Korean Chinese cold noodles served with mustard and peanut sauce | |
Alternative names | Korean Chinese cold noodles |
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Type | |
Place of origin | South Korea |
Associated cuisine | Korean Chinese cuisine |
Serving temperature | Cold |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 중국냉면 |
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Hanja | 中國冷麵 |
Revised Romanization | jungguk-naengmyeon |
McCune–Reischauer | chungguk-naengmyŏn |
IPA | [tɕuŋ.ɡuŋ.nɛ̝ŋ.mjʌn] |
Jungguk-naengmyeon (Korean: 중국냉면, Hanja: 中國冷麵, transl. “Chinese cold noodles”) is a type of naengmyeon (cold noodles) in Korean Chinese cuisine.[1] The dish, consisting of icy cold broth with noodles, blanched seafood, fresh vegetables, and hard-boiled egg, is usually served with mustard and peanut sauce.[2]
Despite the name, the dish originated in Korea.[2] The flavour profile is influenced by chilled noodle dishes in Chinese cuisine, such as liáng miàn (凉面; 涼麵) and gān bàn miàn (干拌面; 乾拌麵), which are served cold but are not noodle soups.[2][3][4][5] The Korean Chinese dish incorporates the Korean tradition of serving noodles in icy cold broth (naengmyeon).[2][3][4][5]
Early records of the dish includes the mentioning of junghwa-yori-sik naengmyeon (중화요리식 냉면, transl. “Chinese cuisine-style cold noodles”) on 22 June 1947 in the newspaper The Jeju Sinbo, and mentioning of jungguk-naengmyeon (중국냉면, transl. “Chinese cold noodles”) in The Dong-a Ilbo on 25 September 1962.[2][4] It is assumed that the dish was popularized in South Korea during the 1960s, when Chinese-style peanut sauce was largely replaced by peanut butter from U.S. military bases.[2][4] In 1980s, high-end Korean Chinese restaurants in major hotels began to serve this dish.[2][4][5]
Chicken broth is usually used in jungguk-naengmyeon. The broth, seasoned with ginger, onion, and rice wine, is served chilled with Chinese-style wheat noodles and toppings.[6] Mustard and peanut sauce are usually added to the dish.[2] The peanut sauce gives the soup a thick, cream-colored, opaque look and nutty flavor.[6] Common toppings include slices of boiled meat, blanched seafood, such as shrimp, jellyfish, and cuttlefish, vegetables, such as thinly sliced cucumber carrot, and tomato, as well as hard-boiled egg.[2]