Korean style noodles

After binge eating and covering my innards with cheese, chocolate and butter, these Korean style noodles feel like an almost instant cleansing ritual. They taste fresh, spring like and the sharp spicy flavours almost feel like they’re exorcising all the fat away.

The reason I call these Korean style noodles and not Korean noodles is because they aren’t. This is a recipe that was created by moi, after I fell in love with and bought a big vat of Gochujang . It’s a Korean hot pepper paste, so vividly red and so flavourful that I’ve been adding it to almost everything I cook nowadays. After a stroke of greedy inspiration I came up with this noodles recipe, and as usual this is a recipe so forgiving and delightfully easy that you can make it your own using whatever ingredients you have handy and your fridge has to offer.

the ingredients are rather humble and easy to find. Chives, spring onions, chili, mushrooms, ham, chicken stock (I’m using powder you can use regular stock), gochujang and noodles. (also not pictured are soy sauce and sesame oil..sorry!)

These noodles here are something called (Hongshu Fen) sweet potato noodles. They’re a very popular noodles type from the Chinese province I live in (Hunan), but you can use any noodles that you have/find. I just happen to have/love these and that’s what I’m using.

begin by chopping your spring onions and chives and reserve the dark green parts and keep them separate.

chop your chillies.

chop your mushrooms and try to keep them into equal sized chunks.

nice pile of vegetables. I feel healthy already.

chop your meat..er.. ham! I shopped mine into fairly small squares because I was feeling so efficient.

now put your noodles to boil and here’s a close up of these noodles. They’re translucent and silky.

see what I mean. slippery noodles! yum!

once boiled, strain and remove them to your serving bowl.

add in the reserved greens from onions and chives and splash a bit of sesame oil. ah, this aroma.

find your favourite, most used, most tragic looking wok and pour in some oil

once it’s really really hot, throw in your vegetables

give them a good mix for a minute.

pour in some soy sauce

and finally, for the star of this show…our red as hell gochujang.. yummm

oooooh just look at this baby. There’s something rather poetic about the way it sounds and the way it gloops. oooh mama!!

mix it all until it’s red and looks dangerously tasty.

finally in with the ham.

add in your chicken stock if you’re using, I simply poured in hot water and added the chicken stock powder I had.

let it all come to a bubble like so.

and then pour it on your noodles to get this!! yes my lovers this is better than that, and any of that you were thinking of making because this has a kick, it’s a storm, it’s fire, it’s tangy, it’s full of such beautiful layers of flavours that you’d be reeling your head and wiping your tears of joy and some sweat.

Make this!!

Ingredients 

Gochujang: 2 tablespoons

mushrooms: 3-4 large

spring onions: 4-5

chives: 3-4

red chili: 1

ham: 3-4 slices (or use meat of choice, boiled chicken is good or leave out the meat and make it vegetarian)

chicken stock: 350 mls (1.5 cups)

soy sauce: 2 teaspoons

sesame oil: 1 teaspoon

noodles: 1 nest

oil: 2 teaspoons

salt to taste

Cooking instructions: chop the vegetables and ham into small dices keeping the mushrooms a bit chunky. Reserve the green parts of the chives and spring onions.

Boil the noodles strain the water and keep in serving bowl. Add in the reserved greens and pour over the sesame oil.

In a hot wok add oil and once it starts shimmering add in all the vegetables and cook for a minute. Add the soy sauce and gochujang and cook for a minute. Add in the stock and let it come to a boil.

Pour this over the cooked noodles and serve hot.

enjoy!!