Noodles with Black Bean Sauce – Jja Jang Myun ‘짜장면’ (Jajangmyeon)
January 15, 2012 § 6 Comments
First things first….WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO G-MEN!
Now onto what you’re (hopefully) here for…here’s another one of my favorite dishes, Jja Jang Myeon – CozyBogie-style!
Many times, I have been unimpressed with many restaurant-versions of jjajangmyun. I found that they were either too salty, or not salty enough, too MSG-laden, or completely flavorless. I have been meaning to come up with an easy home-edition for a while, and in part two of the bachelor-pad takeover (Part 1 – “Oil Rice”), we embarked on a quest for a great jjajang sauce.
I think this is a delicious and easy recipe to make at home. This will give you a LOT of sauce and easily feed around 6-8 people, or you can freeze it and save it for later.
Notes:
1. Sugar is optional. If you like how your sauce tastes before putting the sugar in, just leave it out. I found that the rice wine marinade for the pork sweetens the sauce, so I did not think it needed any more sugar.
2. Try to use fresh pulled noodles specifically made for jja jang myun (sold in Asian grocery stores). In a bind, you can substitute with spaghetti.
3. Salt is to taste. Some people like their sauces saltier, some like it milder, especially those who are watching their sodium intake. Always start with a tiny amount because you can always add more but you can never subtract.
Noodles with Black Bean Sauce – Jja Jang Myun ‘짜장면’ (Jajangmyeon)
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork loin, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 tbsp rice wine
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- salt and pepper to taste, around 1/2 tsp each
- 2 large onions, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 medium to large grey squash, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 potatoes, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 cup of radish, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
- 7 tbsp (around 3/4 cup) of Korean black bean paste (chun jang)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp potato or corn-starch
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp sugar* OPTIONAL
- cucumber slices, to garnish
- 1 package of hand-pulled noodles, cooked according to package instructions
Directions
- Marinate pork, rice wine, ginger, and salt and pepper in a bowl for 15 minutes.
- In 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, cook the marinated pork until golden brown on medium heat and set aside, while reserving oil and pan drippings in the pot.
- Saute radish and potato, cook for four minutes, add onion and squash, cook until translucent, around five minutes, all on medium-heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add 3 cups of water and pork and then boil for 15-20 minutes, until the onions are completely soft and radish and potatoes are cooked through.
- In a small pan, heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil on medium heat and then add the black bean paste, and saute 2 minutes.
- Add sauteed black bean paste to the sauce, and mix well until it is all dissolved. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Make a slurry with potato or corn-starch and water, (this just means mix the starch and water together and mix well), and then quickly add while stirring rapidly into the sauce. Add soy sauce. Cook for 1 minute.
- Taste, and if necessary, add salt and pepper.
- Once the noodles are cooked, drain thoroughly and rinse once with water to get rid of some of the starch. Then, place noodle-servings into bowls and then add sauce on top with cucumber garnish (optional).
- Enjoy with some kimchi or better yet, kkakdugi! 🙂
my golden hour 
Yum! I can’t wait to try this recipe!!
Can’t wait to hear how it goes! 🙂 xo
That looks bomb. And yes, go G-MEN
One of my first “from scratch” meals when married was jja jjang myun and it tasted super beany. Jim said “it’s because we’re used to MSG-laden JJM.” How did yours taste? Will try again w/your recipe.
It definitely tastes different from the restaurant-JJM that we’re typically used to, but more…authentic? It tastes like the amalgamation of all the fresh ingredients, the squash, onions, radish…and the black bean paste really rounds it all out. I think if you prefer a less “bean-y” taste, perhaps start off with frying only 5 tbsp of paste and then add that, and taste the sauce, and if you feel like it needs more depth, stir fry a few more tablespoons at a time and add a little by little. Also, I think adding a little soy sauce also helps make it taste a bit more restaurant-like. Let me know how it goes!
[…] is my 10 minute jja jang myun. My original jja jang myun post is here, for those who want a more “traditional” recipe. But I’ve got to say, this quick […]