Cold Spicy Noodles (Leng Mian)

A Korean dish, popular in northern China. I ate this for lunch every day for an entire year when I lived in Jinzhou, China. The cook was certain that eating this cold dish during the cold northern winter would be bad for my stomach, but it never was! This makes a wonderfully refreshing lunch during the hot summertime.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins
• Calories: 479 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ¼ cup roasted peanuts
• ½ cup white vinegar
• 1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
• ½ cup kimchi
• 4 ounces spaghetti, or as needed
• 2 cups very cold ice water
• 2 teaspoons sambal oelek (chile paste)
• 1 hard-cooked egg, halved (Optional)
• 2 slices deli ham, cut into bite-sized pieces (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes.

Step 2

Meanwhile, combine ice water, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and sambal oelek in a bowl. Refrigerate sauce to chill until spaghetti is cooked.

Step 3

Rinse cooked spaghetti in cold water until totally cooled off; drain well.

Step 4

Divide sauce between 2 chilled servings bowls. Add equal amounts of spaghetti, cucumber, kimchi, peanuts, egg, and ham to each bowl. Serve immediately.