It is a well-known noodle dish served with black bean sauce, which is made of diced pork (or other types of meat), vegetables, and the salty black soybean paste known as chunjang. You can find it easily at a Korean Chinese restaurant.
Although there are many theories regarding when it was first introduced to Korea, the first Jajangmyeon that is formally recognized came from a restaurant called Gonghwachun () in Incheon, Korea’s Chinatown, back in 1905. Chinese traders brought it over, but over time the flavor changed to suit Korean palates.
It is a very common and easily accessible dish now. However, I used to save this for special events like school carnival days or days of the entrance and graduation ceremonies. You’ll see how special this Jajangmyeon is to me and to most Koreans as a result.
On Korean Black Day (14 April), single people who didn’t receive any gifts or presents on Valentine’s Day (14 February) or White Day (14 March), get together, eat these noodles with a black bean sauce, and commiserate with one another.
So now you have a justification for preparing this delicious noodle dish and a chance to partake in Korean cuisine!
Types of Korean black bean noodles
When there is no other word before it, the term “Jjajangmeyon” () simply denotes “regular jajangmyeon,” which is also known as “yetnal jajangmyeon” (yetnal meaning “from the past” or “traditional”). For this kind, the sauce is thickened by adding starch slurry, water, or stock. The resulting sauce is liquidy.
The dish is prepared without the use of any water, stock, or sauce thickener. Ganjjajangmyeon The sauce is consequently dry and contains more solid ingredients per serving.
Samseon jjajangmyeon (): Samseon is a Korean-Chinese term that refers to a dish that features a variety of seafoods. Samseon is a fresh delicacy from three sources: the land, the sea, and the sky. There’s usually samseon ganjjajangmyeon (삼선간짜장면) on the menu as well.
Euni jjajangmyeon (유니짜장면): Jajangmyeon made with ground meat.
Jaengban jjajang (): A large platter of the stir-fried noodles and sauce is meant to be shared.
This recipe calls for regular jajangmyeon, but I used less liquid than usual. You can add more stock or water to your sauce to make it more saucy or liquidy.
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I recommend my second book, Maangchis Big Book of Korean Cooking, because it contains the most recipes, but my first book also contains recipes for all the necessary pastes and sauces used in Korean cuisine.
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Where can I buy Korean-style black bean paste?
It should be available at the local Asian market. Search for it in your sauce aisle. It should look something like the below. Additionally, if you’re wondering if you can just use black beans, the results will not be the same, regrettably. You will need this ingredient to make this dish.
