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Noodles with blackbean sauce

Jjajangmyeon 짜장면

Hello hello everybody! : )

I’m re-introducing jjajangmyeon recipe (noodles in black bean sauce) to you today with a new, updated video. I originally uploaded a video showing you how to make jjajangmyeon in 2007, not long after I started posting to YouTube. Yes, it was 5 years ago! Time flies too fast!

That video was so popular that I decided to make a new version that’s easier to follow, and also shows you how to make jjajangbap with rice instead of noodles.

Jjajangmyeon is everybody’s favorite food. It’s actually a very popular Korean Chinese dish, created by early Chinese immigrants in Korea, catering to Korean tastes. Tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) is another example. The almost caramel taste of the savory black bean sauce over the thick, chewy wheat flour noodles makes for a really unique taste and texture. When I was young, a plate of jjajangmyeon from a Chinese restaurant always made me excited. When you order it delivered they bring you the noodles in a special tin box in under 30 minutes! I usually ended up covered in jjajang sauce and my mom had to give me a Kleenex.

Koreans even have a nonofficial celebration for jjm on April 14th, when single people celebrate their shared loneliness on Black Day with a bowl of jjajangmyeon.

Enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients for  2-3 servings

  • jjajangmyeon noodles
  • ½ pound pork belly, cut into ½ inch cubes (about 1½ cups’ worth)
  • 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 of vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup and 1 tablespoon of chunjang (Korean 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 toasted sesame oil
  • ½ cup cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks for garnish
  • water

Directions for making jjajang sauce

  1. Stir-fry the pork belly in a large, deep wok (or pan) with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil for about 4-5 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
  2. Pour out the excess pork fat.
  3. Add radish and stir fry for 1 minute.
  4. Add potato, onion, and zucchini and keep stirring for about 3 minutes until the potato looks a little translucent.
  5. Clear a space in the center of the wok by pushing the ingredients to the edges.
  6. Add 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil to the center of the wok, then add ¼ cup of black bean paste and stir it with a wooden spoon for 1 minute to fry it. Then mix everything in the wok and keep stirring.
  7. Add  2 cups of water to the wok and let it simmer and cook with the lid closed for about 10 minutes.
  8. 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.
  9. Add the sesame oil and remove from the heat.
    jjajangmyeon
  10. Serve with noodles (jjajangmyeon) or steamed rice (jjajangbap).

Make jjajangmyeon

Noodles for jjajangmyeon can be found at Korean grocery stores. The noodles are thick and chewy.

  1. Boil the noodles in a large pot and drain. Rinse and strain in cold water.
  2. Put one serving of noodles onto a serving plate and add the jjajang sauce over top. Garnish with cucumber strips and serve immediately with kimchi or yellow pickled radish.

Make jjajangbap

  1. Make one serving of rice, and add the jjajang sauce over top.
  2. Garnish with cucumber strips on top of the jjajang sauce and serve it with kimchi or yellow pickled radish.

Posted on Monday, July 30th, 2007 at 6:44 am. Last updated on September 18, 2022.
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730 Comments:

  1. Anonymous
    Posted January 31st, 2008 at 3:17 am | or create a profile.

    Thanks, Maangchi. I don’t want you to shop the noodle with me, I want to actually eat all the food you cook for this blog instead!!! Anyway, I’ll keep searching for the noodle. Shall let you know when it’s found.

    ruth

  2. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted January 26th, 2008 at 9:57 am | or create a profile.

    Hi,Gourmet Ruth, : )
    I can’t help smiling while reading your comment. I can see how desperately you are looking for the hard chewy noodles.
    I’m sure you will be able to find the noodles. You said, “Wang” ? or “Wong” I guess. I have never paid attention to a brand name when I buy the noodles. Go to freezer section at a korean grocery store and find thick noodles wrap in plastic wrap.
    I wish I could visit a korean grocery store with you to get it for you. : )
    Or ask a grocery owner “I would like to buy noodles for Jja Jjang Myun”

  3. Anonymous
    Posted January 26th, 2008 at 2:36 am | or create a profile.

    Thanks, the jja jiang is a success, very yummy. But not the noodle, I can’t find your noodle. I bought another korean brand frozen noodle which is very soft. I only like hard, chewy elastic noodle. Did you use Wang oriental style noodle? Have I got the name correct? I have been searching from korean stores here but couldn’t find this brand. Are there other brands which I can use? I have been searching for this hard chewy noodle for years. I know they must be available because the jja jiang myun served from the korean restaurants here is really chewy. I tried many brands already but still failed to find it. Please help me, Maangchi!!! (tho’ the jja jiang is also very good on rice, hard chewy noodle is still my favourite)
    Thank you!!!

    ruth

  4. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted January 22nd, 2008 at 8:06 am | or create a profile.

