Gochugaru and gochujang do different jobs here: the paste builds a sweet, fermented backbone, the flakes bloom in hot oil and hit the back of your throat. Cabbage goes in hard and fast so it chars instead of steaming, and the noodles finish in the sauce rather than under it.
Stir the gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and rice vinegar together in a small bowl until it's a smooth, loose paste. It should taste a little too strong on its own — that's the point, the noodles will dilute it.
Using: Mixing bowl, Wooden spoon
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Drop in the noodles and cook until just shy of done — they should still have a firm bite at the core, because they finish in the wok.
3 min · until firm at the core, just shy of done
Using: Stockpot, Noodle basket
Drain the noodles, rinse briefly under cold water to stop them cooking and knock off surface starch, then drain again hard. Toss with a few drops of neutral oil so they don't weld together while you finish the chicken.
Using: Colander
Get the wok ripping hot — you want to see a faint shimmer of smoke. Add the neutral oil, then the chicken in a single layer and leave it alone for a full minute to take colour before you start moving it.
1 min · until golden underneath
Using: Wok, Cooking chopsticks (saibashi)
Stir-fry the chicken until it's browned at the edges and just cooked through, then push it up the sides of the wok out of the heat.
3 min · until browned at the edges and springy to the touch
Using: Wok, Cooking chopsticks (saibashi)
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Add the cabbage to the hot centre of the wok with the spring onion whites. Spread it out and let it sit against the metal for 90 seconds before tossing — that contact is where the char comes from. Keep it moving after that until the edges are blistered and the cores have lost their raw bite but still snap.
4 min · until edges blistered, cores still crunchy
Using: Wok, Cooking chopsticks (saibashi)
Pour the sauce into the wok and stir it through the cabbage for 20 seconds — it will darken and smell sweet and sharp as it hits the heat. Then add the noodles and toss hard with tongs, lifting and folding rather than stirring, until every strand is coated and glossy and the sauce has tightened onto them.
2 min · until glossy and clinging to the noodles, no pool at the bottom
Using: Wok, Tongs
Cut the heat. Fold through the sesame seeds and the spring onion greens and taste — it likely wants nothing, but a pinch of salt if it's flat.
Using: Wok, Tongs
Divide between two deep bowls and eat immediately, with extra gochugaru on the table for anyone who wants more heat.
Using: Ramen bowl, Chopsticks