Naengmyeon

Naengmyeon comes in two families named after their home cities: Pyongyang-style mul naengmyeon in a chilled beef or fermented radish broth, and Hamhung-style bibim naengmyeon with no broth at all, its noodles coated in a red sauce that carries all of the dish's heat. The noodle changes with the family: buckwheat, thin and grey, in the broth version; potato or sweet potato starch, firmer and much chewier, in the sauced one. Sliced pear, cucumber, a halved boiled egg and cold beef sit on top.

Reach for the scissors first: the strands are made long on purpose and will not behave in a bowl otherwise. Vinegar and Korean mustard go into the broth next, in small doses, then stir. At a grill table this bowl arrives at the end and works as a cold full stop to the meal.