Acorn noodle soup facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Acorn noodle soup

Korean acorn noodle soup
Type	Noodle soup
Place of origin	Korea
Main ingredients	Acorn flour or starch, grain flour (buckwheat or wheat)

Acorn noodle soup, known as dotoriguksu (Hangul: 도토리국수) in Korea, is a tasty noodle soup. It's made with special Korean noodles. These noodles get their unique flavor from acorn flour or starch. They also contain salt and other grain flours like buckwheat or wheat.

Acorns come from different types of oak trees. Each type of oak can give the noodles a slightly different taste. It's often hard to tell which specific oak tree the acorns came from. This is because there are many kinds of oak trees. Also, different oak types often mix together, making new kinds of trees.

How Acorn Noodles Began

People have been eating acorns for a very long time. Evidence from ancient sites in South Korea shows this. For example, at a place called Amsa-dong, tools for processing acorns were found.

Acorns naturally contain bitter substances called tannins. To make them edible, people had to wash out these bitter parts. Then, they would grind the acorns into flour. They used special grinding stones, like a saddle quern and milling stone.

No one knows exactly where acorn noodles were first made. However, Ogam village in Korea is famous for its long history of growing acorns. This village is near the Namhangang River. Its mountains and climate are perfect for growing lots of acorns. The village makes many foods from acorns. One popular dish is dotori kalguksoo, which are acorn knife-cut noodles.

Types of Acorn Noodles

There are two main kinds of acorn noodles. One is made from acorn flour, similar to soba noodles. The other is made from acorn starch, like vermicelli.

Starch-Based Acorn Noodles

Acorn vermicelli noodles are also called dotori naengmyeon (hangul: 냉면 도토리). They are made from acorn starch. Other starches like potato, rice, or arrowroot starch are often added. They also contain wheat flour and salt.

When dried, these noodles look like thin, brown plastic threads. They are about 1 to 1.2 millimeters wide. When cooked properly, naengmyeon noodles are usually eaten cold. They are very stretchy and have a chewy texture.

Flour-Based Acorn Noodles

Acorn soba noodles are known as dotori guksu (hangul: 도토리국수) in Korean. They are made from acorn flour. Other flours, like buckwheat and corn, are mixed in, along with salt. These noodles are about as thick as spaghetti.

You can use them in both hot and cold dishes. An example is zaru soba. In this dish, boiled noodles are served cold with a dipping sauce. Acorn soba noodles are often considered healthier than the starch-based ones. The Japanese version, called donguri-men, usually has less acorn flour than the original Korean recipe.

Raw acorn soba noodles are a bit rougher and more fragile than regular buckwheat soba noodles. Once cooked, they have a nuttier flavor. They are also healthier and a little saltier. These noodles contain many good things for your body, like antioxidants.

Flour vs. Starch: What's the Difference?

Sometimes, food labels from Korea can be confusing. Acorn starch is often incorrectly called acorn flour or acorn powder. But they are not the same thing.

Acorn starch is a very refined version of acorn flour. This means it has almost no fiber, fat, or nutrients left. While acorns naturally contain starch, it's not as refined as the processed acorn starch. Acorn starch is taken out of the acorn kernel using a wet process. Then it's dried. The inner part of the kernel is removed to make acorn oil. This oil is similar to olive oil in taste and quality. The outer shell is separated, and the starch comes from the kernel's inside. It might be better to call the less refined version "acorn meal." A meal is usually coarser than flour.

You can find both flour-based and starch-based acorn noodles in fancy Korean markets. Some Japanese markets also sell acorn soba noodles. However, it can be tricky to find acorn soba noodles in general.