Korean Chicken Soup in Summer: chogye gugsu
Summer is the time for Korean chicken soup and there are several different kinds. But I’m not sure how many British people would entertain the idea of eating COLD chicken soup?
I must admit I wasn’t keen at first! That’s because I imagined there would be some sort of greasy broth. But chilled chicken noodle soup (chogye guksu) is very refreshing and perfect after a long bike ride along the Han River.
To get to the restaurant, we cycled 38km to Hanam City just outside Seoul along the lovely bicycle path. We were on our way to Misari chogye guksu a well-known chicken noodle soup restaurant. Actually, there are branches in Seoul (I think there’s one in the COEX) but we decided to make a day of it and cycle to the flagship restaurant in Hanam City.
Related post:
What are the flavours of a Korean summer?
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We set off early for two reasons. Firstly, the temperature can reach well over 30 degrees during the day in the summer. And secondly, we’d heard that if you arrive at this restaurant at lunch time you might have to queue…
Yes, I’m British, but I do not like to queue – especially to get into restaurants!
Anyway, we tootled along on our little Brompton bikes constantly getting overtaken by teams of riders dressed for the Tour De France. Some people take things very seriously…
What is Chogye Gugsu 초계국수
초 cho = vinegar
계 gye = chicken
국수 gugsu = noodles
We arrived well before the lunchtime rush. And after the long bike ride, the Chogye guksu was really refreshing. But it’s very cold – well the broth IS full of ice – and the flavour is savoury with a slightly sweet and very sour vinegary vibe.
So it might be an acquired taste.
Below the surface of the icy broth lie thin noodles, long slices of moo radish (daikon), white kimchi, and cucumber. Then the dish is topped with succulent pieces of chicken sprinkled with sesame. Really good.
I ordered this as I like a soup with my noodles – even if it is cold soup.
But Mr Kim prefers spicy noodles without soup. So he ordered the bibim guksu. This dish is served with the same noodles but this time the noodles are mixed with gochujang spicy chilli paste and the flavour is spicy with a generous hint of sesame oil.
At a glance this might look like spaghetti Bolognese with chicken on top but it doesn’t taste anything like it! The sesame oil flavour really made this dish for me. Definitely worth a try on a hot day. Does it look tempting?
Read more about Korean summer dishes:
There are several other kinds of Korean chicken soup including samgyetang 삼계당 (chicken and ginseng soup) and eom-namu ddak-gye-jang 엄나무닭개장(spicy chicken soup in thorny tree broth)
What are the flavours of a Korean summer?
Korean Summer Desserts: Is Bingsu Tasty?
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Looking forward to eating this when you are next over. Yesterday was the first rain here since you left and the temperature has been in the late teens. Hosepipe ban just starting – just as the rains return. Bring on the umbrellas ☔️