Jjajangmyun, the Korean-Chinese noodles with black bean paste

Before the McDonald landed in Korea, or Pizza Hut invaded with Bulgogi pizza to change the taste buds of Korean children from kimchi pancakes to pizza, there was a noodle dish called “Jjajangmyun“.

Jjajangmyun used to be the all time Korean kid’s favorite food. At least to me, it was. The dish was known as the special treat to the children when they had done something really good; like getting an A in their school report or finishing their piano lesson to a certain level. It is a nostalgic food to every Koreans above 30+ years old.

I don’t remember my mom making this noodles at home. She never bothered to make it because it was easily, quickly, and inexpensively accessible. Like a box of pizza that we order as a take-out these days, this Jjajangmyun was often delivered to everyone’s home.

Jjajangmyun is actually a Chinese noodle dish, made with black bean paste in the sauce.

For some reason the dish have evolved a little differently in Korea than it was in China, and became very popular among Koreans. I have tried in Hong Kong and Taiwan with their version but I prefer the way Koreans make.

If you don’t have the Korean style Chinese restaurants in your area, you will be glad that you found this recipe. It is quite easy to make.

 

First you will need some cubed pork (about 1/2″).  Any pork cut is okay-la.

 

Dice your vegetables, all in cubed shapes. Cabbage, onion, potato, and zucchini are my chosen ones.

 

Now, there are two types of black bean base sauce.  One is in powdered form and the other in paste. My advice? Get the paste. Although the powder is easier to cook with, I found the paste yields better taste.

 

You want to fry the paste in prior to make sauce.  That way it will remove some bitterness of the black bean paste. It looks like there’s awful amounts of oil, but the sauce doesn’t soak up much oil. Fry the paste with 1 tablespoon of sugar for 3-4 minutes over the medium heat.  As you see, the oil and the paste don’t mingle together.

 

With a slotted spoon transfer the sauce to a bowl and set aside. Discard oil in the pan except 1 tablespoonful to remain.

 

Saute your pork until they are no longer shy in pink.

 

Dump all your vegetables and continue to saute to 2-3 minutes.

 

Return your black bean paste and 1.5 cup of water to the pan. Add more water if you prefer thinner sauce.

I sometimes add a little bit oyster sauce to bring more flavor, but not today. Simply because I was lazy to go outside to buy a bottle.

Anyway, stir the sauce well to incorporate. Bring to boil first, then simmer for 3-5 minutes or until they are tender.

 

Dissolve corn starch in water

 

And add to the pot. Stir and continue to cook, about 2-3 minutes. The sauce will get thicken.

 

Here it is, the beautifully thickened Jjajangmyun sauce!

Oh, do you feel the dark side of the force? I do.

 

Here are Jjajangmyun noodles.  You will find them in a freezer section of Korean stores. Or you can use any thick wheat noodles, even Spaghetti or Fettuccine.

 

Add to the boiling water and cook according to your package direction, about 6 minutes.

 

Drain. I like to rinse them with hot water. My gluten loaded noodles are ready to take an action.

Place these chewy noodles in a large shallow bowl and pour the sauce over. Mix like crazy with your chopsticks. And eat.

 

You will absolutely need some napkins. Many actually.

Nothing is grosser than seeing a grown-up with the *Jjajangmyun mustache* around his/her mouth. (Imagine the “Got milk?” ads in the 90′s)

It is not easy to eat this dark-forced noodles without making the slurping noise but, hey! that is life. People will understand.

 

My kids absolutely love this.

And one of them did have the cute *Got Jjajangmyun? mustache*.  Too bad, I missed taking photos of him.

Hope you love it, too.

 

Giving my Jjajangmyun love to you