Quick Kimchi Noodles & Greens

These quick kimchi noodles and greens are the perfect answer to cozy weather and low-fuss meals.

This quick kimchi noodles and greens isn’t really a recipe, it’s a “putting-together” of wonderful ingredients that taste amazing. Albeit easy, it’s worth sharing. It’s an umami bomb that will beat the cold winter blues, warm you up with Korean spices, and load you up with hearty greens (and therefore, vitamins!) It’s my answer to a 3 ingredient meal that is done in the time it takes you to boil bean pasta. Done, and yum.

A FOOD PEN PAL EXCHANGE

I’ve recently been enjoying a food pen pal exchange with a Korean friend of mine. I told her that I’m interested in learning more about Korean cooking, showed her all of my Korean cookbooks, and she quickly got to sharing some of her family meals with me, weekly. There’s a notion in Romania that you never return anything (like glass Tupperware) empty, so of course, I returned the gifts with some of my own treats that I made for the family. And so this has continued over the past year. I’ve enjoyed her recipes so much, learned so much, and can’t wait to share some more with you all!

Pictured: Kim Chi (top right) and Korean Chili Flakes or Gochugaru (bottom left)

KOREAN FLAVORS

Korean food, at least from my perspective, is dotted by specific tastes:

• soy sauce
• gochujang (a Korean red chili paste ~ contains sweetener)
• gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
• Kim chi (read more below)
• toasted sesame oil (this one is a must) and sesame seeds
• garlic
• ginger
• scallions

The mixture of these creates a beautiful balance between earthy, umami, pungent, sour, sweet, salty heaven. This is why it’s in my top 2 favorite cuisines (along with indian food).

A quick note about Kimchi – this is a food that is fermented (often Napa cabbage along with scallions, garlic, ginger, but also can be found just using daikon radish, or other greens) and seasoned with gochugaru, the Korean red pepper flakes. It’s a balance of tart, salty and spicy, and it’s absolutely delicious. It is fermented, so be careful when you open a jar of it from the store, as it can pop (mine exploded about 2 inches out of the jar once!) A little goes a long way, and I use about 2 tablespoons or so to augment the meal. Also, it needs to be refrigerated at all times.

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

This particular recipe uses some highlighted Korean ingredients along with other ingredients you may already have on hand in the house: bean pasta, greens, and garlic. It’s my take on a “let’s get those Korean flavors together in minimal time because I’m hungry” type of meal.

To find Kim Chi: check your local health food store or supermarket. It’s found in the refrigerated section because it’s fermented. The smell is a bit strong (if you’re new to it) but the flavor is delicious!

To find Gochugaru: Check this link, or a supermarket asian food isle. In a pinch, you can use red chili flakes.

Let’s get to the recipe!