Perilla Oil Makguksu: Korean Buckwheat Noodle Recipe

Perilla oil makguksu (들기름 막국수) is a no-broth Korean buckwheat noodle dish built on very few ingredients. Cold, earthy noodles are tossed in perilla oil and light soy sauce, then buried under crushed seaweed and sesame: a mild twist on Gangwon Province’s chili-sauced makguksu.

Perilla oil makguksu is a Korean dish of chilled buckwheat noodles dressed with perilla oil, a light soy-based sauce, crushed roasted seaweed and toasted sesame seeds. Authentic versions rinse the noodles icy-cold, add the oil raw at the very end, and are mixed and eaten right away, so the noodles stay firm.

The first thing you notice about perilla oil makguksu is the smell: a toasty nuttiness that rises the moment the oil hits the cold noodles. This Korean buckwheat noodle recipe takes about 15 to 20 minutes and needs no broth or chili.

In this guide:

1. What Makes Perilla Oil Makguksu Special
2. The Hero Ingredients: Buckwheat Noodles and Perilla Oil
3. The Finishing Layer: Gim, Sesame, Scallion and Cucumber
4. Technique Notes: Handling Delicate Buckwheat
5. Perilla Oil Makguksu on the Korean Table
6. Frequently Asked Questions
7. Your Next Bowl of Nutty Noodles

Prep	Cook	Total	Servings	Difficulty	Cuisine
Not provided	Not provided	15–20 min	Not provided	Easy	Korean

Why This Recipe Works

With so few ingredients, every step shows. Rinsing the noodles hard in cold water removes surface starch, so they stay springy rather than gummy. A light soy sauce seasons without hiding the buckwheat. Perilla oil goes in last and unheated, keeping its aroma and delicate omega-3 fats intact. Crushed gim and sesame add a savory coating that clings to every strand.

What Makes Perilla Oil Makguksu Special

Makguksu (막국수) — Korean buckwheat noodles — is Gangwon Province’s signature dish, and its capital, Chuncheon, celebrates it every year at the Chuncheon Makguksu & Dakgalbi Festival. The name is usually read as “noodles made just now,” since they were pressed to order.

The classic bowl comes in red chili dressing or cold broth; deulgireum makguksu drops the chili entirely. The best-known version comes from Gogiri Makguksu in Yongin, where the Korea JoongAng Daily reports daily crowds of more than 1,000 and waits of an hour or longer.

The Hero Ingredients: Buckwheat Noodles and Perilla Oil

Memil-myeon (메밀면, “meh-mil myun”) — buckwheat noodles. Grayish-brown, earthy and slightly bitter, their rough surface holds oil well. Most Korean packaged noodles blend buckwheat with wheat flour, so check labels if you need gluten-free; buckwheat is also a significant allergen. Our guide to Korean buckwheat covers the grain’s other Gangwon dishes.

Deulgireum (들기름, “deul-gi-reum”) — perilla oil. Pressed from toasted perilla seeds, it tastes nutty, grassy and faintly minty. Because it is mostly omega-3 fat, it turns rancid quickly, so buy small bottles and refrigerate after opening. Learn more in our Korean perilla oil guide and our look at the perilla seeds it comes from.

The Finishing Layer: Gim, Sesame, Scallion and Cucumber

• Gim (김) — roasted laver seaweed, crushed by hand into a savory snow; see our Korean laver guide and other ways Koreans eat gim.
• Ggae (깨) — toasted sesame seeds, crushed just before serving; see our sesame seed guide.
• Scallions and cucumber, for color and cool crunch.

The sauce stays light — soy sauce, a little sugar and vinegar, often loosened with stock — as in the W Table recipe in The Korea Herald. Our Korean soy sauce guide compares the types.

Technique Notes: Handling Delicate Buckwheat

Boil the noodles in plenty of water at 212°F (100°C), adding a splash of cold water each time the pot foams up, as many Korean cooks do. Follow the package time, since buckwheat content varies, and avoid stirring hard: the strands break easily.

Rinse vigorously under cold running water, rubbing the noodles until they no longer feel slick, then drain very well so water doesn’t dilute the sauce.

Assemble right before eating: noodles, sauce, toppings, then a generous pour of perilla oil. Mix and eat at once; the noodles soften and the aroma fades within minutes. At Gogiri, diners add a little broth to the last few bites.

Perilla Oil Makguksu on the Korean Table

In Gangwon, makguksu is everyday food, often paired with bossam (보쌈) — boiled pork — whose richness the cold noodles cut, as our visit to Janggun Bossam Jokbal shows. To try the dish in Seoul, see our review of makguksu at Jalppaejin Memil. At home, it fills the role cold sesame noodles play elsewhere: quick, and good all year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes this recipe authentically Korean?

It comes down to Korean buckwheat noodles rinsed icy-cold, genuine toasted perilla oil added raw at the end, a light soy-based sauce, and generous crushed gim and sesame. Using only sesame oil, drowning the noodles in sauce or mixing ahead breaks the dish.

What if I can’t find Korean perilla oil?

Korean markets and online grocers stock perilla oil, often labeled deulgireum. Without it, use slightly less toasted sesame oil plus a pinch of ground perilla seeds; the bowl tastes rounder and less grassy. Japanese soba works well if Korean buckwheat noodles are missing.

How do I know when this dish is properly cooked?

Cooked buckwheat noodles turn uniformly tender with a slight chew and no chalky center, and they separate easily after rinsing. Gummy, clumping noodles need more rinsing or were overcooked. The finished bowl should smell strongly nutty and taste lightly salty, with every strand coated in oil and seaweed.

What should I serve with perilla oil makguksu?

Bossam is the classic partner, and our bossam recipe makes a weekend feast of it. Tangy radish kimchi or a few slices of aged kimchi balance the richness. Add a soft-boiled egg for protein. For drinks, chilled barley tea or makgeolli suits the mild flavors.

🩺 Dr.’s Nutritional Insight

Because the oil goes in raw, a bowl of perilla oil makguksu delivers its plant omega-3, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), undamaged by heat. In a placebo-controlled trial in healthy smokers, 4.8 g of perilla oil daily for eight weeks raised blood ALA and EPA and lowered the inflammatory marker TNF-α (Food & Function, 2026). In mice, dietary ALA reduced UVB skin redness and inflammatory PGE2 (Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2002). Human skin results remain unproven; think omega-3 intake, not skin treatment.

For the full picture of perilla’s oil, seeds and leaves, read my surgeon’s guide to perilla benefits for skin.

Beauty Benefit: Recovery 💪 | Skin Health 🌿

Nutritional insight provided by Dr. James Lee, Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon

Your Next Bowl of Nutty Noodles

Great perilla oil makguksu comes down to gentle boiling, a cold rinse, a light sauce and raw perilla oil added just before eating. Master this fundamental Korean dish and expand your Korean cooking repertoire with the red-sauced bibim guksu, Korean spicy mixed noodles, or dig into perilla oil’s long history as Korea’s omega-3 staple. Share your Korean cooking journey with #AuthenticKoreanCooking, and get weekly Korean recipes delivered to your inbox.