''Kal-guksu'' * (; ; ) is a Korean noodle dish consisting of handmade, knife-cut

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bre ...

noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, In ...

s served in a large bowl with

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

and other ingredients. It is traditionally considered a seasonal food, consumed most often in summer. Its name comes from the fact that the noodles are not

extruded Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex c ...

or spun, but cut.Kalguksu
at

Doosan Encyclopedia ''Doosan Encyclopedia'' is a Korean language encyclopedia published by Doosan Group, Doosan Donga (두산동아). The encyclopedia is based on the ''Dong-A Color Encyclopedia'' (동아원색세계대백과사전), which comprises 30 volumes and ...

History

The record of noodles can be found in documents of the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...

era, but the descriptions are vague and the nature of the noodles isn't clear. In the 12th century document ''Goryeo dogyeong'' (; Hanja: 高麗圖經) it is mentioned that noodles were only eaten on special occasions, as wheat flour was very expensive, being imported from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. A cooking description can be found in a later document, ''The Best New Cooking Methods of Joseon'' (; Hanja: 朝鮮無雙新式料理製法), written in 1924. In the 1934 book ''Simple Joseon Cooking'', the recipe calls for the noodles to be boiled and rinsed in cold water before adding broth and garnish, a method that differs from the modern version of boiling the noodles together with the broth.

Preparation and serving

The noodles are made with dough from wheat flour and eggs, and sometimes ground bean powder is added for texture. The dough is let to breathe, then rolled out thinly and cut in long strips. The

for ''kalguksu'' is usually made with dried

anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environ ...

, and

kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwa ...

. Sometimes chicken broth would be used. In order to obtain a rich flavor, the ingredients are simmered for many hours. The noodles and various vegetables, most often

Korean zucchini Aehobak ( ko, 애호박), also called Korean zucchini or Korean courgette, is an edible, green to yellow-green summer squash. Although nearly all summer squashes are varieties of ''Cucurbita pepo'', aehobak belongs to the species ''Cucurbita mo ...

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

es, and

scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus '' Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, c ...

s are added and boiled together. Usually seasoned with salt, the noodles are served with garnish of choice. Kal-guksu.jpg, Hand-cut ''kal-guksu'' noodles Kal-guksu 2.jpg, Hand-cut ''kal-guksu'' noodles

Varieties

*''Jemul'' kalguksu (제물칼국수): Noodles are put to a boil with other ingredients in broth, instead of being added later. Both the noodles and broth gain a thick texture. * Ssuk kalguksu (쑥칼국수): Mugwort is added to the dough when making the noodles. Usually served in anchovy broth. *

Mung bean The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the Fabaceae, legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata ...

kalguksu (녹두칼국수): Boiled mung beans are crushed, sieved, and added to the noodle dough. * Hobak Pumpkin kalguksu (호박칼국수): Noodles are cooked with a porridge-like mixture of red beans and rice, and served in a hollowed-out pumpkin. A specialty dish of

Chungcheongnam-do South Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청남도, ''Chungcheongnam-do''), also known as Chungnam, is a province of South Korea. South Chungcheong has a population of 2,059,871 (2014) and has a geographic area of 8,204 km2 (3,168 sq mi) located ...

. *

Perilla seed ''Perilla frutescens'', commonly called deulkkae, perilla or Korean perilla, is a species of ''Perilla'' in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is an annual plant native to Southeast Asia and Indian highlands, and is traditionally grown in the Korean ...

kalguksu (들깨칼국수): Finely ground perilla seeds are added to the broth. Seasoned with

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' As ...

and garnished with zucchini and

shiitake The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a Medicinal fungi, medicinal mushroom in some forms of tradition ...

mushrooms. *

Pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...

and

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as ''Fagop ...

kalguksu (꿩메밀 칼국수): Broth is made from pheasant, and noodles from buckwheat flour. *

Pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

kalguksu (완두콩칼국수): Peas are boiled and sieved and added to the broth. Seasoned with minced garlic. *Small

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

kalguksu (밀국낙지칼국수): A small octopus is cooked inside a squash, and later cut to add to the noodles and broth. *

Pine mushroom ''Tricholoma magnivelare'' is a gilled mushroom found East of the Rocky Mountains in North America growing in coniferous woodland. These ectomycorrhizal fungi are typically edible species that exist in a symbiotic relationship with various specie ...

kalguksu (송이버섯칼국수): Pine mushrooms are sliced and added with other vegetables while boiling. A specialty from the

Gangneung Gangneung () is a municipal city in the province of Gangwon-do, on the east coast of South Korea. It has a population of 213,658 (as of 2017).Gangneung City (2003)Population & Households. Retrieved January 14, 2006. Gangneung is the economic ...

region. *

Snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class ...

kalguksu (고둥칼국수): Freshwater snails are boiled and ground into a broth, and noodles are added. *

Millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets a ...

kalguksu (조밥칼국수): A specialty dish from the

Andong Andong () is a city in South Korea, and the capital of North Gyeongsang Province. It is the largest city in the northern part of the province with a population of 167,821 as of October 2010. The Nakdong River flows through the city. Andong is a ...

region, noodles are served with rice made of millet, and

ssam ' (), meaning "wrapped", refers to a dish in Korean cuisine in which, usually, leafy vegetables are used to wrap a piece of meat such as pork or other filling.

. The noodles are made from a mixture of bean powder and flour. The meal is served with a seasoning sauce made from

, minced garlic,

s, red chili powder,

sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. ...

, and sesame salt. *Andong kalguksu (안동칼국수): Specialty of the

region. Ground bean powder is added to the flour when making noodles. The broth is usually made from chicken.Andong kalguksu
at

Gallery

File:Pat kalguksu (red bean noodles).jpg, ''patkalguksu''(

red bean Red bean is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * Adzuki bean (''Vigna angularis''), commonly used in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine, particularly as red bean paste Red bean paste () or red bean jam, also called adzuki ...

kalguksu) Image:Korean.noodles-Kalguksu-Jjolmeyon.jpg, ''Gogi kalguksu'' (고기칼국수), a variety made with beef broth and ''bibim guksu'' image:Kalguksu-01.jpg, ''Haemul kalguksu'' (해물칼국수), a variety of ''kalguksu'' made with seafood. Haemulkalguksu (seafood kalguksu).jpg, ''Haemul-kal-guksu'' (seafood noodle soup) Image:Korean noodles-Kalguksu-02.jpg, Knife-cut noodles Image:베테랑칼국수.jpg, Jeonju's famous kalguksu, ''The perilla seed powder kalguksu''(들깨칼국수) Image:닭칼국수.jpg, chicken kalguksu Image:남대문시장 칼국수.JPG, kanguksu of Namdaemoon Market(남대문 시장 칼국수)

References

External links