Black Sesame Bibim Guksu with Crunchy Cucumber and Kimchi
Recipe and post by Justine Lee. Follow her on Instagram @justyfication.
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Bibim guksu literally translates to mixed noodles in Korean and through thick, forehead trickling days of summer's past, big slurps of the cold sauce-wrapped dish have saved me on numerous occasions. Lately, when the warmer temps kick my bibim guksu cravings into overdrive, I’ve been swapping the sesame oil frequently called for in bibim guksu with Wen Ling’s Crunchy Black Sesame Butter. Crisp cucumber and sour-spice-everything-nice kimchi lend freshness to the noodles but you should know this recipe is inherently a clean-out-the-fridge production. Feel at liberty to throw in any veggies, fresh or seasoned, staring up at you in the depths of your crisper drawer, such as cabbage, carrots, cilantro, Thai basil, and other tender herbs, and pickled things like onions, sauerkraut, daikon. You’ll want to swan dive right into the noodles no matter what.
Black Sesame Bibim Guksu with Crunchy Cucumber and Kimchi
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 3 min
Serves: 2
Ingredients
1 small cucumber
2 tbsp gochujang
2 tbsp Rooted Fare's Black Sesame Crunchy Butter
1 tbsp grated garlic
1 tbsp gochugaru
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp rice vinegar
Somen noodles (or other noodles such as somen, soba, or instant ramen)
½ cup chopped kimchi
2 six-minute soft boiled eggs and toasted white sesame seeds for topping
Steps
- Cut the cucumber into thin slices. Place in a bowl and keep in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the noodle ingredients.
- Prepare your mixing sauce by combining the gochujang, Rooted Fare's Black Sesame Crunchy Butter, grated garlic, gochugaru, soy sauce, honey, and rice vinegar. Stir until well-combined.
- Boil water and cook noodles according to package directions, or about 3 minutes. Dump noodles into a colander. Drain and rinse noodles under cold water.
- Give the noodles one final drain and place them into a large mixing bowl. Add the mixing sauce along with the kimchi. Using tongs or your hands, toss well to combine.
- Divide noodles among bowls. Top each bowl with the cucumbers and a boiled egg cut in half. Scatter with sesame seeds to finish.
Enjoy! We'd love to know how you liked the recipe! Share your creation and tag us @rooted.fare on Instagram or @rootedfare on TikTok for a chance to be featured.
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Justine Lee is a food writer, recipe developer, and baker based in New York City. She frequently shares stories for various outlets such as Food52, Food Network, Taste, and more. As an immigrant to this country herself, Justine resonates with Rooted Fare's work as it reflects that of her own initiatives as a food creative, to unpack what it means to be Korean-American through dishes, stories, and celebration of the ingredients that ground her back to her home base. Black sesame is a high impact staple in her life’s pantry, which is why Justine could not be more honored to deliver two exclusive recipes featuring Rooted Fare's Black Sesame Crunchy Butter.
Check out her recipe for black sesame shaved ice here.