Those Yummy Black Noodles aka JJA-JANG-MYUN
FUSION.
This has become such a cultural staple food in Korea that it’s featured everywhere in movies and TV. It is cheap and cheerful, fills you up and is delicious. This is very popular with children as well!
It used to be quite arduous and messy to try recreating this dish at home because the black bean paste needed to be fried in a lot of oil (to get rid of a bitter aftertaste). The paste has evolved with the times and now there are pre-fried CHOON-JANG products available.
If you haven’t already figured it, Korean cooking is very versatile and flexible in its possibilities for substitutions and adaptations.
The only fundamentals here are CHOON-JANG (The Paste), oil and onions. Knowing this, start planning what you would like to add, or just pick out whatever’s left in your crisper drawer😁 .
WHAT YOU NEED:
CHOON-JANG - Black Bean Paste
Oil
Soy Sauce
Options: Garlic, ginger, rice wine, oyster sauce..
Onions
Options: Cabbage, potatoes, carrots, zucchini...
Pork (originally pork)
Options: Beef, chicken, shrimp, squid…
What you do:
Put nearly equal amount of oil to the amount of The Paste you plan on using (Roughly eyeball a heaping tablespoon of CHOON-JANG per person).
Don’t be scared of the amount of oil. This is an oily dish.
Add pork until almost fully cooked.
Add onions.
Add soy sauce (This is for layering flavors, just splash some in and feel good about it).
Cook down onions. Or undercook them a little if you like some crunch.
It’s time! Add CHOON-JANG. Smother all other ingredients.
Cook and stir and watch it become a thick, black sauce that smells divine.
Done.
Top on hot rice or jjajangmyun noodles. Ramen or udon noodles will do in a pinch.
Notes:
When you go to a Korean restaurant that serves JJA-JANG-MYUN, you may have noticed that there is:
JJA-JANG-MYUN
GAN-JJA-JANG for a dollar or two more.
Then you read the description that seems identical and figured why pay more, and order the regular JJA-JANG-MYUN. Many Koreans don’t know the difference either.
JJA-JANG-MYUN is a watered down version (thickened with starch) and is cooked at the beginning of the day in a big pot that is simmered and served from all day. You will find the ingredients inside will be very soft in consistency.
GAN-JJAJANG is cooked when you place your order. There is no starch added and because all the ingredients are cooked right then, you may find the veggies inside have more bite. Some people report that they find this tastes stronger and deeper.
There are no fillers here, but if suddenly a whole bunch of friends drop by unexpectedly, you can add some water. Add starch (mixed with water) to thicken again and quickly multiply the sauce for the masses.
You will find most Asian noodles call for rinsing immediately after cooking. It stops the cooking process. Also, this removes any remaining starch and keeps them from sticking together in a gummy mess.
If you do the pasta hack here, make sure to rinse as well because you want to wash off the baking soda taste.
It’s a quick rinse, don’t go giving it a therapeutic bath and you’ll find it won’t cool down significantly. The hot sauce does the job of re-heating it.
This dish can be completely vegetarian 😊. Cabbage is the second most-added veg.
BONUS:
If you didn’t grab some jja-jang-myun noodles, have no ramen or udon noodles either (Try the fresh ones from the freezer by the way). Following is a great hack when all you’ve got is some spaghetti pasta on hand.
Boil pasta in water with baking soda.
Boom. You’re welcome.
The ratio is roughly 1 Tbsp per Liter. But am I going to start measuring pasta boiling water? No, thank you. Just eyeball the amount of pasta you’re putting in, and put a heaping tablespoon or a little less.
If you put too much, you may taste some bitterness, but you will be rinsing the noodles and then topping with saucy sauce so, it’s pretty fool-proof.
It hits the sweet spot when you get a craving for black bean noodles that just wouldn’t be satisfied with black bean pasta, ya know?
Try it. Try it now. Tell me how it was. Send pictures.
