Mul Naengmyeon

Ingredients

• 400g dried naengmyeon buckwheat noodles
• 600g beef brisket
• 2.5 litres cold water
• 1 onion, halved
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 thumb fresh ginger, sliced
• 1 leek, white part only
• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 400ml dongchimi radish brine, optional but traditional
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp fine salt, or to taste
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/2 Korean pear, peeled and sliced
• 100g pickled radish slices
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, halved
• Korean mustard oil and extra vinegar, to serve

Before you cook

• Soak the brisket in cold water for 40 minutes, changing the water twice, then drain it
• Halve the onion, peel the garlic and slice the ginger
• Boil the eggs for 9 minutes, cool them and peel them
• Slice the cucumber and pear thinly and keep them chilled

Steps

1. Put the drained brisket in a large pot with the cold water and bring it slowly to a boil.
2. Skim off every bit of foam that rises for the first 10 minutes.
3. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, leek and peppercorns.
4. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour and 30 minutes, keeping the surface at a bare tremble so the broth stays clear.
5. Lift the brisket out and press it under a plate weighted with a tin, then chill it.
6. Strain the broth through a fine sieve lined with muslin into a clean container.
7. Chill the broth for at least 3 hours until it is icy cold, then lift off and discard the solid fat from the top.
8. Stir the dongchimi brine, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and salt into the cold broth and taste it; it should be sharp, saline and only faintly sweet.
9. Put the broth in the freezer for 40 minutes so ice crystals just begin to form at the edges.
10. Slice the chilled brisket as thinly as you can.
11. Bring a large pot of water to a violent boil and cook the noodles for 2 to 3 minutes, watching them closely because they overcook in seconds.
12. Drain the noodles and rinse them under cold running water, rubbing them between your hands until every trace of starch is gone and they squeak.
13. Plunge the noodles into a bowl of iced water for 30 seconds, then drain them hard and coil each portion into a chilled metal bowl.
14. Pour the slushy broth over the noodles until it comes halfway up the bowl.
15. Arrange the brisket, cucumber, pear, pickled radish and half an egg on top of each portion.
16. Serve immediately with mustard oil and vinegar so everyone can sharpen their own bowl.