Jungguk-naengmyeon facts for kids
![]() Korean Chinese cold noodles served with mustard and peanut sauce
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Alternative names | Korean Chinese cold noodles |
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Type | |
Place of origin | South Korea |
Associated national cuisine | Korean Chinese cuisine |
Serving temperature | Cold |
Korean name | |
Hangul |
중국냉면
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Hanja |
中國冷麵
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Revised Romanization | jungguk-naengmyeon |
McCune–Reischauer | chungguk-naengmyŏn |
IPA | [tɕuŋ.ɡuŋ.nɛ̝ŋ.mjʌn] |
Jungguk-naengmyeon (Korean: 중국냉면, meaning "Chinese cold noodles") is a yummy cold noodle dish. It's part of Korean Chinese cuisine, which mixes Korean and Chinese cooking styles.
This dish has icy cold broth with noodles, fresh vegetables, and seafood. It also often includes a hard-boiled egg. People usually eat it with mustard and a special peanut sauce.
The Story of Jungguk-naengmyeon
Even though its name means "Chinese cold noodles," this dish actually started in South Korea. It got its unique taste from cold noodle dishes found in Chinese cuisine. These Chinese dishes, like liáng miàn and gān bàn miàn, are served cold but are not noodle soups.
Jungguk-naengmyeon adds a Korean twist. It uses the Korean idea of serving noodles in a super cold, icy broth. This is similar to a traditional Korean dish called naengmyeon.
One of the first times this dish was mentioned was in a newspaper called The Jeju Sinbo in 1947. It was called "Chinese cuisine-style cold noodles" then. Later, in 1962, The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper used the name Jungguk-naengmyeon.
This dish became very popular in Korea during the 1960s. This was around the time that peanut butter from U.S. military bases started to replace the traditional Chinese-style peanut sauce. By the 1980s, fancy Korean Chinese restaurants in big hotels began serving Jungguk-naengmyeon.
How Jungguk-naengmyeon is Made
To make Jungguk-naengmyeon, chefs usually start with a tasty chicken broth. This broth is flavored with ginger, onion, and rice wine. It's then chilled until it's very cold.
The cold broth is served with Chinese-style wheat noodles. You usually add mustard and peanut sauce to the dish. The peanut sauce makes the soup thick and creamy, giving it a light color and a nutty taste.
Common toppings for Jungguk-naengmyeon include thin slices of boiled meat. You might also find blanched seafood like shrimp, jellyfish, or cuttlefish. Fresh vegetables like thinly sliced cucumber and carrot are often added, along with tomato and a hard-boiled egg.