Korean dramas are popular in other Asian countries which are not only stories but also all kinds of things such as food, fashion, and style of make up.

Jjajangmyun is everybody’s favorite food. When I was young, one plate of jja jang myun from a Chinese restaurant always made me excited. We usually order Jja jang myun from a Chinese restaurant and a delivery man brings noodles contained in a specially made tin box in 30 minutes.

I usually ended up covered in jjajang sauce and my mom gave me a Kleenex!

Ingredients:
Noodles (special “myun” for jjajangmyun), black bean paste, half pound of pork belly, sugar, olive oil, potato starch powder, sesame oil, Asian radish, sweet potato, zucchini, onion, cucumber.

Makes 4  servings.

1. Cut the of pork into ½ inch (1cm) cubes. Leave the skin on.
2. Add  ½ tbs of olive oil to a heated wok. When that’s hot, add the pork and stir fry it until it looks crispy.
3. When the pork is well cooked and the color turns golden brown, drain all the hot fat and set the pork aside. Leave it in the wok for later use
4. Heat a small skillet over medium heat with 2 tbs of vegetable oil. When that’s hot, add 7 tbs of black bean paste and stir fry for 1 minute.
5. Remove the extra oil and set the black bean paste aside.

Cut all vegetables into 0.5 inch cubes and place them on a big plate or tray. You will end up with 1 cup of radish, 1 cup of potato, 1 cup of zucchini, and 2 cups of onion.

1. Reheat the crispy pork in your wok over high heat, and add 1 tbs of olive oil.
2. Add radish and sweet potato (or potato) and saute them for 2 minutes. Then add zucchini and onion and saute them for another 2 minutes.
3. Add 3 cups of water until all the ingredients are submerged, and close the lid and boil it for 15-20 minutes.
4. Open the lid of the wok and skim off the foam from the surface. Add the fried black bean paste from the small skillet and stir it up.
   *tip: to check if ingredients are cooked or not, try a sample potato chunk. It should be cooked, not raw.
5. Mix 2-3 tbs potato starch powder (or corn starch) and 2 tbs water and add it into the boiling soup and stir it. then the soup ill turn into a sticky sauce.
6. Add 1 tbs sugar to the sauce and stir it

Now, let’s cook the noodles (“myun”)

For 2 servings, you will need one bunch of noodles from the package.

1. Boil water in a big pot, add the noodles and close the lid. Cook for a few minutes according to the direction on the package (around 3 minutes).
2. Try one sample noodle to check if it’s cooked properly or not. It should be soft and not stiff at all. If it’s cooked, drain the noodles and place them on a large plate or bowl.
3. Reheat the jjajang sauce and put it on the noodles

Serving:
Don’t eat it cold : )

Garnish with cucumber strips on the top of jjajang sauce and serve it with kimchi or yellow pickled radish.