    Yes, there are spcial noodles for jja jaang myun. They are more chewy
    and thiker than usual noodles. The noodles are usually sold frozen.

  5. Anonymous
    Posted January 22nd, 2008 at 6:13 am | or create a profile.

    hi, i was suearching for ways to make jja jang myun… finally i saw ur video in you tube i came to your blog. well, i havent tried it yet but i does look tasty.. would love to try it.. so, i have aquestion, what noodle to use? there is a special noodle for jja jang myun right? so, what if i can’t find it at my place.. what other noodle could work? do you have the recipe to make the noodle?thanks

  6. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted January 16th, 2008 at 10:42 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi,fifth
    Yes, I kept the left over jja jaang sauce in my refrigerator for a couple of days. But no more than 1 week! : ) You can reheat it and put it on fresh warm noodles when you eat it again. No problem.

  7. Fifth
    Posted January 16th, 2008 at 5:40 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi,Maangchi:

    First thank you for all your efforts. I made grilled beef the other day. It was soooooo awsome. I just have one question about “jja jaang myun”. From what I saw from videl, you made a big amount of “jja jaang myun” sauce, however you only use a small portion on noddles. What do you do with the rest? Can it be kept for a long time for later convinience?

    Thanks

  8. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted January 15th, 2008 at 6:59 am | or create a profile.

    Rena,
    I’m glad to hear your success in making jja jaang myun.

  9. Rena
    Posted January 15th, 2008 at 12:05 am | or create a profile.

    Hi there! I just made Ja Jung Myun after watching your video today! it was SOO YUMMY!! taste like the ones i had in restaurants! except with less grease which is what i always wanted~ =) I really love your cooking videos! thank you for showing us how to cook these delicous korean recipes!

  10. Rena
    Posted January 15th, 2008 at 12:02 am | or create a profile.

    Hi there! i just made the jja jung myun right after watching your video~! ITS SOOO YUMMY!! taste like the ones in resturants!! except with less grease which is what i wanted~ thank you for teaching us how to make it!! i love watching your cooking videos~!

  11. Anonymous
    Posted August 21st, 2007 at 7:17 pm | or create a profile.

    I made this for dinner tonight…delicious!
    Please keep making more videos!
    lisa in panama

  12. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted August 15th, 2007 at 6:57 am | or create a profile.

    hi,tokii,
    It’s called “Dol sot bibimbab”. Dol sot means stone bowl. : )

    Your grandmother must be an expert in cooking : )

  13. Tokii
    Posted August 15th, 2007 at 6:46 am | or create a profile.

    I love your jajangmyun video!!
    I’ve been looking for a recipe that is good for a while, and items that I can actually find in my local asian grocery store!

    I have a question though, I know this is unrelated to jjangmyun but what is this korean dish? My grandmother always use to make it for me and they serve it alot in restaruants.

    Its a stone bowl, that is heated so its very hot and on the bottom there is rice and layers of meat vegetables and bean sprouts and then you either crack a un-cooked egg on top of the bowl and mix it all together or put a fried egg on top. I’m really curious what it is called! ><

  14. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted August 9th, 2007 at 9:00 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi, Lisa from Panama,

    I’m smiling at your story that your interest in korean cooking comes from Korean dramas! Unfortunately, I don’t have much chance to see Korean dramas.

    The other day, I went to a hair salon run by a Korean in koreatown. I asked my hairdresser if he sees people eating food in Korean dramas. He said,
    “Yes, right. a couple of days ago, at the end of work, all we were watching a Korean drama while working, and saw some people eating jja jang myun which made my mouth watery. Right after finishing work, all my employees and I went to a restaurant to eat Jja jang myun”

  15. Anonymous
    Posted August 9th, 2007 at 4:47 pm | or create a profile.

    Thanks for the recipes! My teenage daughters and I love to watch Korean dramas and have become interested in Korean cooking from them! We live in Panama and my daughters do some Japanese cooking they learned from my mother-in-law who is Japanese, but we are excited to try the spicier Korean cooking too.
    Thanks!
    lisa in panama

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