What Are Cupbop Noodles Made Of?

Layers guide:

Rice doused with a modified bulgogi sauce

Light shredded lettuce with very finely shredded purple cabbage (ratio of like 4:1). Optional: shredded carrots.

Sweet Potato Noodles (AKA japchae, or glass noodles). Can also be doused.

Korean fried chicken (alternatively, mochiko chicken). Can also do pork or beef.

Black and white roasted sesame seeds, spicy mayo, and white lime sauce.

Be generous with all sauces. Give the rice (and optionally the noodles) a good soak, but not so much that it forms puddles at the bottom. Put more sauce in the top two sauces than you would have anticipated based on the image. Cupbop’s sauces make the dish.

Note: below a level 4 has less spicy mayo. Above has more. Higher levels may include sambal oelek sauce and more sriracha (as with Cupbop, reduce soy and ginger while increasing mayo and sugar).

Going to Cupbop and ordering extra sauce with your dish, but in small containers on the side, is something I highly recommend. They’re happy to do it. For each additional sauce on the side, I paid $1. If you want, you can use this to ensure that the flavor is perfect when you make it yourself.

White Lime Sauce

10 Tbsp Mayonnaise

3 Tbsp Lime juice

8 Tbsp Confectioners/Powdered sugar (or corn based sugar, like corn syrup, if you have it as it’s a little more accurate to the flavor. Start with less, mix, and taste as you go)

I’ve compared this with their official sauce. With minor variation it’s spot on. They use high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup, as evidenced by the light yellow hue of their white sauce. With powdered sugar though you can get pretty close. Simply combine the ingredients, and if they are too sour, add more sugar. If it’s too sweet, add lime. Add the other two ingredients if the mayo flavor comes through too strongly. You get the idea. It should be a generously sweet sauce.

This should be sufficient for a small number of people, but feel free to double the recipe.

Spicy Mayo

1⁄2 cup mayonnaise

6 tsp Sriracha hot sauce

1⁄4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp lime juice

There’s room for play here. If it’s too spicy, add mayo. If there’s not enough kick, add sriracha. Keep in mind that you will be using a lot of this sauce on the finished dish because it is meant to be applied heavily. Generally speaking, unless you want it to be hotter than a level 4, it should be mild.

However, this should be sufficient for 2-4 people (it makes more than the white sauce recipe does); feel free to double or triple the recipe.

Bulgogi Sauce

I recommend making this vs buying Bulgogi sauce. When I inquire, they refer to it as “Bulgogi,” but certain Korean BBQ sauces are much more similar. The flavor profile of the Bulgogi I purchased from an Asian market isn’t quite the same. It’s way too strong in flavor. The Americanized version of Cupbop is sweeter and less overpowering when combined with the other flavors.

Here’s what I’ve done:

3⁄4 cup soy sauce

3⁄4 cup apple juice (pineapple and pear also work)

3⁄4 cup brown sugar

5⁄8 tsp garlic powder (times by 1.5 if you want to match the peppery heat from Cupbop’s bulgogi sauce)

1⁄2 tsp black pepper

(optional) 1 inch of grated ginger, or a tsp. Probably less. I found I didn’t have ginger when I made this, and since then I haven’t bothered to add it and it’s great. Ginger in an authentic quantity is kryptonite, so if you decide to try it, start with a small amount.

(optional) I haven’t tried this yet, but thickening the sauce using corn starch or an extended low simmer on the stove would do wonders by making it a little thicker.

If you can’t find it, just buy a bottle of Korean BBQ as a substitute for the bulgogi sauce:

The Korean BBQ – Marinade & Sauce – Original brand, “bibigo,” is fairly comparable. It’s a little thicker, but the flavor works well. This is perfect if you combine it with the homemade sauce mentioned above, 50/50.

About Teriyaki Sauce, and why it’s not it

You can use Teriyaki sauce instead of Bulgogi sauce (many of the ingredients of the sauce overlap), but I really don’t recommend it. The problem is that the flavor doesn’t necessarily mix as well with the other sauces. It’s too gingery. You may be disappointed if you go with it.

The real Cupbop bulgogi sauce is somewhere between authentic bulgogi and teriyaki, but with much less ginger and soy sauce (plus sodium). The recipe above is a much better representation of the actual sauce.

Korean Fried Chicken

This method matches Cupbop’s texture of fried chicken. There’s a link to a recipe here you can pull from (exclude the sauce bit, although if you can figure out the Rock Bop sauce, this is how you could apply it).

In short, it requires the following:

Frying powder (chicken mix powder, 치킨가루 or 부침가루) – 1.5 cups

COLD water – 1.5 cups

Fry powder (“Frying Mix”) is available online or at your neighborhood Asian market. There are alternative chicken mix powders as well.

1 part powder to 1 part cold water is the ratio.

Mix in a bowl until sauce is somewhat thick and batter-like

Put pre-cut (small pieces, popcorn chicken size) chicken in bowl and coat

Add a layer of frying powder to a large container with a lid

Put chicken inside, on the layer of powder

Put on the lid, and shake! Chicken should be evenly coated after

Cooking oil, center of chicken reaching 165°F

(Alternative) Mochiko Chicken

Hindsight is 20⁄20. Mochiko Chicken is incredibly tasty, but isn’t 100% Cupbop. If you prefer, you can follow the directions for making authentic Korean fried chicken, which is both less work if you can find the ingredients and more in line with Cupbop’s aesthetic.

Do not use tempura batter! Flavor didn’t fit at all. Your standard flour/panko/egg mix isn’t quite it either. If you want something sweet and crunchy.

1⁄4 cup mochiko flour (Japanese sweet rice flour) . Do not use real flour.

