By Korean Food Promotion Institute
Editor's note
Hoenaengmyeon is a regional specialty from North Korea’s Hamgyong Province, known for its refreshing combination of chewy cold buckwheat noodles and delicately marinated raw fish. Traditionally made with mild, white-fleshed fish like skate or gray mullet, this dish balances heat, acidity and sweetness in every bite. The use of spicy gochugaru and gochujang adds depth to the raw fish seasoning, while crisp vegetables and juicy pear bring texture and freshness. For best results, serve the noodles well chilled and adjust sweetness and spice to suit your palate.
Ingredients
- 450 grams buckwheat noodles
- Seasoning for noodles
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 240 grams raw skate (ray fish)
- 4 tablespoons white vinegar
- Seasoning for raw fish
- 6 tablespoons gochugaru (red chile pepper powder)
- 1 tablespoon gochujang (red chile pepper paste)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons minced green onion
- 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, crushed
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons ground onion
- 1/2 cucumber
- 60 grams Korean watercress
- 1/2 Korean pear
- 2 boiled eggs
- Garnish
- Hot mustard, white vinegar, sugar
Preparation
Slice the raw skate and wash it in cold water. Squeeze out excess water and store in white vinegar for 1 hour.
Thinly slice cucumber on a bias.
Cut the Korean pear into thin slices the same size as the cucumber.
Tear off Korean watercress leaves and cut them into 4-cm long segments.
Halve boiled eggs lengthwise.
Combine the ingredients for the noodle and raw skate seasoning in separate bowls.
Cooking
Remove raw skate from vinegar, squeeze the excess liquid and place it on a plate. Mix the Korean watercress with half of the noodle seasoning.
In a large pot, bring 16 cups of water to a boil and add the noodles. Add 1 cup of cold water and then return to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes or according to the package directions. Drain and rinse noodles under cold water several times. Coil the noodles with your hands to form a bird’s nest shape and let them drain in a colander.
Mix the boiled noodles and the remaining noodle seasoning.
Place the noodles in a bowl and garnish with the skate, cucumber, Korean pear and egg.
Serve with seasoning for skate and mustard sauce. Add sugar for sweetness, according to your preference.
Tip
Hamgyong Province is famous for hoenaengmyeon. Gray mullet, trout, croaker, dried pollack, flatfish, thornback and stingray are used because they have white flesh, fewer bones and less pungency. You can control the texture of the noodles by using different ratios of starch powder, buckwheat and flour.
Serves 4.
yoohong@heraldcorp.com
