Cold Soy Milk Noodle Soup (Kongguksu)
Recipe from Maangchi · original post · full recipe on maangchi.com
Thin wheat noodles in a cold, creamy, nutty soy milk broth made from scratch with soybeans, sesame seeds and pine nuts. A cool, nourishing summer meal packed with plant-based protein.
Ingredients
- dried soybeans — washed and soaked in cold water overnight90 g
- toasted sesame seeds18 g
- pine nuts18 g
- somyeon — thin wheat noodles225 g
- kosher salt — 1 ½ tsp9 g
- egg — hard-boiled, shelled and cut into 8 pieces1 ea
- cucumber — cut into matchsticks60 g
- small tomato — sliced1 ea
Method
- Make the soy milk: strain the soaked beans and add them to a heavy pot with 480 ml water. Cook for 15 minutes over medium-high heat, uncovered. Then cover and simmer for another 5 minutes over low heat.
- Remove from the heat. Uncover, stir and let them cool down for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the beans and their cooking water (about 120 ml) to a blender. Add 720 ml cold water, the pine nuts and the sesame seeds.
- Blend at high speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until everything is smooth and creamy. Refrigerate the soy milk in an airtight container for up to 24 hours until you're ready to make kongguksu.
Cooking for a different diet?
Swaps that keep this dish what it is. The prices on this page are for the recipe as written.
Vegan
- Leave out the egg
Skip the egg and top the bowls with the cucumber and tomato as before; nothing else changes.
Gluten-free
- 180 g Thin rice noodles instead of somyeon
Cook the rice noodles as the packet says, usually 3 to 4 minutes, then rinse them under cold water until cold exactly as for somyeon.
Swaps are suggestions — check labels if you are cooking for an allergy.
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What it costs, and where to buy it
Shops to compare
List price at each shop
Missing items
These totals leave part of the list out, so a lower one isn't a cheaper shop.
Aldi UKBest choice· £4.10 of food
£5.61
27% spare
No price at Aldi UK for:
- dried soybeans
- toasted sesame seeds
- somyeon
Morrisons· £4.57 of food
£7.70
41% spare
No price at Morrisons for:
- dried soybeans
- toasted sesame seeds
- pine nuts
- somyeon
Asda· £0.50 of food
£4.32
88% spare
No price at Asda for:
- dried soybeans
- toasted sesame seeds
- pine nuts
- somyeon
- small tomato
Sainsbury's· £2.70 of food
£6.20
56% spare
No price at Sainsbury's for:
- dried soybeans
- toasted sesame seeds
- pine nuts
- somyeon
- kosher salt
Tesco· £13.25 of food
£15.84
16% spare
No price at Tesco for:
- dried soybeans
- toasted sesame seeds
- pine nuts
- somyeon
- kosher salt
- small tomato
£2.05a serve
from £2.05 a serve at Aldi UK · 5 of 8 ingredients priced
About £4.10 of ingredients used for 2 serves.
£6.90 across 3 shops · 5 of 8 items priced · £1.58 more for bigger packs, 51% spare for later
Aldi UKBest choice£4.10
missing 3 items
you'll pay £5.61 · 27% of it spare
Morrisons£4.57
missing 4 items
you'll pay £7.70 · 41% of it spare
Asda£0.50
missing 5 items
you'll pay £4.32 · 88% of it spare
Sainsbury's£2.70
missing 5 items
you'll pay £6.20 · 56% of it spare
Tesco£13.25
missing 6 items
you'll pay £15.84 · 16% of it spare
Buy at Aldi UK£2.98
pine nuts
£1.69
need 18 gThe Foodie Market Pine Nuts 0.06kg 1 pack assumed, quantity unknown (size unknown)
Aldi UK£1.69·TescoN/A·Sainsbury'sN/A·AsdaN/A·MorrisonsN/A·
OcadoN/A
small tomato
£2.58/kg
need 1 itemNature's Pick Vine Ripened Tomatoes 0.5kg£1.29 1 pack assumed, quantity unknown (sold by weight)
Aldi UK£2.58/kg£1.29·Sainsbury's£9.00/kg£2.25·Morrisons£7.88/kg£3.50·TescoN/A·AsdaN/A·OcadoN/A
Buy at Asda£3.22
kosher salt
£1.09/kg
need 9 gAsda Table Salt 750 g£0.82
Asda£1.09/kg£0.82·Aldi UK£0.65·Morrisons£1.00·Tesco£200.00/kg£1.00·Sainsbury's£200.00/kg£1.00·OcadoN/A
egg
£0.16/ea
need 1 itemKitchen Value Eggs 805g 15 pack£2.40closest match
Asda£0.16/ea£2.40·Aldi UK£0.17/ea£0.99·Morrisons£2.10·Sainsbury's£0.22/ea£3.25·Tesco£12.99/ea£12.99·OcadoN/A
Buy at Sainsbury's£0.70
cucumber
£3.89/kg
need 60 gSainsbury's Standard 179.95 g£0.70closest match
Sainsbury's£3.89/kg£0.70·Aldi UK£4.95/kg£0.99·Asda£5.50/kg£1.10·Morrisons£1.10·Tesco£2.85·OcadoN/A
Not priced
- dried soybeans · 90 g
- toasted sesame seeds · 18 g
- somyeon · 225 g