Korean dishes provide a tasty cool down


We call it the “dog days of summer,” or “boknal” in Korean.

Cool eats · Experimenting with cold, Korean dishes, like pat bing soo, is a great way to combat the dry heat and experience cultural treasures. - Sophia Lee | Daily Trojan

It’s the hottest period of the summer, when the heat is so unbearable you just want to hibernate in an air-conditioned room crunching ice cubes.

Thankfully, in Los Angeles such unbearably hot and humid days are rare, but the sun can get pretty exhausting on certain August and September afternoons. For those high-temperature days, take a trip to Koreatown and cool down the Korean way — with popular summer dishes that will not just revive your strength but your appetite too.

Naeng myun (cold noodles)

In the dead of summer, every naeng myun house in Korea becomes lively with customers craving the thirst-quenching bowl of chewy skinny noodles. In Koreatown, these noodle houses are lesser known but still frequented by people who have discovered this wonderful and delicious satisfaction.

Naeng myun — literally, “chilled noodles” — is typically served in a cold stainless bowl with julienned cucumbers, a hard-boiled egg and sprinkles of sesame seeds. The noodles range widely from buckwheat noodles to kudzu noodles and even green tea noodles, but the two main varieties of this popular summer dish include mul naeng myun — “water cold noodles” — and bibim naeng myun — “mixed cold noodles.”

The “water” version is served with ice-cold broth (usually beef), while the “mixed” version comes dry with a spicy dressing and broth on the side. Both are served as cold as possible.

There are numerous restaurants in Koreatown selling these tasty noodles, but stick to the ones that specialize only in naeng myun, as the texture of their noodles and the intensity of their broth will be far superior.

Kong guk soo (soybean noodles)

There must be something refreshing and enticing about slurping noodles on a hot summer day. Kong guk soo — or noodles in chilled soybean soup — is another Korean dish, devour-worthy on a hot summer day.

For such a simple noodle soup, kong guk soo requires a bit of labor to make. Whole soybeans are soaked, skinned and boiled, then puréed into a thin milky broth, sometimes with pine nuts, sesame seeds and/or walnuts. But after this initial preparation, assembly is quick and easy.

The nutty, naturally-sweet-yet-savory milk is poured over velvety wheat noodles and served chilled with julienned cucumbers, tomato and sesame seeds. The soup is pure white and creamy and looks sinfully rich, but the taste is incredibly light and refreshing. It is also one of the few naturally vegetarian/vegan dishes in Korean cuisine — not to mention this dish earns bonus points for its high protein and low fat nutritional profile.

Myung Dong Kyo Ja on Wilshire Boulevard, though specializing in dumpling by name, is well known among the Koreatown community for its kong guk soo, and Ma Dang Gook Soo on Western Avenue is another popular place.

Sam Gye Tang (ginseng chicken soup)

A steaming dish in the middle of a blistering day? According to the Korean belief, sam gye tang fights electrolyte depletion and restores health and stamina by heating up the inner body while also cooling the outer.

A young, whole chicken is stuffed with nutritious ingredients like glutinous rice, chestnuts, ginseng, jujubes (a type of date), garlic and ginger, then boiled in its own broth until the soup turns milky white. With a side of cold, spicy kimchi, there is no hot summer dish more comforting and satisfying.

Los Angeles is not yet home to a place specializing in sam gye tang, but Bulrocho on Vermont Avenue and Mountain Café on Eighth Street serve decent renditions of the dish in hot clay pots. A note: The dish might seem rather bland at first, but you are expected to season it yourself with salt and pepper.

Pat Bing Soo (shaved ice)

Translated literally, pat bing soo means “red bean ice water.” Toppings vary from shop to shop, but the basic, necessary ingredients consist of shaved ice, sweetened adzuki beans, sweetened condensed milk and rice cake bits. Other fun toppings include ice cream, colorful cereal, fresh fruits and roasted soybean powder.

It’s a messy, sticky dish that’s meant to be shared among friends — the ingredients are mixed together, and the best part is the sweet, milky slurry of melted ice that you slurp up toward the bottom of the bowl.

Every single Korean coffee shop and cafe sells this summer dessert — it’s a mandatory staple.