Kalguksu/Knife Noodles 칼국수

| By: Bonny Minn|

If you’re craving a nice warm bowl of savory broth and chewy noodles, this is the perfect dish for you. A very common noodle dish served in South Korea, Kalguksu is considered Koreans’ and my soul food. You can make this dish match your own tastes, adding and removing ingredients that you like or dislike. If you enjoy seafood, add seafood! If you prefer vegetables, add vegetables! Serve yourself this home-cooked dish on a rainy day and you’ll feel the warmth of the broth spread throughout your body.

Ingredients

Yield: 2 servings

Cooking time: 60 minutes

• ½ onion

• 2 pieces of kelp

• 1 potato

• 2 green peppers

• 1 green onion

• ½ zucchini

• 2 pieces of garlic

• A handful of clams

• 150g of flour

• Two tablespoons of soy sauce

• About 600 - 700 mL of water

• Pinch of salt

• Pinch of black pepper

Cooking Instructions

Making the dough:

1. Put the flour into the bowl.

2. Make a small hole in the middle of the flour and put about 50 mL of water inside.

3. Mix the two ingredients together until they create a nice dough.

4. Knead the dough until it becomes a ball (add in more water if it’s too flaky, or flour if it’s too moist).

5. Put the dough inside a plastic bag and step on it a few times (make sure to wash your foot).

6. After kneading the dough, put the dough into the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes.

Making the broth:

1. Cut the root and the white part of the green onion.

2. Cut half of the ½ onion.

3. In a pot of 600mL water, add 2 pieces of kelp, the green onion (root and white part), and the onion, and leave it on high heat.

4. Boil the broth for 30-40 minutes.

5. Add more water if it looks as though some of the broth has evaporated.

The vegetables:

1. While the dough is resting and the broth is boiling, cut all of the remaining vegetables into bite-size pieces (potato, zucchini, onion, green onion, green peppers).

2. Mince the garlic.

3. When the broth looks ready, take the ingredients used to create the broth out of the pot and add in all the vegetables except the garlic and green pepper.

4. Boil for about 5-10 minutes.

The noodles:

1. Once the dough is taken out of the refrigerator, place some flour on your working area.

2. Roll out the dough until it is a little thicker than a small textbook.

3. Put enough flour on the thin dough.

4. Fold the dough (hot-dog style) four times until it becomes a small rectangular shape (like an envelope).

5. Cut the dough into thin slices.

6. After cutting all dough, unfold the cut-dough and put flour on it in order to keep its noodle-shape.

7. Put the noodles into the broth when it is boiling.

8. Add in the remaining vegetables, 2 tbsp soy sauce, salt, and pepper to season the broth.

9. Serve your noodles!