Cold noodles are quite popular in Korea – possibly a concept that is unusual in most Western countries. I personally love cold noodles especially on a hot summer day – refreshing, light and satisfying.
This cold black bean noodle soup is usually traditionally made with soy beans instead of black beans. I’ve had both and I think I actually like the black bean version a little better. It’s ridiculously simple and all you need are just a VERY few ingredients.
Included in my Easy Korean-Inspired Vegan Recipes video:
Cold Black Bean Noodle Soup Recipe
Ingredients (for about 1 serving)
- 1 serving of Korean wheat/wheat vermicelli noodles (or other types of noodles. You could try buckwheat, rice or other kinds – I personally haven’t tried any other types of noodles with this dish so I can’t vouch for the taste)
- 1 cup cooked black beans (I’ve never tried this with canned beans – I prefer to cook the beans from scratch. Just make sure they are very soft)
- 1-1.5 cups water (amount of water depending on how liquidy you want the soup to be. You can always add more water later so you might want to start with less)
- 1/2 tsp salt (you can always add more salt/water later to balance out the flavours if necessary)
- Small handful of cashews (optional)
- 1/2 tomato, sliced (optional garnish)
- Few cucumber pieces, sliced vertically (optional garnish)
Recipe Instructions
- Cook the noodles according to instructions – if you’re using the Korean ones, you’ll only need to cook them in boiling water for about 4 minutes.
- While the noodles are cooking, make the “soup” mixture. Add beans, water, salt and cashews into a blender and blend well on high speed for about 1-2 minutes or until everything is well-blended together. Refrigerate if serving later (see note).
- When the noodles are cooked, drain and rinse well in cold water. The noodles should be served cold. Cold noodle dish, remember?
- Place noodles in a serving bowl and pour the soup into the bowl. The soup should be nicely chilled so add ice cubes into the soup if you haven’t had time to let it sit in the fridge.
- Garnish with tomato and cucumber (small apple slices taste really good with this too!).
- Add more salt if necessary and enjoy!
Notes
- You can keep the “soup” mixture for about 2-3 days in the fridge so feel free to save some for later! The noodles should be cooked and eaten fresh though because they tend to get “soggy” if you don’t eat them right away.
- That’s pretty much it for the notes cause this recipe is easy AF.
Omigosh!! This is perfect for kids who can’t have soy!! I love kongguksu, but my younger son is allergic to soy, so I’ve been trying to avoid it. He’s also allergic to wheat and sesame, so many traditional Korean foods can sometimes be problematic. Thanks for the imagination!!