Naengmyeon

Naengmyeon is chewy buckwheat noodles served ice-cold in a tangy broth or a spicy sauce. It is the dish Koreans reach for when it's too hot to want anything warm, and the noodles themselves have a distinctive springy, almost rubbery bite unlike any warm noodle dish.

What it really is

Buckwheat flour, sometimes cut with a little starch to hold the strands together, is pressed into thin, chewy noodles that stay firm even served cold, which is exactly what a wheat noodle can't reliably do. One version arrives in an icy, tangy broth traditionally made from beef or dongchimi radish water; the other, spicier version skips the broth for a sauce built on gochujang and vinegar, tossed through the noodles instead.

The noodles have to hold their chew cold, which is why they're buckwheat, not wheat. Wheat noodles turn gummy and stick together once chilled; buckwheat's firmer, springier texture is exactly what lets naengmyeon be served ice-cold without falling apart.

How it is served

• Ice-cold, often with ice cubes still floating in the broth version.
• With a hard-boiled egg half, cucumber and a splash of vinegar.
• As a refreshing main, especially in summer.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the egg.
• Say whether the broth or the spicy sauce version is on offer, since the two are genuinely different dishes under one name.
• Warn that it's served properly cold, since some guests unfamiliar with it expect a warm noodle soup.