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
- 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.
I love how light and fresh these noodles are – perfect for summer. I would love to see lots more Korean recipes from you too!
Oh, my goodness. I love noodle salads SO much. They’re so much better than going it with heavy pasta this time of year. I can’t WAIT to try this one out!
Enjoy your second week to the fullest. Before you know it, you’ll be back on the foodie scene in Madison!
Isn’t it funny how some cities can suprise you? Sounds like Madison has delicious food! And this salad looks fantastic, Alice! I love the pretty colors and spicy flavor. Sounds like the perfect summer meal, especially with this hot weather that we’ve been having!
I love noodle salads! All the flavors in this one certainly make for a delicious dish! (Good luck on your presentation 🙂 )
So comforting and delicious! Rare to use comfort as a descriptor for salad but this is wonderful! Good luck on your presentation! Can’t wait to learn about your experience!!
Love salads with noodles and the flavors in this are incredible! Perfect for summer, love the colors! Good luck Alice and have a great week!
I love how flavorful this sounds Alice! perfect for summer!
I have never been to Madison or anywhere in the Midwest, but obviously I’m missing out! One day, hopefully I’ll get out there! Anyways, so glad you are having a great time in your class!! Can’t wait to hear about everything you have learned! This Spicy Korean Noodle Salad looks stellar! Looove anything spicy, so this is totally up my alley! Cheers, Alice and good luck on your presentation!
This looks awesome Alice! The perfect meal for the entire family.
This is the perfect summer salad! Cool and refreshing and full of flavor!
Wow, this noodle salad looks restaurant-caliber. Awesome work!
Well, that is a good surprise, isn’t it? To be able to find a good selection of foods. Always a good thing, isn’t it?
Enjoy your week! Been following along on IG and looks like you’re having a great time….lots of good eats! Good luck on your presentation!!
Now, this noodle salad! Looks awesome, Alice! Everything looks so fresh and delicious. Wishing I had a big bowl of that right now for lunch!
This Korean inspired noodle salad looks absolutely fantastic, Alice!! I love that the noodles themselves are gluten – free and made from Rice! Need to make these!
I visited Madison once and I only had time to check out a couple restaurants. But I wanted to visit more. I remember there being a good number of cool looking choices. Small college towns are typically pretty great in that regard. This fresh noodle salad looks amazing. Perfect for Summer. It’s so stinking hot lately!
This looks so fresh and flavorful! Yum!
Madison’s food scene sounds awesome! That’s such a nice surprise, especially when you move to a new city. Love this noodle salad, Alice! It looks beyond incredible!! <3
Oh my, this was the first time I read the story about Paul. How scary! Thankful he came out of it relatively safe. I made this noodle salad tonight with the stuff that I had and it was a hit! thanks. As I was putting it together, I realized it’s a nod to “bibim gooksoo” which I haven’t had in ages. Cheers!
Oops I mixed two posts into one comment. Feel free to delete/edit.
Grace, yes!!! it is!!!! Thank you!!! I’m having fun watching your home reno!!!! Can’t wait to see your remodeled house!
We made this last night and it’s DELICIOUS! I used angel hair pasta because I wanted it to last (and not get hard) for lunch the next day. I actually had to take the bowl away from the table, or else we wouldn’t have had any left! Thanks, as always, for the delicious recipe, Alice!
Joy, this makes me so happy to hear!!! 🙂 Thank you for the comment and love the angel hair pasta!
Stumble on your page via Kelly’s page. I am obsessed with gochujang and spicy Korean food. This looks absolutely amazing!!
Thank you so much!!!!
These sound so delicious. Thaanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon