Pyongyang naengmyeon

📖What it is

• The noodles are made mostly or entirely from buckwheat, so they are soft and break easily.
• The cold broth is usually beef-based, sometimes mixed with dongchimi, the tangy juice of radish water kimchi.
• Typical toppings are slices of beef, pickled radish, cucumber, Korean pear and half a boiled egg.

🥢How to eat it

1. 1Taste the broth on its own first. The flavor is meant to be subtle.
2. 2Vinegar and mustard are on the table or come on request. Add a little at a time if you like; purists skip them.
3. 3Staff may offer to cut the long noodles with scissors. Say no if you prefer them long.

🏛️History

• Naengmyeon was a specialty of the north of the Korean Peninsula, especially Pyongyang. A 19th-century record of seasonal customs, the Dongguksesigi, already mentions it; how much older it is remains debated.
• It is a summer dish today, but it began as a winter food in the cold north.
• After the division of Korea and the Korean War, people from the North brought it to Seoul, and restaurants opened by northern families made it a Seoul classic.