11.158
11 (Thu) June 2020
Pyongyang Mul Naeng Myeon
2.0
by me
at the cabin
-Changchon, Seowon, Hoengseong, Gangwon, Republic of Korea-
with the Family
Repatriation Quarantine (Day 11 of 14)
- Day 1 (11.148 Grilled Hanwoo 1+ Deungsim)
- Day 2 (11.149 Samgyeopsal Ssam)
- Day 3 (11.150 Jin Ramen)
- Day 4 (11.151 Spaghetti alla Ragù)
- Day 5 (11.152 The Quad)
- Day 6 (11.153 Chicken and Potatoes)
- Day 7 (11.154 Spaghetti in Clam Sauce with Chicory)
- Day 8 (11.155 Gobchang Jeongol with Sundae and Sundubu)
- Day 9 (11.156 Ddeok Guk with Chadolbagi and Chicory)
- Day 10 (11.157 Juk with Ribeye and Chicory)
After living and working 6.5 years in the Philippines, we’re back in Korea, for good (for now). We arrived on 1 June 2020. As required by Korean regulations in response to Covid-19, we will spend 14 days under quarantine. Fortunately, we have a family cabin, so it’ll be more like a long holiday, a well-deserved vacation. Even if we didn’t have to quarantine, our new apartment will be empty until our stuff arrives from Manila, sometime towards the end of the month, so this is the most comfortable place for us to be (for now).
One great thing about being back is regaining ready access to my favorite food brand Pulmuone. For some reason, it wasn’t commonly available in the Philippines. Beyond their impeccably fresh basic ingredients (e.g., eggs, tofu, bean sprouts), I’m looking forward to trying out their latest quasi-instant products, which can be hit or miss, but always fun to try.
I was delighted to find a package of the brand’s Pyongyang Mul Naengmyeon in the fridge. Courtesy of my mother, who is well aware that MNM is my favorite dish of all time.
The package came with 4 portions of noodles, which required 30 seconds of boiling, bags of soup, which I placed in the freezer until they got slushy, and sachets of mustard, which I mixed in with the soup.
I topped off each bowl with half of a perfectly boiled egg (2.365 Perfectly Boiled Eggs (with recipe)) and sliced radish and stems from baek (white) kimchi that was on hand.
Overall, the dish turned out okay, much improved from an earlier version that was featured on GMTD many years ago (4.174 Pyongyang Mul Naeng Myeon). To be clear, it was nowhere near the real deal. To be fair, as regular GMTD readers should know by now, only a handful of restaurants in existence can do a proper Pyongyang-style MNM. Still, in contrast to other would-be instant MNM products, the noodles weren’t as rubbery and the soup wasn’t as sweet.
(See also PULMUONE)
(See also MUL NAENG MYEON)
(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)