Food is also a work of art and many modern takes on traditional cuisines strive to be immortally sublime on a plate and in the memories of people. Kongguksu, or cold soybean noodles, is perhaps best described as art in a bowl. White as snow and cold as ice, this is the type of dish that makes you wax poetic – its aesthetics leave you speechless, but this sense of beauty is fleeting – it must be consumed as soon as possible, lest the temperature suffers in the summer heat.
The origin of Kongguksu is unknown but historians place its history in the late 19th century. The visuals are like this: white noodles (somen-type) in a chilled white broth made from soy milk, then topped with julienned cucumber and tomatoes. Soy milk is easily available in many groceries and marts that sell organic produce, but producing this on your own isn’t so bad. Soybeans are soaked overnight, boiled until cooked and finally pureed, naturally with mandatory adjustments in adding liquid to achieve the best consistency. Following this, you run the pureed soybeans through a strainer – sieved, that is – until you come to the end of the soy milk production process.
*photo source: https://blog.naver.com/gimpo2010/221063466881
Another delicious Korean dish: https://thisiskoreatours.com/refreshing-delightful-bibim-guksu/
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