes, and remove the kelp and cook for the rest of the 1½ hours on medium. Occasionally remove the foam from the surface of the broth.
After the broth is done, drain the broth with cheesecloth to make the broth clear. Only save the broth and the beef; discard the rest. You will get about 5 cups of beef broth.
Pour the broth in a 1.5 quart sized glass storage container. Add 2 tsp of soup soy sauce, 1 tsp of salt,
1 Tbsp of sugar, and 1½ Tbsp of vinegar. Mix well and taste it. Depending on your taste you can add more vinegar or salt. Keep this broth in the refrigerator, and place it in the freezer for about 3 hours before serving. You can also store it in the freezer and thaw it when you are ready to make this dish.
When the beef has cooled down, slice it thinly to use as a topping later.
For the topping, prepare the pickled radish and pickled cucumber dishes ahead of time. You can click on those links for the posts that describe how to make them.
Cut the hard-boiled egg in half and slice an Asian pear thinly. These will be used as toppings also.
When all the broth and toppings are ready, cook the buckwheat noodles in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Follow the instructions from the buckwheat noodle package you have.
Rinse the cooked noodles in cold water twice and drain the water.
Take the broth out of the freezer. It will have some nice chunks of ice in it.
In a serving bowl, add some noodles and put some of the pickled radish on top.
Garnish it with the pear, pickled cucumber, beef, and the egg.
Pour some of the broth in the bowl right before serving. That way the ice will not melt away before it is time to eat.
Depending on your taste, you can add a little bit of Korean mustard paste or vinegar.
Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. It is ready to serve. Cool and delicious~~~ You should try it someday. Thanks.
Featured Items
|
|
|
|
|
I tried it today, and it is the best mul nengmyun I’ve ever had! Thank you for sharing that with us!!
i can’t find korean radish, can i use daikon?
Hello Aeri!
im a loyal fan of yours!
i would like to know can i use japanese soba or other noodles other than korean buckwheat noodles?
i cant find the noodles around here!
hi Ying Ying,
Oh I’m sorry to hear that you can’t get the noodles. This noodle has thin and a little chew texture.and that’s the unique part of this dish.. and Japanese soba noodles are different.. so the result will be not same.. but if you still want to try.. you can.. thanks
Instead of beef, can I substitute it with pork?
hi JW,
Yes you can… just pork has it’s own bad smell or flavor.. try to avoid to use the pork part that has too much fat.. thanks
I’m so excited! This is the naengmyeon recipe I’ve been looking for, everybody else has the yeolmul naengmyeon, which I don’t like as much. Thank you for putting this up!
Hi Aeri! I just found this site and I love it! I am living in Korea now (Daegu) as an English teacher. Before coming to Korea, I made some Korean foods at home, but since living here for 18 months, I usually go out to eat Korean food, but I’d love to start making my own too!
Are there different types of noodles for naeng myun? I like a type that is a gray color, not brown, and it is less chewy, but I don’t know what it is made of. Also, what is the Korean mustard paste called?
Thanks for a great site!
hi Anne,
About your question,
I wonder if you mean .. buckwheat noodle for the gray color noodle ..they are for soba noodles.. naeng myun noodle suppose to be a little chewy and thinner than soba noodles.. anyway.. korean mustard paste is called 연겨자 (YeonGyeoJa) it’s the yellow paste.. thanks
Hi Aeri!
Thanks for your wonderful site
Just wanted to ask you how can I cook those delicious odeng that we can get from street vendors in Korea?
hi Felix,
I will add it to my list.. thanks
Wow! I can’t believe Naeng myun can be made at home! It looks fantastic Aeri!!! By the way…I have a question…why do you remove the kelp before other ingredients when you make the broth? Do they prevent from good broth being made???
hi Felix,
Thanks for your comment. About your question, I don’t know if it is right or not..but I’ve heard that you don’t cook kelp for a long time. Have you ever seen that kelp makes the sticky, gluey type liquid when you boil it for a long time.. some people believe that if you boil the kelp too long, it gets unhealthy thing… some believe that if you cook kelp too long, it lose its good flavor and nutrition.. with those reasons.. I’ve taught that you boil the kelp for short time when I use them for making broth. thanks
Hi Aeri,
I love to eat this dish. Thanks for showing us how to make it. Can you please tell me what cut of beef did you use?
Thanks!
hi Wakkun,
You can use the part is good for stew, soup, or roast.. I forgot what part I used exactly..but it was.. something roast.. brisket is good too.
ooohwooow, naengmyun!! i always love cold noodle. i heard that this dish is actually originated fr pyongyang, right? well, i luv the feel of cold beef broth and the chewy myun..so yummy
can u also make bibim naengmyun? my another fave cold noodle 
hi layping,
hehe.. you know many things ~~ yep you are right. ^^
Hi Aeri!
I can’t wait to make this myself because 물냉면 is one of my favorite foods! Could you please teach us how to make 다대기? I like to add it to the broth for flavor. Thank you!
I love your blog. It’s my favorite Korean cooking blog
hi Sarah,
I posted a spicy cold noodle too.. the sauce can be used for this water buckwheat noodle soup.. as a 다대기 ^^ thanks
i love the recipes but can u also post bibim neangmyun recipes
hi lisa p,
I did ^^
i’m so happy you finally showed mulnaengmyun but you didn’t make the one with special gochujang.
hi taco,
hehe.. now i DID ^^ Please check it out.
Thank you so much! Mul neangmyun is my all-time favourite Korean dish. The package noodle borth mix is frequently not available here in Brussels so I sincerely appreciate your effort in showing us how to make the broth from scratch. The next time the store has neangmyun noodles, I’ll make this!
hi Katharine in Brussels,
Oh you like it so much ?? maybe you can make big portion of broth and beef, and keep them in the freezzer. if you make it, please let me know how you liked it.
just finished watching the video … WOW! That was a big RaDiSh!!
i am going to make this – it’s been really hot here. this will cool me down.
love you! pinch bryson’s cheeks for me… isn’t he going to be 1 year old soon???
hi farleen,
Another cold noodle is coming for my friend. hehe
lol I hope the radish I planted in our garden will be that big. bigger is better ???
Yep.. bryson will be a year soon.. @,@ time flies.. how you could raise 3 children so well.. you are a super mom.