Low Carb Bibim Guksu

I made a low carb bibim guksu (Korean spicy mixed noodles) with lots of accompanying colourful vegetable toppings using some of the leftover toppings ingredients from my low carb hiyashi chuka (Japanese cold noodles) the day before. To make it low carb, I swap the usual chewy soba or somen with (almost) zero-calorie ‘miracle’ shirataki noodles. I made up for eating cold noodles during the cooler rainy season by upping the heat level of my spicy noodles. This is not an authentic recipe for bibim guksu due to the ingredient tweaks I made – furthermore it also was not served it in a Korean stainless steel bowl (I don’t have it). But it certainly satisfied my craving for Korean food as the taste was good!

Related Recipe:

Shortcut Low Carb Hiyashi Chuka

See Also:

Low Carb Bibim Guksu Recipe (Korean Spicy Mixed Noodles)

Thanks to the shirataki noodles, I am now able to enjoy such otherwise forbidden dishes during dieting! As a person without a steely determination, such low carb recipe adaptation is my middle way of giving in to my weak resolve – eating like this occasionally minimises my cravings for eating a big carb dish. 

STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS

Step 1: Make the spicy noodle sauce

Low Carb Bibim Guksu Sauce

The main ingredient of my sauce is gochujang and roasted sesame salad dresssing (goma salad sauce). I replaced the usual soy sauce with goma salad sauce, as I have many sachets of the salad sauce to use up. I like that the goma sauce gives an additional nutty and smooth savoury depth to the sauce. I also season the noodle sauce with sesame oil and garlic & onion powder (optional; I use what I have in the fridge). To emulsify the sauce, I used Coke Zero which provides sweetness without the calories. Lastly, to make the noodles more spicy, I added lots of chilli powder. This sauce turns out really nice! It can keep well in the fridge for days so you can prepare it in advance.

Step 2: Prepare the noodles and toppings

Low Carb Bibim Guksu Preparation

  • (1): As a low carb substitute for ramen noodles, I am using rice shirataki which is very low in calories. You can also use regular white shirataki noodles.
  • (2): Drain the liquid from the pouch and place the drained noodles in the pan. Fry it without any oil to remove excess moisture from the noodles. This extra step greatly improved the noodles ability to absorb the noodle sauce. Cool down the noodles with ice cubes or put it in the fridge.
  • (3): Toppings: Rehydrated kelp (wakame), ready-to-eat tamagoyaki, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and purple (red) cabbage. They took less than 5 minutes to prepare. These toppings add colour, crunch and texture to the bowl.
  • (4): Cut kimchi. It adds a pleasant depth of sour & spicy umami crunch to the overall dish.

Step 3: Assemble the dish

Low Carb Bibim Guksu (Before Mixed)
Place the noodles in the middle of a large plate surrounded by all the colourful toppings, accompanied by the sauce at the side. You can serve the dish in this way if you like.

Another way of serving the noodles

Low Carb Bibim Guksu Recipe

Low Carb Bibim Guksu Recipe
Alternatively, coat only the noodles with some of the spicy noodle sauce. This is my preferred way of serving the dish on the table, because one get to see that the noodles are spicy at a glance, while still enjoying the visual of the colourful toppings :p

Low Carb Bibim Guksu Recipe
For the first few bites, I like to enjoy the noodles with the sauceless toppings first (pictured above), before coating everything in the sauce. Serving everything already mixed in the sauce is another way to serve this dish, just that mine just looked too messy and unglamorous :/

Whichever way you serve it, this low carb bibim guksu is delicious!

Low Carb Bibim Guksu Recipe

If you have the good fortune of not needing to eat low carb (lucky you!), just replace the rice shirataki noodles in this recipe with one bundle of Korean chewy soba (or some) – cook the boiling waters in boiling water and rinse them under running tap water to remove excess starch before use.

You can replace the toppings in this recipe with any seasonal available vegetables – such as pea shoots, shredded carrot and salad mix.

Check out the ingredients, step-by-step photos and presentation ideas on the previous page.

Ingredients:

Toppings

  • 1 tsp dried kelp (wakame) soaked in water for 5 mins, squeeze out excess water
  • 30g tamagoyaki (store-bought) cut to bite-sized pieces (or one boiled egg, halved)
  • 1/4 Japanese cucumber julienned (thin matchsticks)
  • 40g shredded purple (red) cabbage
  • 4 cherry tomatoes halved (or half tomato, cut to wedges)
  • 50g cut kimchi

Spicy Noodle Sauce

  • 2 tbsp gochujang
  • 1/2 tbsp pure sesame oil
  • 15ml Japanese roasted sesame (goma) salad dressing see note below
  • 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder (e.g. guchuhara, cayan pepper etc) to taste; make it as hot as you like!
  • 2 tsp kimchi juice if you have; optional
  • 1 tbsp coke zero add more if needed if the sauce is too thick; see note
  • 3 dashes garlic powder (or 1 clove minced garlic) optional
  • 3 dashes onion powder optional

Directions:

  1. Prepare shirataki noodles. Drain the liquid from the pouch. Fry the noodles in a non-oiled pan on medium heat until dry. Cling wrap the noodles and chill them with ice cubes or in the fridge.
  2. Prepare toppings ingredients and chill them in the fridge until ready to use.
  3. Make spicy noodle sauce. Combine soba sauce, sushi vinegar and water in a small serving cup. Stir to mix well and season to taste. Chill the sauce in the fridge.
  4. Assemble bibim guksu. Place prepared shirataki noodle on a serving plate. Arrange the toppings around the noodles and garnish with spring onions. Serve with the chilled noodle sauce at the side.
  5. To eat, pour the sauce over the noodles, mix well and enjoy! This recipe is also perfect for meal prep – you can make an extra serving (sauce separate) in covered bowl container and keep in the fridge overnight. You will have an instant bibim guksu meal the next day.

Cooking Notes:

  1. I’m using shirataki rice noodles which contains 10 calories per 100g. You can substitute with any variant of shirataki (including the zero-calorie type) or other low carb pasta for this recipe.
  2. If you do not have goma salad dressing, substitute it with 1 tbsp soy sauce (to taste).
  3. If you do not want to use Coke, substitute it with water and honey/sugar (to taste).
  4. If you did not use up all of the spicy noodle sauce, you can use them as a dipping sauce – example for cucumber or celery sticks.