Naengmyeon

Fresh buckwheat noodles with a spicy sauce and picked radish, this cold salad has an interest mix of flavours and textures, from the bitterness of the buckwheat to the tartness of the pickled radish. This cold salad is a korean creation and is meant to be had in summer, and packs a mean punch in terms of heat. I came across this recipe at beyondkimchee.com, and changed it around slightly to fit the ingredients at home. The recipe for the buckwheat noodles is from thekitchn.com, which is a great site with helpful instructions for making pasta and noodles.

Ingredients

Buckwheat Noodles

• 2 cups buckwheat flour (called 'Kuttu atta' in India)
• 1/2 cup plain white flour
• water to make a dough
• 1 tsp salt

Pickled Radish

• 1 radish, peeled and cut into thin and broad slices
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar

Sauce

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 apple, peeled and roughly diced
• 2 ripe star fruit or 4 thick slices of pineapple, roughly diced
• 8-10 dried red chilies, de-seeded and chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp white vinegar
• 3 tbsp crushed jaggery or brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Garish

• 1 cucumber, deseeded and cut into thick semi-circular slices

Method

Buckwheat Noodles

1. Make a smooth dough with the buckwheat flour, plain flour and salt. Roll it out on a  pasta maker or with a rolling pin into thin sheets. 
2. Cut into noodles and boil in salted water for a few seconds, until cooked. I cut them out into flat noodles as they were easier to handle.
3. Once cooked take out of the boiling water and rinse in cold water. Then store in the fridge until its time to assemble the salad.

Pickled Radish

1. Dissolve the salt and sugar in the vinegar and pour onto the radish slices.
2. Toss around and leave aside in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Sauce

1. Heat the water and soy together until it starts to boil. Then take it off the heat and leave aside to cool.
2. Combine the apple, onion, star fruit, garlic and chopped chili in a food processor, add 2 tbsp of water and blend together to create a thick paste.
3. Add the paste to the soy-water mixture, and toss in the vinegar, jagger, honey, mustard, ginger powder, salt and sesame oil, mix together and return it to the heat.
4. Boil on high heat until the sauce develops this silky sheen. Add the sesame seeds and take it off the heat. Mix the sesame seeds through the sauce, and place in the fridge to cool.

Salad

1. Once all the components are cold, toss the noodles in a plate and pour on some of the sauce. Add some pickled radish and cucumber slices as a garnish.
2. To keep it cold, keep a plate in the freezer for 10 minutes, and use this for assembling and serving the salad.