Korean Chilled Buckwheat Noodles with Chile Sauce (Bibim Naengmyun)

Ingredients

• Sauce:
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 cup gochujang (Korean chile paste, such as Annie Chun's)
• 2 tablespoons ground Korean chile (gochugaru) or ancho chile powder
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lower-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• Pickles:
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Korean radish or daikon radish, cut into thin 1 1/2 x 1/2-inch slices
• Remaining ingredients:
• 10 ounce uncooked Korean naengmyun noodles or soba noodles
• 24 thin slices Asian pear
• 1 cup julienne-cut English cucumber
• 2 hard-cooked large eggs, chilled and cut in half lengthwise

Preparation

1. 1. To prepare sauce, place onions and garlic in a mini food processor; process until minced. Add gochujang and next 6 ingredients (through sesame oil); process until smooth. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.
2. 2. To prepare pickles, combine 1/2 cup vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Microwave at HIGH for 2 minutes or until boiling. Place radish in a medium bowl; top with hot vinegar mixture. Cover and chill 2 hours; drain.
3. 3. To prepare remaining ingredients, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Arrange about 1 cup noodles in each of 4 bowls; top each serving with about 2 tablespoons sauce. In each bowl, arrange 1/4 cup radish on one side of noodles and 6 pear slices on the other; arrange 1/4 cup cucumber in middle. Top each with 1 egg half.