Jjajangmyeon is a Korean noodle dish made with fermented black beans. It is a popular dish that is often spotted on Korean dramas. For now, I’m going to refer it to the drama I just finished re-watching, Coffee Prince. In fact, this was the first drama that I saw the noodles in so it is only fitting. In episode one of Coffee Prince, our androgynous lead challenges someone to a Jjajangmeyon eating contest. If they can slurp it down, I figured it wouldn’t be to difficult to try.
Jjajangmeyon dates back to 1905 when it was introduced at a Chinese restaurant in Incheon. Despite Jjajangmyeon being a cognate of the Chinese dish Zhajiangmian, the Korean dish varies in many ways.
The Ingredients
Jjajjangmyeon consists of black bean paste, chopped vegetables, and meat. I wasn’t sure which recipe online I should use, so I used this recipe here. When I went searching for the ingredients, it didn’t take too long. I cook enough Korean food that I’m becoming more knowledgeable on where to find things.
The Cooking
This meal is easy to make. I can see why it would be a popular dish. The only hard work is to chop all the vegetables. If you do it ahead of time, the meal will be quick.
Jjajangmyeon
Ingredients
- Noodles I used udon, but didn't like them
- ½ pound bacon
- 1 cup of Korean radish or daikon, cut into ½ inch cubes (about 1 cup’s worth)
- 1 cup of zucchini cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 cup of potato peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1½ cups of onion chunks
- 3 Tablespoons Olive oil
- ¼ cup and 1 Tablespoon of black bean paste
- 2 Tablespoons of potato starch powder combined with ¼ cup water and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl, set aside
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
- water
Instructions
- Stir-fry the bacon in a large pan with 1 Tablespoon of oil for about 4-5 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
- Pour out the excess pork fat.
- Add radish and stir fry for 1 minute.
- Add potato, onion, and zucchini and keep stirring for about 3 minutes until the potato looks a little translucent.
- Clear a space in the center of the pan. Add 2 Tablespoons of oil to the center, then add ¼ cup of black bean paste and stir it with a spoon for 1 minute to fry it. Then mix everything together and keep stirring.
- Add 2 cups of water to the pan and cook with the lid for about 10 minutes.
- Open the lid and taste a sample of the radish and potato. If they’re fully cooked, stir in the starch water little by little. Keep stirring until it’s well mixed and thick.
- Add the sesame oil and remove from heat.
- Serve with noodles.
Thoughts
This is a dish that opened my eyes to new possibilities when it comes to cooking. I have never thought of black beans as something to add to noodles. Of course the United States does have Cincinnati chili (a combination of chili and spaghetti), which I have never eaten.
Eating this dish felt like I made a mistake somewhere. I wasn’t sure what type of noodles to use, but a recipe online insisted upon using udon. And so I did. I have tried udon previously before and I didn’t like it. I thought it was because I didn’t like cold noodles. Nope. I realized I don’t like udon noodles. They are a little too slimy/slippery for me (unless I made a cooking misstep–I do fail at making noodles a lot).
Another thing is I wasn’t too sure about the fermented bean paste. I typically would rather make my own. But I’m terrified of the fermentation process (even though I made some delicious kimchi). I felt nervous that the paste had MSG and I was hesitant to eat it.
Besides those two things. The actually jjajangmeyon sauce was yummy. If I decide make it again. I plan to use a different type of noodle. Why do noodles hate me so much? I really need to master the art of the noodle.