Cooking for me has always been accompanied by simplicity and taste. I started to cook more often after I moved out of my dorm at the beginning of my junior year. Since I had my own kitchen, I wanted to spend time making home-made meals rather than always going out to eat. I had the same food every day on campus, and I wanted to expand on the variety of food that I ate. It was July in Atlanta when I first moved into my apartment, and it was very hot and humid. I did not have much of an appetite, so I asked my mother to suggest a simple dish that would entice my appetite. That is when she recommended to me Kimchi Bibim-guksu. I had it every so often when I lived at my parent’s home, but I had never made it alone before.

The reason I chose this dish for the noodles project is because I have been craving this dish during the hot, dry summer months back in California. In addition to this, I have had the opportunity to cook more often since all of my family members are in South Korea for the summer. Kimchi Bibim-guksu is a simple, yet easy noodle dish to create during in the summer months because of its sweet, spicy, and tangy flavor. The combination of the three flavors brings back my appetite on a hot summer day when I do not feel like eating something. Since the noodle dish does not take much time to prepare, nor does it require a lot of ingredients, it is ideal for someone who lives alone.

Because the flavors of the Kimchi Bibim-guksu stimulates one’s appetite, it is commonly consumed during the summer months. The dish is usually enjoyed as a lunch, dinner, or even a late-night snack. I would cook this most often as a quick lunch or a late-night snack. The dish is very customizable in that one can garnish the noodles with whatever best fits one’s taste and preferences. What I enjoy the most about this dish is that I can garnish the dish with the toppings of my choice. I would see my mother add some shredded cabbage, apple, dried seaweed/nori, and half a boiled egg, so I naturally do the same when I make this dish. Some people choose to add cucumber, lettuce, or even carrots to their noodles. The dish allows me to consume fiber and protein in addition to the carbs of the noodles since I sometimes find it difficult to consume vegetables on their own. The garnishes also make the dish more refreshing.

Kimchi Bibim-guksu goes all the way back to the Joseon Dynasty in South Korea in the 15th century. There have been various changes and modifications made to the dish since then. It was first served with a soy sauce base in addition to marinated beef and shitake mushroom. Although I do make my noodles by adding a tablespoon of soy sauce, the main base for the noodles today is a red chili paste, also known as gochujang in Korean. Noodles during the Joseon Dynasty were also considered noble. People did not consume noodles as much as they do nowadays because it was not cheap, nor a staple ingredient. Noodles became more common in the mid-20th century when South Korea received wheat aid from the United States. The wheat aid allowed wheat processing factories to open up in Korea, and the ingredient became more accessible to all people. Somen, which is the type of noodle used for this dish, has always been in the pantry at my house since I was young. Somen can be used to make different noodle dishes in addition to the Kimchi Bibim-guksu, so it is a plus to have it in the kitchen. All the ingredients for this recipe were easily found in the kitchen, so I had no problem preparing the ingredients during the quarantine.

The cooking process for this dish was not challenging since I have made this dish quite a few times since last year. Although there is an instant version of this noodle dish that is sold in supermarkets, what made me appreciate the dish was the fact that it was home-made. Even though the instant noodle is more convenient, since it only takes a maximum of ten minutes to cook, creating this dish from cooking the noodles, to making the bibim sauce, to garnishing the noodles, allowed me to appreciate the whole process. Not only is the time and effort spent on creating a home-cooked dish valuable, but this project allowed me to cherish the dish that my mother has made since I was young and brought back memories.