This quick & easy Bibim Guksu recipe features cold noodles coated in a sweet, spicy, and tangy gochujang sauce and topped with kimchi and fresh vegetables to finish. These Korean spicy cold noodles are incredibly simple to prepare yet packed with scrumptious flavor in every bite.
What is Bibim Guksu?
After many months of rain and snow, warm weather is finally here to stay which means that it’s finally cold noodle season!
To me, there’s nothing that beats a nice refreshing bowl of cold noodles to cool you down on a hot summer’s day, and I wanted to share a recipe of mine that I cherish so dearly.
Growing up in Korea, I particularly loved having Korean cold noodles to beat the hot, humid weather of Seoul, and I am absolutely in love with it to this day.
Korean cold noodles come in many different forms, either served with an icy broth or a sweet and spicy bibim sauce which is paired with various kinds of noodles including buckwheat noodles, thin wheat noodles, arrowroot noodles, and more.
The cold noodle dish I am sharing with you today is called Bibim Guksu (비빔국수) which also goes by the name of Bibim noodles or Bibimmyeon, which translates to mixed noodles.
Bibim Guksu is one of the most popular dishes in Korea especially in the summertime, to be served with Korean BBQ or a plate of dumplings to make for a satisfying meal to enjoy with your loved ones.
It is a popular home-cooking dish that is similar to Bibim Naengmyeon, which is the dish that’s served in Korean restaurants that’s commonly served with buckwheat noodles.
How do you make Bibim Guksu?
Bibim noodles are made with thin wheat noodles called Somyeon (소면) which is also referred to as Somen in Japanese cuisine.
Thanks to its thin consistency, the noodles are cooked in just 3-4 minutes, which makes preparation a breeze. The only other step is to assemble the sauce to mix the noodles in!
To make it even more refreshing, I recommend topping the noodles with a handful of fresh vegetables, kimchi, boiled egg, and any other vegetables that you prefer.
Every bite of these Korean spicy cold noodles is packed with intense flavor and can easily be turned into cold noodle salad when extra vegetables are added.
This is easily one of my favorite Korean dishes for the summertime and one that’s so incredibly addicting. If you’ve never tried this dish before, I’m confident you’ll be hooked on the first bite!
What do I need to make Bibim Guksu?
As mentioned earlier, the appeal of this Korean spicy noodle recipe is that is loaded with flavor yet incredibly quick to prepare. Here is everything you’ll need:
- Thin wheat noodles (aka Somyeon or Somen): these noodles are easily found in the rice/noodle section in Korean grocery stores, but you can use any thin noodles including buckwheat/soba noodles.
- Gochujang (Korean chili paste), soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and toasted sesame seeds: for the sauce.
And that’s it! Simply prepare the noodles, rinse in ice-cold water, drain, to be mixed in with the sauce.
Popular toppings for these noodles include a boiled egg, crushed sesame seeds, cucumber, kimchi, lettuce, cabbage, perilla leaves, and carrots, but you can add any vegetables of choice.
Tips & tricks to make the best Bibim Guksu
Assemble the sauce first.
This will allow the sauce to homogenize and maximize the flavor as the other ingredients are being prepared. The noodles are also best served fresh, and assembling everything in a timely manner will result in the best overall texture.
Prepare a bowl of ice water while the noodles are cooking.
A key step in achieving that soft, chewy texture of cold noodles is to drain them of hot water transfer them to an ice bath as soon as they are done cooking. Please feel free to use tap water instead if it is cold enough.
Prepare the toppings in advance.
Prepare the toppings in advance.You want to serve these noodles as fresh as possible, so it’s best practice to have everything prepared before garnishing the noodles.
For the perfect soft-boiled egg as depicted in the photos, I recommend boiling the eggs for about 7 minutes and cooling them in an ice bath prior to slicing.
Be creative with the toppings!
My favorite toppings are cucumber and kimchi, but any fresh vegetables will complement the noodles very well. To add delicious nutty aromas, you can optionally crush some toasted sesame seeds in a mortar and add it to your finished dish.
I hope you enjoy this Korean spicy noodle recipe, and please leave me a comment below or message me on Instagram if you have any questions. Happy cooking!
