Jjajangmyeon
Glossy black bean sauce, pork belly, onion and thick wheat noodles.
Maui's an app that plans a whole week of dinners like this one. See how it works ↓
FRY THE CHUNJANG SEPARATELY before adding anything else. Raw chunjang is bitter and flat - the 2-min oil fry blooms the flavor and is the line between restaurant jjajang and home jjajang.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 4 servings.
- 10 ozpork bellycut into 1/2-inch dice
- ⅓ cupchunjang (Korean black bean paste)
- 1 largeyellow onion1/2-inch dice
- 1 mediumzucchini1/2-inch dice
- 1 mediumyukon gold potato1/2-inch dice
- 2 cupsgreen cabbage1-inch pieces
- 3garlic clovesminced
- 1 tspfresh gingergrated
- 3 tbspneutral oil
- 1 tbspsugar
- 1 tbspsoy sauce
- 1 tbspcornstarchwhisked with 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsptoasted sesame oilto finish
- 1½ lbfresh wheat udon-style noodles
- ½english cucumberjulienned (garnish)
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 1272calories
- 37gprotein
- 151gcarbs
- 58gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Dice pork belly and onion and zucchini and potato. Cut cabbage. Mince garlic, grate ginger.
- Julienne cucumber for garnish.
- Whisk cornstarch slurry.
Fry chunjang
Heat neutral oil in skillet over medium. Add chunjang; fry STIRRING CONSTANTLY 2-3 min - chunjang must be cooked to remove raw bitterness. Scoop into a bowl and set aside.
3 min · hands onRender pork
In the same skillet, add diced pork belly. Render over medium-high 4-5 min until fat liquid and edges golden.
5 min · hands onSaute vegetables
Add onion and garlic and ginger; sauté 2 min. Add potato; sauté 3 min. Add zucchini and cabbage; sauté 2 min - vegetables should still be firm.
7 min · hands onBuild sauce
Return fried chunjang to the pan. Add 1.5 cups water and sugar and soy sauce. Bring to simmer; cook 8-10 min until potato is tender and sauce reduces slightly.
9 min · hands offThicken and boil noodles
Stir cornstarch slurry into the sauce; simmer 1 min until glossy and thick. Drizzle in sesame oil. SIMULTANEOUSLY: bring large pot of water to boil and cook noodles per package (~5 min); drain.
5 min · hands onPlate
Divide noodles into 4 bowls. Ladle black bean sauce over the top - DON'T mix; let each diner stir at the table. Garnish with julienned cucumber.
2 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Dice chicken thigh; cook 4 min in 1 tbsp neutral oil instead of rendering pork (halal-friendly alternative - pair with halal_caveats: confirm chunjang has no alcohol). Saves about 3 minutes.
Add peeled shrimp in last 3 min (adds shellfish allergen). Saves about 5 minutes.
Press and dice 12 oz extra-firm tofu, sear 4 min first.
What keeps
The black bean sauce keeps 4 days fridge - meal-prep gold. Cook noodles fresh per bowl; they get gummy stored.
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