Whenever hot weather rolls around in LA, it feels like I lose all my motivation to do just about anything. Maybe it’s a reversed version of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) that typically makes people “sad” during the winter time, but whatever it is, it really drags me down. I haven’t been cooking much in the past month because of this lack of motivation but recipes like these make it easier to feel like I’m being productive and feeding myself well when I’m in a slump. I wrote this recipe to feed one because sometimes that’s what you need — just enough to feed yourself. If others join, it’s easy enough to just double or triple it.
Dongchimi guksu is one of the easiest, most refreshing meals you can make in the dead of summer. It features a cold broth that requires no real cooking, and a special ingredient: 7-Up soda.
It’s also a great way to clear your fridge, especially in the summer, because it features a variety of fresh veggies on top, making it healthy and delicious.
Dongchimi is a type of Korean kimchi that is a milky/clear color — not red like the “typical” image of kimchi people think of. It includes onions, jalapeños, cabbage, and Korean radish and, despite the inclusion of peppers, it’s not very spicy at all. It’s tangy and light and enjoyed on its own, or makes for the perfect base for this noodle dish.
The Special Ingredient
My best friend is Korean and when I was running through this recipe with her, she was absolutely adamant about using 7-Up as the lemon-lime soda of choice. I have no loyalty to one lemon-lime soda over another and to be honest, once it’s mixed with the rest of the ingredients, I have a suspicion that you probably wouldn’t be able to tell one from the other, but if you want to stay “authentic” then go with 7-Up. It might sound a little unusual to add soda to your broth, but it adds the perfect amount of light sweetness and I promise it does not make the broth taste carbonated.
Korean Cold Radish Noodles (Dongchimi Guksu) for One
Ingredients
- 1 Pinch dashi powder optional
- 1/2 cup liquid from dongchimi "kimchi" see notes
- 1/4 cup 7-up soda or about 1/2 of a mini can
- 1-2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 cup ice crushed or whole
- 1 bundle somen noodles see notes
- 1/2 cucumber peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1/2 tomato sliced
- 1/2 peach sliced
- 1 green onion finely sliced
- radish, cabbage, and jalapeno from dongchimi "kimchi", sliced
- hot Chinese mustard optional
- 1 egg hard-boiled and cut in half
Instructions
- Bring a few cups of water to boil in a medium size pot or pan.
- To your serving bowl, add pinch of dashi powder, if using. Ladle out about 2 tablespoons of boiling water from the pot/pan and add to the serving bowl. Swirl the water and dashi powder around or mix with a fork until the powder is dissolved.
- Add dongchimi liquid, vinegar, and 7-up to the bowl with the dashi liquid and swirl to gently combine. Crush the ice and add it to the broth, or add whole ice cubes if you're not crushing it. Taste the broth and add additional vinegar or dongchimi liquid, to taste.
- Add the somen noodles to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, then strain and quickly rinse under cold tap water to stop the cooking.
- Add the noodles to the cold broth, then arrange the vegetables and egg on top. Add a small dab of hot Chinese mustard, if using. Enjoy immediately!
Notes
- Dongchimi is a tangy, fresh style of kimchi that contains Korean radish, onion, cabbage, and jalapeños and is typically not spicy (despite the inclusion of jalapeños). You can find it at any Korean market in the refrigerated section near the "standard" nappa kimchi, but you can also make it at home.
- Somen noodles are a thin wheat noodle used in different East Asian cuisines. They can be found at most Asian grocers and typically come packaged in pre-portioned bundles — super convenient!