10-Minute Bibim Guksu (Korean Spicy Cold Noodles)

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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.

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 hom*ogenize 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.

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)

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