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
- 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.
- 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 wok by pushing the ingredients to the edges.
- 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.
- Add 2 cups of water to the wok and let it simmer and cook with the lid closed 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 the heat.
- 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.
- Boil the noodles in a large pot and drain. Rinse and strain in cold water.
- 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
I have a detailed recipe for jjajangbap but this is the basics:
- Make one serving of rice, and add the jjajang sauce over top.
- Garnish with cucumber strips on top of the jjajang sauce and serve it with kimchi or yellow pickled radish.
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon for that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
question, what is potato starch powder?
i cant really find it.
hmmm maybe you can give the korean name so its easier to ask the korean grocery?
Can you make a recipe for Chapagetti? ^_^
Anonymous,
Jobchae, dduk bok kie, jja jang myun
that’s what you have made! Wonderful!
maangchi unni,
i made you jajangmyun last week, your ddukboki a couple days ago and your japchae today!
thanks for helping me in my learning of cooking korean food! your videos and recipes are so helpful! keep them coming!!
Melissa,
It looks awesome! I posted the picture of your jja jang sauce on my blog. Thanks,
Hi Maangchi, I made this the other day and it was so good! When I was young I used to eat Chapagetti from the packet now I realise how much better the real thing is. It was really easy to make, and I didn’t have any radish but I used some carrots and it turned out extremely delicious. Here’s a photo of the sauce http://www.flickr.com/photos/17652992@N00/2716078019/ and of it finished with noodles http://www.flickr.com/photos/17652992@N00/2716078271/
Hi,anonymous,
You can skip radish, but should use some meat at least. If you can’t eat pork belly, how about using beef? Use more onion and potato if you don’t use radish. It will be delicious. Let me know how your jja jang myeon turns out later. Thanks!
hi maangachi eonni!
i am trying to make jja jang myun this weekend but i am just wondering is it possible to replace pork belly and asian radish for something else?? if i change it alot is the taste going to change a lot???
thanks
selina,
Jja jang myeon was from China! : )
hi!!
i love eating jja jang myun
in chinese, we call it “ja jiang mien”, almost the same :) i love eating these when i go out to eat in chinese restuarants, thank you for the recipe so i can make it at home!
Hi,
I don’t think so. You should get the black bean paste at a Korean grocery store to get the exact taste of jja janag myeon in my recipe.
Can you use Chinese style black bean sauce?
http://www.asiamex.com/proddetail.cfm?CFID=447999&CFTOKEN=683248&ItemID=322&CategoryID=36&SubCatID=121
Jane,
yayee! I am going to look for the noodle store when I go to china town. Thank you for the tip!
Hello Maangchi,
I used spaghetti instead of the Jja Jang noodles.
http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/aga-suka/article?mid=375
I hesitate to make Jja Jang Myun, because all the previous attempts were failure.
The jar of Jja Jang had sit in the fridge for 2 years. Today I use your method, it turned out good. Heating up the Jja Jang before use it a very important step! However, it’s difficult for me to love it … Good tasting Jja Jang Myun cannot erase my memory of poor quality Jja Jang Myun…
I believe that Jja Jang Myun is from “Northern” China also. I had tried that kind of Jja Jang Myun is very similar to the Korean version.
I’m Korean-Am and grew up on JJa Jang Myun – its like mashed potatoes to me. Best comfort food, bar none. Recently, a Chinese friend pointed me to a tiny noodle shop in Chinatown (NYC) where they hand-pull their noodles and make Chinese-style JJa Jang Myun. Delicious! And quite different from Korean JJa Jang Myun.
– Jane
Heyy, I live in NYC, and I was just wondering if you would please refer me to that tiny noodle shop? Thanks very much! :]
Wendy,
I was told from one of my friends who used to live in China that jja jang myeon is actually sold in China. Yes, now I’m sure the dish is from China. Thank you!
maangchi, I just found your website and videos. I love it!! I’m chinese and my husband is korean. I’ve been making a lot of korean food with recipes from koreakitchen.com. But your videos just make it so much easier!! So far we love your veggie pancake and soon tofu recipes, I can’t wait to make more!
BTW, jia jiang myun is a chinese food from the northern region. Many northern chinese restaurants sell them, along with dumplings, etc. People from the south, such as from hong kong do not know this variation of jia jiang myun.
bebepark1
yes, I know how to make tang su yook (sweet sour and crispy beef or pork). It’s one of dishes requested by others, too. Thank you for your request.
hello :) i love your videoss :) im looking forward to make this dish =] but by any chance do you know how to make tangsuyok? if you dont its fine (: thankss again =]
i always miss korean food back home because they dont really have in it Glasgow. but since i stumbled upon your blog i’ve been a very happy girl.
Ive tried a few of your recipe so far and i’m loving it. thanks very much!
Hi, Anonymous,
You want to learn how to make jja jang myun, right? That’s the recipe! : )
I mentioned “You can use either potatoes or sweet potatoes” in the video and also you don’t have to use radish if you don’t have.
