Easy Kimchi Noodle Bowls

I’m so glad that kimchi is starting to become commonplace in America. I guess it’s probably still the case that a majority of Americans haven’t tried the delicious fermented spicy cabbage mixture, but the good news is that you can at least find it in most supermarkets now. So, you can find the key ingredient for these Easy Kimchi Noodle Bowls!

It’s still probably the case that just finding kimchi and getting your family to try agree to try it (if they don’t already like it) will be the hardest part of these Kimchi Noodles.

Usually I think of (and eat) kimchi as either A) a snack right out of the damn jar or B) a topping on rice or noodles. But this recipe really capitalizes on the deep flavors of the ingredient by pulsing it in a food processor with a few other things to basically make a coarse dressing!

That alone is good enough to top on any noodle dish and call it a day, but to round out the bowl and make it more of a meal I also add a boatload of crunchy veggies to the mix. You could really add anything you wanted here including an egg which I left out on this day, but would add if I wanted it to be a bit heartier.

This is a great intro to kimchi dish, but also if you have buckets of the stuff in your fridge already, I think you’ll find this a great way to use some of it!

• Updated March 10, 2019 to add some new images and spruce up the directions!

Easy Kimchi Noodles

Just a moment please...

Yield

Serves 4-6.

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

30 mins

These noodles are surprisingly flavorful for how easy they are! The key is a quick kimchi mix packed with orange zest and just enough spice!

Ingredients

8 ounces rice or soba noodles

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 cucumber, chopped

1 carrot, grated

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

6 radishes, chopped

3 scallions, chopped

Sesame seeds, garnish

Kimchi Dressing:

1 cup mild or spicy kimchi

2 tablespoons kimchi juice

1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger

1 tablespoon gochujang

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 orange, zest

2 tablespoons orange juice

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Helpful Equipment

Directions

1. In a small food processor, add all the dressing ingredients, pulse until it’s in a coarse paste. Remove and set aside.
2. Cook rice or soba noodles according to package (I prefer a medium width rice noodle). Then drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Toss with sesame oil to prevent sticking.
3. Chop all the veggies and toppings.
4. Add cooked noodles to a big bowl and toss well with the dressing mixture.
5. Add 1/2 or 3/4 of the veggies (not sesame seeds or scallions) to the noodles and stir well to combine. Store noodles in the fridge until serving.
6. To finish noodles top with rest of veggies, sesame seeds, and scallions.

Season noodles with soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, or sriracha to your tastes.

Loosely adapted from a NY Times recipe.

Easy Kimchi Noodle Bowls

Even mild kimchi is relatively spicy so I recommend starting there if you haven’t tasted kimchi before. Personally, I always prefer the spiciest I can find, but for my family’s sake I opted for a slightly milder version for these noodles!

The good stuff.

The nice thing about this dressing is how not fussy it is. You toss all the stuff in a food processor and pulse it up until it’s in a coarse mixture. The key ingredient: fresh orange zest and juice. Don’t skip it!

Ready to blend!

Then cook your noodles according to the package. You can either use a rice noodle or soba, whatever you prefer. I like a medium-width rice noodle best. Be sure to rinse the noodles with cold water and toss them with some sesame oil first. Then you can toss in all the kimchi dressing.

Plus some noodles!

Toss this all together really well. Already this would be a great noodle dish with nothing else on it, honestly.

Tossed together!

Then I like to mix in about 1/2 of my veggies and store the noodles in the fridge until I’m ready to eat. To serve the spicy kimchi noodles, I divide the noodles between bowls and top them with more veggies, plus some scallions, sesame seeds, and maybe a dash of extra soy sauce or sriracha to taste. Your call!

The noodles work great as a light dinner, but really shine as a weekday lunch option in my opinion.

Fall in love with kimchi if you aren’t already!

Here are a few other great noodle recipes!

• Simple Miso Soba Soup
• Cold Marinated Steak Noodle Bowls
• Hoisin Chicken Soba
• Sesame Noodle Bowls Meal Prep from Sweet Peas and Saffron