Korean Cold Cucumber Soup is a quick and refreshing treat perfect for hot summer days!
Naengguk or “chilled soup” is a common type of food in Korea. Especially during the summer when it’s humid, people don’t like turning on their stoves and just want a quick thirst-quenching soup. Cucumbers are the perfect ingredient for this because they have high water content and are a perfectly crisp and cooling fruit!
While there are many ways to make a cold cucumber soup, this Korean-style recipe is ice-cold, sweet, and sour that you can serve both as an appetizer or side dish!
What You’ll Need
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Cucumber
The star of the dish! Slice this using a mandolin (be careful using this!) so it’s quick and yields equal pieces, otherwise chop it into 2-inch matchstick pieces. Salt them so the juices come out and that flavor will be the refreshing base of the soup.
Use as much cucumber as you like, you can even make this naengguk recipe with just cucumber.
Dried Seaweed or Miyeok
These provide an additional fresh ocean taste to the soup. It’s equally cooling and super healthy for my pregnant wife! To prepare, hydrate it in room temperature water for 10 minutes and blanch for 30 seconds. Wash in cold water and squeeze out the excess. Then, chop into bitesize pieces.
In the hydration process, you will only need about 20 grams of dried seaweed and it will bloom 3-4 times. I love this ingredient because even with a small amount, you can turn it into this cold soup, Sweet and Sour Salad, or Seaweed Soup!
If you cannot find dried seaweed, you can also use cherry tomatoes. While that is entirely different from seaweed, it also complements the soup!
Seasonings
Scallion and Garlic. These are aromatics that will add freshness to the soup. You can also add slices of onion if you like!
Soup Soy Sauce and Fish Sauce. The salty component of the soup. Since we are already using salt, we are only adding a few tablespoons of these.
Sugar and Plum Syrup. The sweet component of the soup. The plum syrup is a sweet and tangy condiment used in many Korean dishes. It adds another layer of flavor to the soup! However, if you don’t have them, just add more sugar instead.
Vinegar. The sour component of the soup. I like to use apple vinegar, but any sweet vinegar can also be used.
Sesame Seeds. For the nutty and crunchy finish to the soup. Crush them to add more flavor to the dish!
Cold Water. In true soup fashion, we will be using cold water. All the seasonings will mix together and reflect when you combine them with water. Add ice before serving to make the soup even better!
How to Make Korean Cold Cucumber Soup?
Oi naengguk only actually takes less than 30 minutes to make!
All you need to do is chop and salt the cucumbers, prepare seaweed, combine them, and season them together. Add water and then mix thoroughly. Taste and see if you like it a bit saltier or sweeter, then add salt or sugar accordingly.
Once done, you can serve this with ice as an appetizer or side dish. You can also make this ahead or for any leftovers, transfer them in a clean container and keep it refrigerated. Consume within a week.
Aside from that, you can also mix somen noodles to make a Korean Cold Cucumber Noodle Soup. It’s so versatile that you can also turn it into a full meal!
Other cold noodle soups you might like:
- Bibimguksu (Korean Spicy Cold Noodles)
- Dongchimi (Radish-Kimchi Cold Noodle Soup)
- Kongguksu (Cold Soybean Noodle Soup)
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Korean Cold Cucumber Soup (Oi Naeng Guk)
Equipment
- Mandolin
Ingredients
- 400 grams Cucumber 2-inch matchstick sizes
- 20 grams Dried Seaweed
- 3 tbsp Scallions Chopped
- 1/2 tbsp Garlic Minced
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 4 tbsp Vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp Soup Soy Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp Plum Sauce
- 1/2 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 4 cups Water
- 200 grams Somen Noodles Optional
Instructions
- Soak seaweeds in room temperature water for 10 minutes until bloomed.
- Once the seaweeds have bloomed, blanch them for 30 seconds, wash them in cold water, drain and squeeze out excess water, and chop it to bitesize pieces.
- Prepare the cucumbers, scallions, and garlic.
- In a big bowl, salt the cucumbers and let them sit until water is drawn out.
- Once the cucumbers have watered down, combine them with seaweeds, scallions, and garlic, and mix thoroughly.
- Season with sugar, vinegar, soup soy sauce, plum syrup, fish sauce, and sesame seeds, and mix thoroughly.
- Add water and mix again. Taste and see if you want it saltier or sweeter. Add salt or sugar accordingly.
- Serve with ice and enjoy!
awesome
Thank you!!