Hi Maangchi,
Thanks for all the videos! You have made my life so much easier – I don’t have to worry about what to make for dinner anymore. i just watch your videos and making dinner is easier than ever! As I watched jja jang myun video, I’m wondered why you used radish and sweet potato… What kind of taste does radish add to jja jang myun? What about sweet potato? Is it better than just plain potato? I’m curious, is there a reason why you chose these vegetables? I don’t recall eating radish or sweet potato in jja jang myun before and I would like to know if they make the dish especially yummy ; ) Thanks!
Hi,rooraa,
It sounds like you have never tasted jja jang myun so far.
That’s a good idea of trying it at a restaurant before making your own jja jang myun.
Skip Zucchini and radish if you don’t have or don’t like them.
Use more onion and potato then.
Good luck with your learning Korean language!
안녕하세요 Maangchi씨! 짜장면 looks delicious! I hope on Tuesday (that’s when I going to a korean market called 시온마겟,but I think i spelled that wrong)I can find the ingredients for the dish. Oh and since there’s a little restaurant that serves 짜장면, i think i’m going to order some so I will kind of know what it tastes like before i make it myself!
Do you need the zucchini and radish? Is there any other vegetables I could use instead?
Anyways, 감사합니다! (by the way, I’m trying to learn korean >_< but I'm still at a beginner level)
Mindy mindy,
Thank you very much! You did not know they sell black bean paste? : )
Thank you so much for posting a VIDEO— that makes it so much easier to understand! And also for annotating all the ingredients that I’m not familiar with (I didn’t know they SOLD black bean paste!). This is amazing, thank you. I hope you get to host a korean cooking show on foodnetwork!!
Young Hee,
Yes, you can use either corn starch or potato or sweet potato starch. For jja jang myun, it’s very important because it will make the sauce thicker and shiny.
The noodles for jja jang myun should be chewy, so do you think the noodles you picked will be chewy?
Let me know how your party goes later. : )
Thanks
Hi Maangchi.
Today I specifically went out of my way to the huge Chinese market in the city to get all my Asian goodies. I found Jja jang myun sauce (yes!) and I also got everything to make kimchi (I’m determined to make it right this time).
I didn’t find jja jang myun noodles but what I did get were fresh Chinese wheat/egg noodles. They aren’t white like I see on your video-they have this sort of light grey/beige hue. Does this sound right to you?
Oh, and I couldn’t find potato starch anywhere! There was corn starch however. How important is it that I use potato starch?
I hope you’ll get back to me asap-I would like to make this for my very good friend who is coming to visit me tomorrow. :-)
Thank you!!!
I think “Jja jang myun” might be a variation of a Chinese dish called “Zha jiang mian” (lit. fried sauce noodle). My grandmother used to make it for me. It’s a northern regional dish, so it wouldn’t be surprising that Chinese from other parts of the country might not know about it.
I’m so glad I found your videos. Even though I grew up in a Chinese household, Korean food is definitely something I crave more than mom’s cooking (but don’t tell her that!).
Winny,
Fresh jja jang noodles which is sold frozen, is more chewy than dried noodles.But if it’s hard for your to find it, you can use any thick noodles.
Maagchi.. thanks for your jjajang myun recipe! I’m looking forward to try it! Looks very yummy…
hmm does it matter if you use fresh jjang noodle or dried ones(in the packet like spagetthi)?
cus i think it’s hard to find fresh jjajang noddle…
looking forward for your next recipe!
lillian,
I see you are gradually becoming a connoisseur about korean food!
I imagine you are looking around other people’s dishes at a restaurant to see what they are eating.
CUTE!
Now you can judge like this, “this food is good or not good, or so so.” : )
If we meet together someday, I’m sure we will have fun talking about korean food hours and hours.
When I meet Deborah who is in my kimchi stew video, we always talk about food.
Yes, you are right. It’s hard to find a good restaurant for Jja jang myun.
Hi Maangchi,
So I finally tried jja jang myun in a restaurant last night. I have to admit I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. I’m not sure if it’s the way the restaurant made it or if it’s simply not something I’m wild about. They didn’t put as many vegetables in it as you did and the meat pieces were so tiny I could barely find them. Also the sauce seemed really thick. All I can say is that when you cook, the food looks sooooo good! Sometimes reality can’t live up to my imagination of how it tastes.
My mom got a beef and kimchi stew with yam noodles, which was really tasty. At the next table they had a hot stone bowl with tofu soup, which I think I’ll try next time. While I was there I got a radish for the beef and radish soup. I’ll let you know how it turns out. If I can find my camera I’ll send pictures too!
Jen,
It sounds like you made some dishes from my recipes. Very good!
Thank you for the recipe! It is so delicious, all your recipes are amazing! Thanks for teaching us Korean recipes!