Cooking for One: Jjajang myun

jjajangmyun, 짜장면, aka black bean noodles has been one of the most popular delivery food for decades in South Korea, and it naturally took place as a nostalgic core memory for the Korean person all the way from the 80s til now. Since then there have been books, rap songs (anyone recognize the music in the video?), movie scenes about jjajangmyun as we continue to remember the good old days, and enjoy the dish that timelessly hits the spot.

Jjajangmyun is a Chinese-Korean dish that first was introduced by Chinese immigrants in Korea in the 1980s, and then was modified and popularized in the 1960s after an ingredient factory added caramel to sweeten the flavor. with the rise of wheat products (which was a byproduct of a political movement, story for another time), jjajangmyun took off as a national favorite and continues to be one to this day.

I used the Hmart-bought black bean sauce mix in this recipe. I was shocked at how good it was lol.. I've made this from scratch before, but did not taste as good as the mix. I'm gonna stick with the mix from now on.. also, imo these noodles taste better just with the onions rather than a variety of veggies in it. my only addition would be a bit of brown sugar to intensify the caramelized flavor. Enjoy. My slurp of nostalgia.)

[LINKS]]

type of noodles (any of these)

• Frozen udon noodles (the frozen ones taste better!) : https://tinyurl.com/4xx5yf2u

• dried jjajang noodles: https://tinyurl.com/79z22zsx

Jjajang powder mix: https://otgnewyork.com/products/ottog... (find in Hmart)

Ingredients

• handful of pork (any part really, i used thin sliced butt), cut up to bite size

• 1 medium sized onion, diced

• 1 scallion, chopped

• 1 tsp minced garlic

• 1 portion of noodles (link above)

• canola oil

• 1 tsp of brown sugar, or to taste

• 1 cup water

• 2 Tbsp jjajang powder mix

• cucumbers, sliced (for garnish)

1. chop the pork, onion, scallion, and mice garlic

2. boil noodles on the side as per instructions on package

3. stir fry scallion and garlic in 1 Tbsp of canola oil

4. add pork, then onions, stir fry until cooked

5. add 2 Tbsp Jjajang powder mix and 1 cup water

6. reduce until nice and thick

7. pour sauce over noodles

8. garnish with sliced cucumbers or 3 peas :)

[[VIDEO]]