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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. Rawwr14 biloxi,ms joined 9/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted September 11th, 2011 at 8:39 pm | or create a profile.

    Heyy Maangchi!!! Is the bean paste w/ noodles taste sweet or what does it taste like?? And if we don’t have bean paste can we use Hoisin sauce instead? http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2010/04/hoisin-sauce-for-pho-vs-for-cooking.html…thankx

    • DominiqueEchard North Carolina joined 5/09 & has 36 comments
      Posted September 14th, 2011 at 9:50 pm | or create a profile.

      Rawwr14, definitely seek out the black bean paste. It is salty with a round flavor almost like miso or soybean paste, but a little sharp at the same time. Hoisin sauce is just a condiment, so it would be too much of a good thing in this. Keep looking for the black bean paste and get the right flavor profile. You won’t be disappointed.

  2. Princess Jee La Union Philippines joined 8/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted August 27th, 2011 at 4:56 am | or create a profile.

    Annyong Haseyo!!!!

    it’s hard for me to find zucchini here in our place,..can i skip it or is there anything that i could replace on it,,,..
    :)

  3. scarryvictoria Singapore joined 2/11 & has 13 comments
    Posted August 21st, 2011 at 3:19 am | or create a profile.

    Hi!What cut of pork do you use here? Can I use pork tenderloin which is more lean? Thanks:))

  4. KaraManna Massachusetts, USA joined 8/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted August 19th, 2011 at 5:29 pm | or create a profile.

    I made this recipe for my friends and they loved it!
    I plan on making this again very soon ^o^

  5. blackcat54 joined 4/09 & has 2 comments
    Posted July 28th, 2011 at 2:14 pm | or create a profile.

    Is there a Black Bean Paste available without Caramel coloring? I looked in H Mart and all the pastes have caramel. I purchased a jar of Black Bean Paste/Roasted in a round glass jar made by Haioreum. Is this the right product? The term roasted made me question it.

  6. dr.moongyeunyoung Philippines joined 6/11 & has 11 comments
    Posted July 6th, 2011 at 6:08 am | or create a profile.

    hi maangchi! If I could not find black bean paste, can I use soy bean paste instead? thanks! =)

  7. stephy076 UK joined 7/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted July 4th, 2011 at 8:07 am | or create a profile.

    is it ok to use corn starch instead of potato starch? whats the difference?

  8. vernaismyname Philippines joined 6/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted June 28th, 2011 at 10:54 am | or create a profile.

    I want to try this but I just need 1 serving for me :( Can you give me the measurements? Please! I want to try this so badly.

  9. BlueCrush Seattle joined 3/11 & has 4 comments
    Posted May 25th, 2011 at 1:46 am | or create a profile.

    Super good recipe. I tried making this with a recipe I found online, did not turn out so well. I tried your recipe and it was awesome. I really enjoyed this…but it finished too quickly. Love it.

  10. happylnuts joined 5/11 & has 3 comments
    Posted May 16th, 2011 at 11:24 am | or create a profile.

    I recently tried your receipe and it was delicious! Instead of buying a tub of black bean paste (just in case), I purchased a small package for ‘1-time’ use only and we also used udon instead of the traditional Korean myun.

    My hubby and I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make this dish. We made a little too much so we freezed some for another meal.

    Thanks Maangchi for sharing this receipe! Another great (and easy) dish added to our homecook menu.

  11. maihang japan joined 5/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted May 14th, 2011 at 9:41 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi ! I want to cook this, but I don’t know the place to buy black bean sauce in Japan where I’m living . Is Black bean sauce like bean miso sauce of Japan ? thanks for reading ^^

  12. vancouverkorea vancouver,B.C joined 4/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 24th, 2011 at 12:49 am | or create a profile.

    OMGGG!!! i want to try to cook this, but i cant eat pork,cant i replace it with anything else ? maghi pls help me :)

  13. Kevalee SF,CA joined 2/11 & has 3 comments
    Posted April 4th, 2011 at 9:52 pm | or create a profile.

    OMG Maangchi! I’ve had black bean sauce noodle at other restaurant in town, but it tastes nothing like this [perhaps they didn’t use yam] I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for the recipe, Maanchi!
    I’m on diet so I use konyaku noodle instead of Jajang noodle, but still!!
    LOVE THIS LOVE THIS!! Thank you VERY MUCH!

  14. khmdscorpio320 Canadea joined 2/11 & has 2 comments
    Posted April 1st, 2011 at 9:41 pm | or create a profile.

    I made this today, but it tasted tastless, it was different from when I ate it at resturant.
    I use canola oil and beef, I don’t know if this makes a difference.
    Can you help me?

  15. shazzanashah joined 3/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted March 22nd, 2011 at 2:07 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi, is there anyway I can change the pork to something else? Thanks.

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