Reimen

Naengmyeon

A bowl of naengmyeon.
Alternative names	Raengmyŏn, cold noodles
Type	Guksu
Place of origin	Korea
Region or state	Pyongyang, Hamhung (N. Korea) Jinju (S. Korea)
Associated national cuisine	North Korea
Serving temperature	Cold
Main ingredients	Noodles (flour and starch of buckwheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes)
Variations	Mul-naengmyeon, bibim-naengmyeon, hoe-naengmyeon
Food energy (per 100 g serving)	110 kcal (461 kJ)

Naengmyeon (냉면; 冷麵, in S. Korea) or raengmyŏn (랭면, in N. Korea) is a Korean noodle dish of long and thin handmade noodles made from the flour and starch of various ingredients, including buckwheat (메밀, memil), potatoes, sweet potatoes, arrowroot starch (darker color and chewier than buckwheat noodles), and kudzu (칡, chik). Buckwheat predominates (despite the name, it is not a wheat but rather is more closely related to sorrel). Other varieties of naengmyeon are made from ingredients such as seaweed and green tea.

According to the 19th-century documents of Dongguksesigi (동국세시기, 東國歲時記), naengmyeon has been made since the Joseon Dynasty. Originally a delicacy in northern Korea, especially in the cities of Pyongyang (평양) and Hamhung (함흥) in North Korea, naengmyeon became widely popular throughout Korea after the Korean War.

Naengmyeon is served in a large stainless-steel bowl with a tangy iced broth, julienned cucumbers, slices of Korean pear, thin, wide strips of lightly pickled radish, and either a boiled egg or slices of cold boiled beef or both. Spicy mustard sauce (or mustard oil) and vinegar are often added before consumption. Traditionally, the long noodles would be eaten without cutting, as they symbolized longevity of life and good health, but servers at restaurants usually ask if the noodles should be cut prior to eating, and use scissors to cut the noodles.

The two main varieties of naengmyeon are mul naengmyeon (물 냉면) and bibim naengmyeon (비빔 냉면). The former is served as a cold soup with the noodles contained in broth made from beef, chicken or dongchimi. The latter is served with a spicy dressing made primarily from gochujang (red chili paste) and eaten all mixed. In the case of bibim naengmyeon, a bowl of the soup broth used in mul naengmyeon or plain broth from the boiled noodles itself are often served on the side, albeit hot instead of cold in temperature.