Chef Jeong-sun
Agwi-jjim (Braised Monkfish with Bean Sprouts)
Firm monkfish buried under crisp soybean sprouts, minari, and a red gochugaru sauce thickened at the end; Masan's market dish asks for heat, timing, and a steady hand.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Makguksu (Gangwon Buckwheat Noodles)
Created by
Gangwon's plain buckwheat noodle bowl, chilled hard and seasoned with restraint: chewy memil strands, dongchimi broth, cucumber, radish, sesame, and just enough sauce to wake it.
Main Dishes
Korean
Weeknight
Comfort Food
30 min
Active Time
5 min cook•2 hr 35 min total
Yield2 servings
Cook the month you're standing in. Makguksu belongs most naturally to hot weather, when a cold metal bowl on the table feels like mercy, but its heart is mountain food: buckwheat grown where rice was less willing, made into noodles that taste nutty, slightly rough, and honest.
The misunderstanding is the red sauce. People bury makguksu under gochujang until it could be any noodle. Gangwon makguksu should still taste like memil (buckwheat). The sauce is there to sharpen the bowl, not paint over it. Use enough chilled dongchimi (radish water kimchi) brine or clear beef broth to loosen the noodles, and keep the seasoning light enough that the first thing you taste is grain.
Tonight this dish asks for three careful things. Chill the broth harder than you think. Rinse the noodles with your hands until the starch is gone and they feel clean. Cut the cucumber and radish thin so they cool the mouth instead of weighing down the bowl. 손맛 is real. I still measure it, so it can be handed on.
Makguksu is closely tied to Gangwon Province, especially Chuncheon and the buckwheat-growing areas around Bongpyeong, where the crop suited the mountain climate and poorer soils better than rice. The name is commonly understood as plain or roughly made noodles, a food of local markets and households before it became a restaurant specialty. Modern bowls vary by shop, some closer to bibim-guksu with spicy dressing and some served with plenty of dongchimi or meat broth, but the regional center remains buckwheat.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
makguksu or memil guksu (buckwheat noodles)
Quantity
200g dried
preferably at least 30 percent buckwheat
dongchimi brine or clear beef broth mixture
Quantity
2 cups
well chilled
rice vinegar
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for broth, plus more to serve
sugar
Quantity
1 teaspoon
for broth
fine sea salt (optional)
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
only if broth tastes flat
Korean radish
Quantity
120g
peeled and julienned
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
for radish
rice vinegar
Quantity
1 teaspoon
for radish
sugar
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
for radish
English cucumber
Quantity
1/2
julienned
hard-boiled egg
Quantity
1
halved
roasted gim (seaweed)
Quantity
1 sheet
cut into thin strips
toasted sesame seeds
Quantity
1 tablespoon
lightly crushed
gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
soy sauce
Quantity
1 tablespoon
dongchimi brine or cold broth
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for sauce
rice vinegar
Quantity
2 teaspoons
for sauce
maesil-cheong (green plum syrup) or sugar
Quantity
1 teaspoon maesil-cheong or 1/2 teaspoon sugar
toasted sesame oil
Quantity
1 teaspoon
garlic
Quantity
1 small clove
finely grated
Korean mustard (optional)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| makguksu or memil guksu (buckwheat noodles)preferably at least 30 percent buckwheat | 200g dried |
| dongchimi brine or clear beef broth mixturewell chilled | 2 cups |
| rice vinegarfor broth, plus more to serve | 1 tablespoon |
| sugarfor broth | 1 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt (optional)only if broth tastes flat | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Korean radishpeeled and julienned | 120g |
| fine sea saltfor radish | 1/2 teaspoon |
| rice vinegarfor radish | 1 teaspoon |
| sugarfor radish | 1/2 teaspoon |
| English cucumberjulienned | 1/2 |
| hard-boiled egghalved | 1 |
| roasted gim (seaweed)cut into thin strips | 1 sheet |
| toasted sesame seedslightly crushed | 1 tablespoon |
| gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) | 1 tablespoon |
| soy sauce | 1 tablespoon |
| dongchimi brine or cold brothfor sauce | 1 tablespoon |
| rice vinegarfor sauce | 2 teaspoons |
| maesil-cheong (green plum syrup) or sugar | 1 teaspoon maesil-cheong or 1/2 teaspoon sugar |
| toasted sesame oil | 1 teaspoon |
| garlicfinely grated | 1 small clove |
| Korean mustard (optional) | 1/2 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Large pot for boiling noodles
- •Colander
- •Two stainless steel bowls, chilled
- •Kitchen scissors, optional for cutting long noodles at the table
Instructions
- 1
Chill the broth
Stir the chilled dongchimi brine, or the dongchimi and beef broth mixture, with 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar. Taste it cold. It should be clean, lightly tart, and a little stronger than you want in the bowl, because the noodles will soften it. Add the 1/4 teaspoon salt only if it tastes flat. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or put it in the freezer 30 minutes before serving until it is very cold but not solid.
