Naengmyeon

Naengmyeon [냉면 (N: 랭면 Raengmyŏn); 冷麵], literally cold noodles, is a Korean dish that is extremely popular during the summer. It consists of several varieties of thin, hand-made noodles (typically made from arrowroot (칡냉면/chil knaengmyeon) or buckwheat (모밀냉면/momil naengmyeon) flour), and is served in a large bowl with a tangy iced broth, raw julienned vegetables, a slice of a Korean pear, and often a boiled egg and/or cold beef.

Two main varieties of naengmyeon exist: mul naengmyeon/물냉면, and bibim naengmyeon/비빔냉면. The former variety is served as a cold soup with the noodles contained in broth (usually beef). The latter variety is served as more of a salad in a spicy dressing made primarily from chili peppers. In the case of bibim naengmyeon, a bowl of the broth used in mul naengmyeon is often served on the side. Although these are the two major variations of the dish, several others do exist, typically varying either the composition of the broth of mul naengmyeon, the meat or vegetables added to the noodles, or both.

Variations of naengmyeon:

Hui naengmyeon (회냉면): Noodles served with raw fish and chili pepper dressing.
Yeolmu naengmyeon (열무냉면): Noodles served with fermented baby radish in cold broth.

In Korea, naengmyeon is typically associated with North Korea, especially the cities of Pyongyang and Hamhung, from which the two most famous varieties are said to come.

Naengmyeon

See also