Cold Spicy Kimchi Noodles

There are only two Korean spices listed - the pepper paste and pepper flakes. Why not substitute another pepper paste or pepper flake for them? There are too many kinds to list. If you don't like fish sauce, you could increase the miso a little bit to make sure it's got umami (a savory quality). (I like to cook, and I make these substitutions all the time.)

I substituted sriracha for the gochujang paste and Aleppo pepper for the gochugaru flakes. This recipe is a keeper.
I opted for a firmer egg, but will definitely try a runny yolk next time. I imagine that the rich and creamy sauce-like quality would be amazing with the tartness of the dressing.

Don't feel boxed in by the add-ons. The sauce is the star of this recipe. Rather than chilling, I keep everything warm. Make the sauce, and combine it with any hot stir-fried veggie and noodle combo. Absolutely delicious!

Lots of dressing ingredients, but these are likely in your kitchen if you cook Asian. Substitute Sriracha or sambal olek for gochujang, and regular Italian red pepper flakes for gochugaru. I use orange juice instead of zest. Always comes out great!

Are there substitutes for the Korean spices?

If you do not have and never used SEVEN ingredients from the list, it is clear that you have never tried any kind of Asian-style cooking. And yes, please just go find a recipe for pasta salad instead.

Gochujang, gochugaru, fish sauce and red miso already live in my kitchen, so I had no problems assembling the ingredients for the sauce as written. I put everything in my food processor and gave it a few pulses to make a homogeneous sauce. Immediately after blending, the brown sugar flavor was overwhelming to the point of being cloying, but it tasted much better after a few hours in the refrigerator. Next time I will cut the sugar down to one tablespoon or even less.

I very loosely followed the recipe using what I had on hand, and it was delicious. Would definitely make it again.

For the sauce I didn't add red pepper flakes, brown sugar, kimchi juice (kimchi I had was pretty dry), or orange zest, and I used yellow miso instead of red. I also replaced the cucumber, tomatoes, radishes, and egg with some leftover grilled chicken and some edamame.

Cheers!

For an even simpler way of making this recipe: chop up well-aged kimchi and add it to boiled noodles that you have rinsed thoroughly under cold water. Add some sesame oil. Add some sesame seed if you have it. Mix it all up. Garnish with a hard-boiled egg sliced in half. If it's not cold enough for your taste, add some ice. Super simple and doesn't require as many ingredients.

Substituting anything for the gochugaru and gochujang will not work. It's like making carbonara without the egg and cheese.

Also, I've never added radishes, but I have added Korean radishes if it's on the sweeter side. Same with the tomatoes. I have never seen this done. You can add whatever fresh vegetables to the dish or none at all. Sliced cucumbers and a boiled eggs are traditional. I like adding shredded lettuce leaves - I prefer red oak lettuce for this.

no substituting Gochujang for Sriracha! changes the flavour completely.

I really liked this dish. I think I will add crushed peanuts as a garnish next time I make it.

I made this last night with a few changes. I substituted aleppo pepper for gouhugaru and topped each bowl with a poached egg instead of half a boiled egg. The results were outstanding.

Only thing I would need to go buy is a fresh orange to zest. Perspective.

You don't need the kimchi juice. Quite often I squeeze the kimchi of all the juice and then chop it up. I don't like my bibim gooksoo too watery.