1⁄4 cup cornstarch

1⁄4 cup sugar

5 tablespoons milk (or buttermilk, or technically water). Original recipe asks for soy sauce instead, but Cupbop’s isn’t quite as flavorful. If you want more chicken flavor, definitely go with the soy sauce. Marinating here is meant to tenderize more than add flavor, but the green onions and bit of sweetness are nice.

2 eggs

1⁄4 cup finely chopped green onions, reserve some for garnish. Optional, I skip this one.

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Oil, for frying

Salt for taste

Cube your chicken into cupbop size.

Mix the first six listed ingredients then put in a sealable bowl or gallon ziplock bag. Stick the cubed chicken in there, and let sit overnight in the fridge, or at least for a few hours.

When ready, preheat your oil in a high-walled pan or pot to 350°F.

Add extra mochiko flour to a bowl, and coat each piece of chicken in it. This will make it crispy and crunchy after cooking.

Cook a handful of your chicken cubes at a time, flipping partway through (unless completely submerged), until internal temperature of the chicken is above 165°. The mochiko flour exterior doesn’t brown much, but you can brown the flayed edges a little.

After transferring your chicken to a cooling rack (or plate covered with a double layer of paper towels), salt it! The chicken needs salt, and this seems to be the tastiest place to add it. If you want instead, you can experiment by adding it to the marinade or at another stage in the process.

Air Fryer instructions

The procedure is similar if you prefer to air fry your chicken to doing so in oil.

Skip the first two steps unless going the mochiko route.

For the batter, times the mochiko flour and corn starch by 1.5.

Don’t double coat the meat in mochiko flour from step 4. The meat needs to be wet, and a dry exterior will burn.

Fill your air fryer with a single layer of chicken. Careful with runoff, as it will clog the holes and prevent hot air from circulating.

Cook at about 400°F for 8-10 minutes, or until internal temp of your biggest piece is 165°F. Flipping halfway through for even browning. If the exterior burns before the inside cooks, lower your temperature to about 340°F.

Although it tastes different, frying chicken in oil isn’t as healthy. This meal is by no means trying to be healthy because it already contains excessive amounts of sugar. You can embrace that, or try air frying instead.

For other meats

Although I haven’t tried cooking pork or beef yet, I would advise doing so however you feel most comfortable, and you might want to think about creating a bulgogi or Korean BBQ marinade (with reduced soy sauce and ginger) to use during the process. A slow cooker on low could produce pleasant results.

With delicious Korean bulgogi and sriracha mayo and Korean barbecue sauce drizzled over rice noodles, rice, and cabbage… it’s seriously so good!.

Now, those sauces are what makes the dish. It is served with sriracha mayo and a Korean barbecue sauce of some sort. I’m not sure if these are the exact ingredients that Cupbop uses in their truck, but I can assure you that they are pretty darn good. I’ve chosen to keep it simple by incorporating Korean ingredients into a plain barbecue sauce. It’s a nice little cheat.

So there’s this amazing food truck in Utah called Cupbop. It is so well-liked that it has spread to numerous states and numerous permanent locations. I grew up eating bulgogi at home, so I could definitely get into a Korean food truck. They serve beef bulgogi (thinly sliced Korean beef) with these utterly delicious sauces on top of noodles, rice, and cabbage. One of my favorite food trucks is Cupbop, and I’ve followed it everywhere. But I swear, it takes me 30 minutes to travel to the locations of the food trucks. Time to make my own recipe at home.

1 serving of dangmyeon noodles 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 red bell pepper chopped into 1-inch pieces 1 thinly sliced yellow onion 1 head of broccoli chopped 1 diced carrot

The ingredients should be combined in the slow cooker’s bottom layer. Place the chicken on top, then cover with sauce. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-4. If the chicken seems to be drying out, pour sauce from the slow cooker’s bottom over it. Shred chicken and leave in sauce.

The sauces are a crucial component of the Cupbop bowl as well. One is made using Siracha and mayonnaise. When you consider putting it all over your noodles, it might sound a little strange, but believe me, it makes it creamy and delicious and counteracts the heat of the other ingredients. The other sauce I have found is easiest to buy. It’s known as Unagi sushi sauce and is produced by Kikkoman, so I believe you can find it at your local supermarket. If not, Amazon carries some too. The flavor is what I would compare to a thick, sweet teriyaki sauce.

Mix together well. To apply it to the noodles, I like to put it into a squeeze bottle.

Fill the bowl with a scoop of rice, then top with iceberg lettuce. Top the chicken with a sizable portion of the stir-fried noodles. Put on desired sauces (Unagi, Sriracha, & Sriracha mayo). Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve!.

FAQ

Why is it called Cupbop?

BOP MEANS STEAMED RICE IN KOREAN. We are here to put an end to your boredom with the same old food options, and CUPBOP MEANS A STEAMING CUP OF WOW! The Cupbop menu is our own delectable interpretation of Korean food.

What are Cupbop sauce levels?

You have a choice of heat levels, with 1 being very mild and 10 being extremely spicy. Each number is a special combination of their chiles, mayo, and soy sauces that produce varying degrees of spiciness.

Is Cupbop a Utah thing?

In Salt Lake County, Utah, Cupbop began as a food truck in 2013 and has since expanded significantly. The restaurant is credited with bringing Korean BBQ to Utah. There are 36 total store locations, six food trucks, and several concessions locations in the United States as of May 2022, including the Utah Jazz NBA Arena.

What is Cupbop as seen on Shark Tank?

More Asian options are sorely lacking in the quick-service market, which is why Jung Song and Dok Kwon decided to launch Cupbop. With over 27 physical locations, this Korean barbecue restaurant uses its food trucks as a marketing tool.