Cold noodle soup is a hugely popular dish in Korea, and one of my favorites. There’s a spicy version without a lot of broth (bibimnaengmyeon), and a nonspicy version that does have a lot (mulnaengmyeon). The best noodle soup broth is made with a mix of brine from radish-water kimchi and chicken or beef stock. I developed this recipe specifically to get a high yield of brine for the soup. It’s made with much more water than is usual. After just a few minutes of work and then a few days of waiting as it ferments, you will have a perfect brine: subtly sour, salty, and tangy. It’s wonderfully thirstquenching when chilled. To use this kimchi as a side dish for rice, ladle the cold broth into serving bowls, along with several radish disks; cut the disks in half if they are large. You can also use some of the radishes as an ingredient in your cold noodle soup.
Makes about 2 pounds kimchi, with 12 cups brine
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 pounds Korean radishes (mu) or daikon, washed, peeled and cut into very thin (⅛ inch thick or less) disks
- Kosher salt
- 13¼ cups water
- 2 Gala, Fuji, Golden Delicious, or other sweet apples, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 green Korean chili peppers (cheong-gochu), stemmed and chopped
- 1 red Korean chili pepper (hong-gochu), stemmed and chopped
- 2 scallions
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Combine the radishes with 3 tablespoons salt in a bowl and mix well. Put the salted radishes in a 1-gallon glass jar or other airtight container, cover, and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours, stirring once or twice to distribute the salt evenly.
- Pour 13 cups of the water into a large pot, add the apples and onion, cover, and cook over medium heat until the apples and onion are translucent and the broth tastes sweet, about 1 hour. Refrigerated, the kimchi will last for 1 month.
- Mix the flour and the remaining ¼ cup cold water in a small bowl until completely smooth. Pour it into the boiling broth, stirring to dissolve. The broth will turn a little milky. Add 2 tablespoons salt and mix well. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
- Tie the garlic and chili peppers up tightly in a piece of cheesecloth. Add the seasoning pouch and the scallions to the jar with the radishes. Strain the cooled broth into the jar. Cover and let stand until the brine is a little sour with a good flavor, about 2 days.
- Remove the seasoning pouch and scallions and discard. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to make cold noodle soup, or for up to 1 month.
