Kong Gook Soo (Cold Soybean Noodle Soup)

Yum, so refreshing, and also one of the cheapest and easiest things to make ever. Seriously I think there were six ingredients, seven if you include water or ice-cubes. In Korean it's called Kong Gook Soo, literally soy bean soup. It is one of the few vegetarian/vegan dishes you will find at authentic Korean restaurants. Most Korean markets sell packaged mixes and they're pretty good, but it's just so easy to make yourself. 

I only wish it were 80 degrees and sunny instead of muggy and gray so I could enjoy it even more. 

Kong Gook Soo

2 cups dried soybeans 

5-6 cups of cold water

optional: pine nuts or walnuts

Somen or Somyeon noodles - thin wheat noodles (look like white soba, they also come in bundles like soba)

salt

sesame seeds

cucumber, thinly sliced

ice-cubes

Soak the soybeans in hot water for 1-2 hours. Boil the beans and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Don't worry if they never get super soft. Rinse the beans in cold water. 

You may have to do the blending in two parts. I did and I used a normal sized processor. I pureed half the beans with about 3 cups of water. Dump that in a bowl, and puree the rest. I also added a small palmful of pine nuts to this mixture. 

Salt to taste

You may want to pour this mixture through a sieve if it's still chunky. Or you can just thin it out with more water. At the end you should have a pretty smooth consistency. 

Put desired amount of noodles in bowl, a couple of ladles of soup in bowl. Garnish with cucumber and sesame seeds. Drop in some ice-cubes to keep it nice and cold. I recommend an 80 degree day without a cloud in sight as the perfect pairing.