by M
Bibimbap is one of the most popular and well-known Korean dishes, even people with little or no specific interest in Korean cuisine often know and tried it. To make it more versatile, or just to be a bit adventurous, it can be a fun experience to replace the rice with another ingredient: noodles, pasta, buckwheat, giant or pearl couscous.
This recipe uses somyeon noodles that are very thin and white wheat flour noodles and can be added to both hot and cold dishes. It has an interestingly chewy texture but you need to be really careful while preparing it and strictly stick to the cooking instructions, otherwise they can be easily overcooked and become soggy.
Instead of a simply vegetable version, sweet&sour fried tofu complements this visually appealing and appetizing dish. All the ingredients are easily available and you can have a delicious lunch or dinner in no time!
Image credit: M
Ingredients for 2 portions:
- 100 g somyeon, Korean thin wheat noodles
- 1 large carrot, roughly grated
- 300 g firm tofu, diced
- yellow pickled radish, sliced thin
- half pack green leaf salad
- half red bell pepper, diced
- ~10 cm leek, sliced thin
- 2 tbsp sweet&sour cooking sauce, I used Bibigo's sweet&sour Korean fried chicken cooking sauce
- 2-4 tsp mild ssamjang
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, optional
- 2-3 tsp roasted sesame seeds
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions:
Stir-fry the carrots, then the bell pepper and leeks together, and finally the green leaf salad. This latter needs about 4-5 seconds.
Glaze the tofu with the sweet&sour cooking sauce and fry them. I fried them until they got a golden, caramelised crust on them. Hint: you can marinade the tofu in the sauce for a more intense taste.
Cook the somyeon according to the instructions on the package. Hint: add some sesame oil for extra taste and also to avoid the noodles stick together.
Place the noodles in a bowl or on a plate and top them with all the ingredients aesthetically. For a nice contrast of colours, you can follow this order: yellow pickled radish, green salad, bell pepper + leeks, carrots and finally, the tofu.
Add 1-2 tsp mild ssamjang in the middle. You can adjust the measurement to your spice tolerance.
Garnish the meal with roasted sesame seeds.
Enjoy!
Share your opinion and/or suggestions with us if you try this recipe.