Making Korean Black Bean Noodles with Grandma! (Jajangmyeon 짜장면)

Grandma and I may have almost been kicked out of the Korean grocery store, but hey… WE GET IT DONE FOR YOU GUYS! This Korean noodle dish came to be by the influence of the Chinese. According to Grandma, Chinese people immigrating to Korea by way of boat into Incheon brought with them a delicious black bean paste. The Chinese used the paste to make noodles, the Koreans dug it, and BOOM now we have Jajangmyeon. I grew up eating this stuff. I hope you like it. COOK ON! 🤘🏻Adam

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Korean Black Bean Noodles aka "Jajangmyeon" (짜장면)

IngredientsUSMetric

Grandma’s Jajangmyeon

• ¼ cup Neutral Oil
• 3 Scallions, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1/2 pound Pork Neck or Shoulder, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup Korean Black Bean Paste
• 2 Onions, roughly diced
• 1 Zucchini, roughly diced
• 1/2 Cabbage, roughly diced
• 1 cup of Water, divided
• 2 Tbsp Potato Starch
• 1 Tbsp Black Pepper, ground
• 1 pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Kosher Salt, to taste

To serve

• Jajangmyeon Noodles or White Rice
• Korean Yellow Pickled Radish, cut into rounds
• Cucumber, sliced thin
• White Onion, roughly diced

Instructions

1. Over high heat, add the neutral oil to the pan and stir fry the scallions for 1 minutes then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Add the pork chunks and cook for a couple more minutes until lightly browned.
2. Push the scallion pork mixture to one side of the pan and add in the black bean paste, stirring the paste alone until the sauce loosens and begins to simmer, 2 minutes or so. Mix the sauce into the rest of the ingredients. Add the onion, zucchini and cabbage and continue stirring until the vegetables cook down and the entire mixture is black from the paste. Add in a cup of water and simmer the mixture until the liquid on the bottom of the pot reduces by half.
3. Stir in the shrimp, then mix together the 2 tablespoons of potato starch with 2 tablespoons of cold water to create a “slurry.” Pour the slurry over the mixture and stir everything together. Cook for a few more minutes, the mixture will begin to thicken and bubble. Continue cooking for 10 or so more minutes. If the mixture looks dry, add a bit more water. It should be shiny, black and viscous. Adjust seasoning with salt, or add more black bean paste if you think it needs it. Serve over noodles or white rice, top with cucumber and eat alongside onion and Korean pickled radish.

Adam's Notes

• “Jajangmyeon” is the black bean sauce served over noodles while “Jajangbap” is served over rice. Myeon = noodles, Bap = Rice. Make Jajang Bap simply by serving the sauce over rice instead or noodles.
• Grandma cooks from the heart and doesn’t measure a single thing. When she cooks the same dish can vary slightly depending on the day. The recipe above is my written interpretation of how she made us Jajangmyeon from the video.
• You can let the sauce simmer longer if you cover it. Doing so will help the flavor develop more, but in a pinch a 10-15 minute simmer once the sauce is completed will do just fine.

Stuff that I Use:

Korean Black Bean Paste

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