Sweet and Sour Oi Naengguk (Chilled Cucumber Soup)
A chilled cucumber soup for 2, made clean and flavorful using tuna extract sauce and simple seasonings without cold noodle broth.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
A summer chilled cucumber soup prepared quickly with seasoned broth, without needing seaweed or store-bought broth. Seasoned with tuna extract sauce, green plum syrup, and vinegar, it offers a sweet, tangy, refreshing, and crisp flavor.
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spiciness
- Not spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Cucumber1
- Onion1/2 (1/4, small)
- Red chili pepper (or cheongyang chili pepper (hot green chili))
Chilled soup broth
- Bottled water3 cups
- Tuna extract sauce (chamchi-aek)1 tbsp
- Soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang)1 tbsp
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Green plum syrup (maesil-cheong)2 tbsp
- Vinegar3 tbsp
- Salt1/2 tsp
- Minced garlic1/2 tbsp
- Toasted sesame seeds1/2 tbsp
- Red chili pepper is mainly for color rather than flavor, so you can omit it or add spicy Cheongyang chili pepper instead.
- For a cleaner broth, you can use 1 tsp of garlic juice instead of minced garlic.
Steps
Prepare the ingredients
Prepare 1 cucumber, 1/2 small onion, and half a red chili pepper.
Red chili pepper is mainly for color rather than flavor, so you can omit it or add spicy Cheongyang chili pepper instead.
Slice the ingredients
Finely julienne the cucumber and onion, and seed and finely julienne the red chili pepper.
Make the chilled broth
To 3 cups of bottled water, add 1 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp green plum syrup (maesil-cheong), 1 tbsp tuna extract sauce (chamchi-aek), and 1 tbsp soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang)...
Add 3 tbsp vinegar, 1/2 tbsp minced garlic (or 1 tsp garlic juice for a cleaner broth), and season with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt.
Stir well so the salt and sugar dissolve completely.
If you freeze a large batch of this chilled soup into ice cubes, they come in handy whenever you crave chilled soup.
Also, if you float regular water ice cubes instead of chilled soup ice cubes, reduce the bottled water in the chilled soup by about a cup and replenish with ice, so it won't dilute and you get an ultra-fast, ice-cold chilled soup.
Combine the ingredients
Add the cucumber, onion, and red chili pepper to the chilled broth and stir.
Adding the vegetables can dilute the broth, so adjust with additional salt or sugar so it isn't bland, then chill in the refrigerator.
Finish with toasted sesame seeds when serving.
Serve
A bowl of oi naengguk that looks refreshing just by gazing at it is ready.
Cucumbers taste great around this time, so the texture is crisp and the broth is full of cucumber aroma.
A sweet, sour, and chilled bowl of oi naengguk makes you completely forget the sudden summer heat.
Ppunwife's tips
- If you freeze a large batch of this broth into ice cubes, they come in handy whenever you crave chilled soup.
- If you float regular water ice cubes instead of chilled soup ice cubes, reduce the bottled water in the chilled soup by about a cup and replenish with ice, so it won't dilute and you get an ultra-fast, ice-cold chilled soup.
- Adding the vegetables can dilute the broth, so adjust with additional salt or sugar so it isn't bland, then chill in the refrigerator.
FAQ
Won't the soup become bland if I float regular ice cubes in it?
When floating regular water ice cubes, reduce the bottled water going into the chilled soup broth by about 1 cup (based on a paper cup) and add ice so it won't get diluted.
Can I use Cheongyang chili pepper instead of red chili pepper?
Red chili pepper is used mainly for color, so you can omit it, and if you prefer a spicy kick, you can substitute Cheongyang chili pepper.
What should I do if I don't want minced garlic bits floating in the broth?
For a cleaner broth, squeeze and use 1 tsp of garlic juice instead of 1/2 tbsp minced garlic.
