Spicy Korean Noodle Salad! Light, fresh and filled with veggies and mâche rosettes! Make it spicy or non-spicy! This is the perfect summer meal and takes less than 20 minutes to make!
I love the food scene here in Madison. This was something that really surprised me when we first moved here. I assumed, because it is a smaller city in the Midwest, that there wouldn’t be much of a food scene at all. I think I expected a lot of fast food restaurants and not much of anything else.
And fresh, inventive food? I didn’t think there’d be much at all.
Boy, was I wrong.
After I learned about all the amazing chefs and all the great, fresh seasonal farm to table cooking (and sourcing so much of the food locally), I fell in love.
Last year, I was on the hunt for some great ramen in Madison. I found it when I went to Umami Ramen. Recently, I had their cold ramen noodles for the summer and was transported to all the summers in Dallas as a kid.
My parents would always make naeng myun or bibim naeng muyn. We also loved eating cold soba noodles and eating ice cream, and sometimes indulging in making this dessert.
This Spicy Korean Noodle Salad pays tribute to summers, my love for fresh food and my love for gochujang!
I have one full week left in NYC and we have a final presentation to prep for so I’m keeping this post short. I’ve been learning so much. . I can’t wait to share with you all.
Until then, make this noodle salad! I actually made this noodle salad after making this sushi burrito (recipe coming soon!) because I already had most of the veggies cut and ready to go . . you might want to do the same!
And the noodles are gluten-free!!
I am obsessed with these greens. You can find them here.
Spicy Korean Noodle Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic grated
For the gochujang sauce:
- 2 tablespoons gochujang + more if desired
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
For the noodle salad:
- 1 8 oz box gluten free rice noodles
- 2 cups mache rosettes + a handful for the garnish or any spring greens mix
- 1/2 cup red bell peppers thinly sliced or chopped
- 1/2 cup yellow bell peppers thinly sliced or chopped
- 3/4 cup English cucumber diced or julienned
- 3/4 cup carrots diced or julienned
- 3/4 heaping cup shredded red cabbage
- 1/4 cup scallions diced
- sesame seeds
- roasted peanuts unsalted
- lime wedges
Instructions
To make the dressing:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small to medium sized bowl and whisk together until combined. Set aside.
For the spicy gochujang sauce:
- Mix together ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and adjust any ingredients as needed. Set aside.
For the noodle salad:
- Boil rice noodles according to package instructions, usually only for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Using a large mixing bowl, toss together the cooked rice noodles, all of the veggies and pour the dressing over the noodle salad. Mix together until everything is coated with the dressing.
- If a spicy version is desired, pour in the gochujang mixture and toss together again.
- Garnish with diced scallions, sesame seeds, peanuts, lime wedges (if desired) and a handful of fresh mache rosettes sprinkled over the top and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Fish sauce adapted from this recipe.
