Korean Style Cold Noodle Soup Recipe Inspired by Mul Naengmyeon -- Gluten Free, Allergy Friendly, Pescetarian

Sometimes I make a dish and I follow the recipe exactly so even if it's not something I've ever tasted before I have a good idea what it is supposed to taste like. Other times I have eaten a dish (or something very similar to it) before so even when experimenting with a recipe and changing it up to use ingredients I have on hand I am pretty sure that my reproduction is close enough in taste to the original.

And then there are recipes like this. This Korean soup recipe is made chilled, usually in slushy form/half frozen, and it's nothing I've ever had before, nor have I ever eaten anything similar. But the recipe used ingredients I didn't have or couldn't eat, so I played around with it, using similarly flavored ingredients as much as possible, and reading carefully about what the flavor is supposed to be like. I used Maangchi's Mul-naengmyeon recipe as the base for mine. I have frankly no idea if my recipe tastes anything like hers, but I'm guessing it does since I did use something similar to one of the broth variations she mentions as options in her recipe.

Ok, let me talk about the changes I made:

• I used anchovy and shitake mushroom broth instead of powdered broth
• I used dijon mustard instead of mustard oil
• I used bean thread noodles instead of buckwheat and wheat based naengmyeon noodles, because bean thread noodles are a bit chewy
• I used an apple, pear, and a bit of sugar instead of the Korean or bosc pears, and I put the fruit itself into the soup instead of just its juice and using some for a garnish
• I put in all the liquid from the marinated cucumbers
• I added some soy sauce
• I left out the egg
• I served mine chilled, not slushy
• I added bean sprouts to some servings of mine
• I left out the sesame seeds
  

With all these changes I have no idea if I can actually call this dish mul naengmyeon, but I'm going to guess that it's close enough still that I can say it's inspired by it.

I made this dish for my Korean feast and it was quite delicious and refreshing and enjoyable to eat. The end result is a little bit sweet and sour, but with a well rounded umami flavor. There's some nice little crunch in it if you add bean sprouts, and the combination of textures is just wonderful.

This recipe is gluten free and pescetarian and relatively allergy friendly- the only common allergens in it are fish and soy.

Korean Style Cold Noodle Soup Recipe Inspired by Mul Naengmyeon -- Gluten Free, Allergy Friendly, Pescetarian

Ingredients: 

Broth Ingredients

5 cups water

5 shitake mushrooms

1 can anchovies

Marinated Cucumbers Ingredients

1 small cucumber

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Other Ingredients:

1 grated apple

1 grated pear

1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

2 teaspoons sugar

1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 pack bean thread noodles

Bean sprouts

Instructions:

1. Bring shitake mushrooms, anchovies, and water to a boil. 

2. Simmer covered until the mushrooms are fully soft.

3. Strain through a fine strainer, saving the liquid for the broth. (Use the mushrooms for another recipe.)

4. Add water as needed to bring the total liquid to 5 cups.

5. Chill. 

6. Chop your cucumbers and add marinade ingredients. Let marinade while your broth is cooling.

7. Pour boiling water over your bean thread noodles to soften. Strain and cool.

8. When everything is cool, add the noodles and cucumbers with marinade do the broth. Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. 

9. Serve chilled with the addition of bean sprouts, if desired.

Enjoy!