Janchi Guksu

Thin noodles cooked apart and rinsed cold, with a clear anchovy broth poured over them so it stays thin.

Fish, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains fish, fish sauce.

Ingredients

For the bowls

• 350 g somyeon, thin wheat noodles
• 1.4 litres anchovy and kelp stock, as on its own page
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• salt

For the garnish

• 1 courgette, in fine matchsticks
• 1 carrot, in fine matchsticks
• 2 eggs, as a thin omelette, shredded
• 1 sheet gim, crumbled
• 2 spring onions, sliced

For the table sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon gochugaru
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced

Method

1. THE NOODLES ARE RINSED AND THE BROTH POURED OVER THEM CLEAR, which is the deliberate opposite of the kalguksu on this site. There the noodles cook in the broth so their starch thickens it, and that is right for a thick knife-cut noodle. Here the noodles are thin and the broth is supposed to stay thin and clean enough to drink from the bowl, so they are boiled apart, rinsed cold until they squeak, and the hot stock goes over at the last moment.
2. SOMYEON COOK IN THREE MINUTES AND OVERCOOK IN FOUR. They are very fine. Timed, tasted at two and a half, and into cold water the moment they are just tender.
3. THEY ARE RINSED UNTIL COLD AND THEN WARMED AGAIN IN THE BROTH, which sounds wasteful and is not: the rinse removes the starch, and a brief dip in hot stock before plating brings them back to temperature without putting the starch back.
4. THE BROTH IS SEASONED LIGHTLY AND TASTED AS A DRINK. There is almost nothing else in this dish. If it is dull in a spoon it will be dull in the bowl, and no garnish will rescue it.
5. AND THE HEAT IN IT COMES FROM A SAUCE AT THE TABLE, not from the broth. A small dish of soy, chilli and sesame that each person stirs in to their own taste, which is why the broth itself stays mild.
6. The garnish vegetables fried separately in a dry-ish pan 2 minutes each with a pinch of salt, and set aside.
7. The eggs beaten, cooked as a thin flat omelette, and cut into fine shreds.
8. The table sauce ingredients stirred together in a small bowl.
9. The stock brought to a simmer with the soy sauce and fish sauce, tasted and salted. It should taste good enough to drink on its own.
10. The noodles boiled in plenty of water 3 MINUTES, tasted at two and a half.
11. Drained and RINSED in cold water, rubbed between the hands, through 2 changes until cold and squeaky. Shaken dry.
12. Coiled into 4 warmed bowls.
13. A ladle of the hot broth poured over each and poured straight back into the pan, to warm the noodles through.
14. The broth ladled over properly, and the courgette, carrot, egg shreds, gim and spring onion arranged on top.
15. Taken to the table with the sauce dish, and eaten at once.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under South Korea · All recipes