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.
raiihana,
Yes, you can replace pork with beef, chicken, or seafood such as shrimp, scallop, and squid.
hey there Maangchi ^^!
i really wanna try your Jja ja myun someday !
but i have a question here (:
instead of using pork, what do you recommend me to replace it with? is chicken suitable?
thanks for your time ^^!
your Site rocks ! Maangchi jjang ! XD
샤넨,
Congratulation on your successful jja jang myun making!
I made your Jja jang myun recipe today for my dinner. It was my first time making jja jang but it was SOOO~~~ good!! It tasted better then at the korean restaurants! I love your recipes. Thanks so much!
P.s. You should open a restaurant! You’d be a great success!
마리,
oh, I should post the photo of potato starch powder on my ingredient category. I will post it soon. It’s called Jeon boon in korean (전분). You will have to prepare it to make jja jang myeon and other dishes. It helps thicken soup or sauce.
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!