A safe weeknight corner to cut: use good store-bought dongchimi brine or unsalted clear beef broth. Do not cut the chilling time. Warm broth makes dull makguksu. - 2
Season the radish
Toss the julienned radish with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Let it sit 15 minutes, then squeeze lightly. This quick pickle gives crunch and brightness without turning the whole bowl sour.
- 3
Make the sauce
Mix the gochugaru, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dongchimi brine or broth, 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, maesil-cheong or sugar, sesame oil, grated garlic, and mustard if using. Let it stand 10 minutes so the chili flakes bloom and soften. This is a measured sauce, not a red blanket. It should taste sharp, savory, and lightly sweet, with the chili present but not heavy.
- 4
Boil the noodles
Bring a large pot of water to a hard boil. Add the buckwheat noodles and stir right away so they do not stick. Cook according to the package, usually 4 to 5 minutes for dried makguksu noodles. Taste one strand near the end. It should be cooked through but still spring back under the teeth.
- 5
Rinse them clean
Drain the noodles and rinse under cold running water, rubbing them firmly between your hands. Keep rinsing until the water runs mostly clear and the noodles feel cold and clean. This washing removes surface starch, which is the difference between a lively buckwheat noodle and a gummy knot.
- 6
Assemble the bowls
Divide the noodles between two chilled stainless bowls and coil them loosely. Spoon 1 tablespoon of sauce over each bowl first, not all of it. Add cucumber, seasoned radish, half an egg, gim strips, and crushed sesame. Pour 1/2 cup chilled broth around each portion, then bring the remaining broth and sauce to the table so each person can loosen and sharpen the bowl as they eat.
- 7
Mix and serve
Mix from the bottom with chopsticks before eating. Add more broth by the spoonful if the noodles tighten, and more sauce only after tasting. Makguksu should be cool, nutty, lightly tart, and clean. If all you taste is chili and sugar, the buckwheat has disappeared.
Chef Tips
- •Buy noodles labeled memil guksu or makguksu, and check the buckwheat percentage if the package gives it. More buckwheat means better flavor, but also a more fragile noodle, so rinse with firm hands, not careless hands.
- •Dongchimi brine gives the cleanest Gangwon-style brightness. If yours is very sour, use 1 cup dongchimi brine and 1 cup clear beef broth. If it is mild, use all dongchimi and add the vinegar as written.
- •Do not drown the bowl in gochujang. Some shops use it, and that is their bowl, but at home I prefer gochugaru, soy, vinegar, and a little sesame oil so the buckwheat still speaks.
- •Serve with baechu-kimchi, young radish kimchi, or a small plate of boiled pork slices if the table needs more. The noodles remain the center.
Advance Preparation
- •The broth can be seasoned and chilled up to 2 days ahead. Keep it covered, and taste again before serving because cold dulls salt and sourness.
- •The radish can be cut and seasoned up to 6 hours ahead. Keep it cold and squeeze it lightly before serving.
- •The sauce can be mixed 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Stir before using, because the gochugaru will thicken it as it sits.
- •Boil the noodles only at serving time. Cooked buckwheat noodles lose their clean bite quickly, even when rinsed well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 520g)
Calories
450 calories
Total Fat
7 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
5 g
Cholesterol
95 mg
Sodium
2460 mg
Total Carbohydrates
83 g
Dietary Fiber
7 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
17 g
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