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
- 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.
This is restaurant quality! And you can moderate the amount of fat than you would at a restaurant. Thank you for yet another amazing recipe!
It sounds like you made this. Awesome!
I made a vegetarian version of this today and it was AWESOME! I didn’t want to spend five bucks on the flour noodles at the K-market, so I went with these Nanka Seimen udon noodles they sell at my local grocery store for $1.50. (You can find them on here, too http://www.gourmetfoodworld.com/Oriental-Products/Futonaga-Udon-Noodles-Oriental-Products-details-3561.asp) It’s the right thickness and SO chewy, just like actual jjajang noodles!
넘 맛났어염 언니~ 처음 짜장에 도전했는데 대박 성공이었죠~ ㅎㅎ 덕분에 엄마한테 시집가두 되겠다는 말 들었어염~ ㅋㅌ 고마워여!
Congratulations! ” 덕분에 엄마한테 시집가두 되겠다는 말 들었어염~” lol
Maangchi! Can i use Lee Kum Kee Black Bean Garlic Sauce instead of Black Bean Paste?..
Thanks!
No, they are different. You need jjajang (or chunjang) sold at Korean grocery stores. https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/black-bean-paste
Maancgchi will you be soooo kind to make a video of how to make black bean paste because all sotres near me doesn’t have any so it would be awesome if i could learn how to make it!!
sorry I don’t know how to make it. But I will keep your request in mind!
I found the same black bean paste Maangchi used in her video on Hmart.com: http://www.hmart.com/shopnow/shopnow_newsub.asp?p=846034002128
I use this site from time to time, even though I have Korean markets nearby. Yes, I’m lazy lol.
Hi, I’m from mexico and not where to buy pasta, and if not sold sesame oil, what can i use as a substitute for sesame oil? has little i saw the spicy sesame oil, i can be used?
oh right, i have a bag choi-mein noodles, you think I can use?… Thnks, I hope it goes well …
You can skip the sesame oil in this recipe. If it’s available, you need toasted (roasted) sesame oil. I saw some at a Korean grocery store in Mexico City. How about using spaghetti noodles if the noodles for jjajjangmyeon are not available? https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/sesame-oil
https://www.maangchi.com/shopping/mexico
Hey Maangchi! I love all of your cooking, even your beautiful personality! #1 fan! <3 Any ways i was wondering, can i use fresh rise noodle stick instead of jajangmyun noodles? what makes jajangyun noodles jajangmyun noodles?
Kamshamnida! <3
Would using sweet potatoes work for this recipe? Or Korean sweet potatoes?
Hi maangchi, I mistakenly bought black bean sauce powder instead of paste. :( How can I make it into paste’s consistency?? For powder form, do i still need to add potato starch to thicken the sauce when I cook it?
Do they sell black bean sauce powder? I never heard of it.
Please leave your question on the forum if you want. Some of my readers may know about the powder and give you instructions on how to use it. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/general-discussion
Hi! I was wondering how long bean paste lasts once opened in the refrigerator?
It never goes bad as long as you keep it refrigerated. But if you keep it for more than 6 months, it may dry out.
i made ddbokie yesterday and it was amazing, thank you! i wanted to ask is there a subsitute for korean radish or can i just use normal radish?
Instead of radish, add more potatoes or onion, or just use normal radish.
thank you so much !!
Hi Maangchi!
Greetings from Brazil.
I love this dish, taste like childhood, when my mom prepared this dish for us.
But now she’s not around anymore and I never found a good recipe.
I love your blog and your videos, you look so much like my mom
*-*
I’ll try a lot of recipes, thank you so much
I’m so glad to hear that I remind you of your own mom. You must miss her!
Happy cooking! : )
HI Maangchi. Is there a difference between fermented black bean paste and regular black bean paste when making Jjajangmyeon.
All black bean paste to make jajangmyeon is fermented already. https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/black-bean-paste
Hi Maangchi! Glad I found this recipe. I made this today and it was a lovely meal. Better than the ones I ate at a Korean restaurant before actually =)
But, is it usually a little salty? I had to add a little more water and sugar to reduce the saltiness. Or is it because of the type black bean paste I used?
Thanks Maangchi! ^_^
I’m glad to hear that your jjajangmyeon turned out delicious! ” is it usually a little salty?”
no, it’s not supposed to be salty. I hope you got the right ingredient: black bean paste.
https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/black-bean-paste
As long as it was delicious, just use less paste when you make it again later.
I cooked this for my brother!
He really liked it, and me either.
Thank you for the recipe :D
great! Happy cooking!
what can i use as a substitute for potato starch powder? i just ran out of some =( all i have right now is sweet rice flour and regular white flour.
I would wait until I get right ingredient if I were you. You need potato, sweet potato, or corn starch powder to make nice jjajang sauce.