Korean Knife Cut Noodle Soup (Kalguksu)
Traditional Korean soup recipe with knife cut noodles made from scratch and a savory anchovy or chicken broth. You can top with a variety of toppings including zucchini, chicken, seafood or beef.
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin You can use a long wine bottle or something similar instead
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Ingredients
For the noodles
- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus additional 1-2 cups for dusting
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 1 cup water
For the broth
- 6 cups anchovy or chicken broth
- 2 tbsp soup soup sauce
- 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- salt to taste
To make anchovy broth
- 6 cups water
- 1 small sheet of kombu (about 5"x5" in size)
- 6 medium dried anchovy if using large dried anchovy use 4 and remove the guts
- 1 wedge of korean radish (about 3"x2" in size)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 green onion stalk
For the toppings
- 1 zucchini, chopped into thin matchsticks
- 1.5 cups leftover chicken
- 3 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- toasted sesame seeds to garnish
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced to garnish
- 1 garlic clove, minced
Instructions
Prepare the dough for the noodles
- Combine flour, salt, oil, and water to a medium bowl. Mix together with a spoon or spatula until everything is well combined, then pour out onto a floured surface and knead until dough is no longer sticky and there are no lumps. The surface of the dough should be smooth. This may take 10-15 minutes or longer. The dough may feel a bit dry at first but continue to knead and it should come together. If after kneading for at least 5-10 minutes it's still not coming together, add a tablespoon of water at a time until you achieve the desired consistency. Mold the dough into a disk and place in the bowl. Cover with a dishcloth or saran wrap for 30 minutes.
Prepare the toppings
- While your dough is resting, prepare your toppings. Chop your zucchini and carrots and shred your chicken. Season your chicken with the soy sauce, minced garlic, and sesame oil.
- Heat a small pan and saute your zucchini and carrots under medium meat. You can saute them together or separately. Once they have softened (about 4-5 minutes), season with white pepper and sesame oil. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, you can saute your leftover chicken for just a minute to warm it up. Set aside in a separate bowl.
Prepare your broth
- To make anchovy broth, add anchovy, kombu, radish, green onion, and garlic to 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and continue at a medium boil for 10 minutes with lid uncovered. Strain the broth and discard the solids. Return the broth back to the pot and season with soup soy sauce, fish sauce, white pepper, and additional salt to taste if needed.
- Alternatively, you can use chicken broth. Bring chicken broth to a simmer then season with soup soy sauce, fish sauce, white pepper, and additional salt to taste if needed.
Roll out the dough
- Now that your dough has rested, remove dough from bowl and knead for another 5 minutes. Divide dough in half and use a rolling pin to roll out each half until it is about 18 inches in diameter and 1-2mm thick.
- Start folding the dough from the edge until the entire dough is folded over. Be sure to sprinkle flour over each fold so the layers do not stick together.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into thin 1/4" strips.
Boil the noodles
- Once your broth has come to a boil, Add your noodles into the broth and boil for about 4 minutes.
Add toppings and garnish
- Ladle the noodle and broth into individual bowls and top with the cooked zucchini as well as the shredded chicken. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.