Other easy Korean recipes you may like:
- Korean Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim)
- 5-Minute Silken Tofu (Soft Tofu)
- Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew)
- Kimchi Udon Stir Fry
- Dakdoritang (Spicy Korean Chicken Stew)
10-Minute Bibim Guksu (Korean Spicy Cold Noodles)
Ingredients
- 8 oz somyeon (thin wheat noodles) or buckwheat/soba noodles
- cucumber, kimchi, boiled egg, crushed sesame seeds, and/or any other toppings of choice optional, for garnish
Sauce
- 3 tbsp Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp white vinegar or rice vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar or honey
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse the noodles in ice-cold water, rubbing them with your hands to remove excess starch. Drain well and place in a bowl.
- Add the sauce over the noodles and mix together until the noodles are evenly coated. Garnish and enjoy!
Notes
♥ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a 5-star rating or leave a comment below to share your experience, or tag @cookerru on Instagram to showcase your creations!
28 comments
Just made this and it was perfect!! The sauce was so delicious. Will make again for sure.
Amazing! So happy you enjoyed it Alice!
So delicious and refreshing! Perfect for the incoming heatwaves this summer. I topped it with some julienned cucumber, carrots, boiled egg, and nori strips.
Yes! Cold noodles are truly a breath of fresh air for the summertime :’) Thanks so much for sharing Xieyu!
This bibim guksu is so good especially when you’re using authentic Asian ingredients because it’s more flavorful and much tasty than any other sauce. I bought my Gochujang, rice vinegar, and soy sauce at Karman Foods because they are much reliable than anybody else Asian Market that I tried, Also, I used less-sodium soy sauce for a much healthier side.
You are a LIFE SAVER. This has become my go-to super quick lazy girl meal.
I made this today ! It’s convenient, refreshing and it’s simply delicious ♡
As a vegetarian, this is an interesting discovery ~
I enjoyed it very much !
Thank you for the recipe ♡
I am completely in Love with these noodles!
The sweet spicy flavor will bring you to your knees! I topped mine with spicy kimchi
Thankyou Thankyou ♥️
Its so simple but sooo delicious! Thank you fir this shortcut recipe! ❤️
I am eating this right now as we speak and it is such a perfect meal! Thank you so much for sharing such a lovely dish!
I am completely in Love with these noodles!
The sweet spicy flavor will bring you to your knees! I topped mine with spicy kimchi
Thankyou Thankyou ♥️
Very easy und refreshing recipe
I’ve always loved this noodle dish but never knew how to make it. You made it so easy and it was beyond delicious. It was better then I remember. I will be making it this weekend for my guest as a side dish. Want everyone to try it.
Made this last summer and it was delish. Thanks for the recipe!!
OMG! It’s delicious!
Unfortunately I didn’t have soy sauce (I thought I did, but I ran out), so I substituted it with 1/2 fish sauce. And I decreased the white vinegar to 3/4 just in case. Also, I was too lazy to minced garlic, so I used garlic powder LOL. Surprisingly, it was still good! This is the first recipe I used for bibim guksu, and I’m surprised it tasted almost exactly to the popular bibm guksu instant ramen. I don’t think I need to buy that anymore haha. I ate more than 1 serving, and I’m so full now.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
The sauce is amazing and delicious! This is going to be one of my top recipe for easy noodle dishes. Thank you very much for sharing.
TY! Delicious :)
This is seriously one of my favorite recipes. I can’t stop making these noddles.
Amazing! I like to add a bunch of extra cucumbers and even spring mix to make a great healthy go-to meal!
I used more than 8 oz of noodles with this quantity of sauce and it still came out great.
Amazing! Shef kiss from me.
Made it the first time and it was awesome! Just curious to see if anyone has ever made it with thin rice noodles?
Amazing recipe, the sauce was delicious, and I followed it exactly. I was afraid that the gochujang will be too spicy with 3tbsp, so i added 1 tbsp, but Ill probably do 2tbsp the next time I make it.
Easy, quick and delicious!
The fright level of spicy.
Did this as a lunch time meal prep. Very impressed!
Absolutely my favorite noodles for summer time. I crave it all the time. I top with sesame seeds, cucumber , kimchi and a jammy boiled egg. 10/10 thank you!
Amazing, delicious and easy just like all your recipes! I have been cooking so much more korean food since I found your site and I’m obsessed. I’ve seen that this type of noodles is almost always served cold but I was wondering if there would be a way to serve this warm as well? Would you have to cook them for less time and/or rinse them in hot water instead of cold? Do you think it would still be good as a warm dish? Thankyou!
I made these twice now and they’re absolutely delicious. I use a little less garlic as not a big fan but they still taste amazing. Thanks for sharing
I made this many times and it’s perfect!