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01/21/2008: "Jja Jang Myun"

Here I am, sitting here on a beautiful Monday morning at home. Aren't holidays great? I enrolled an in graduate course this semester, but I hope that won't hinder my ability to post in this blog! I think the next 3 weeks or so, I will be experimenting with different recipes...which I will definitely post here! But let me share with you a dish I made a few months ago, Jja Jang Myun! When I used to watch Korean dramas, I would salivate at the sight of the characters eating these beautiful black bean sauce noodles. A wonderful lady by the name of Maangchi has a great series of Korean cooking videos up on youtube. Please visit Maangchi at her website, she has great tutorials up for some great classic Korean favorites. Highly recommended! So let me share my version of her recipe:

Shot of the finished product! Comfort food at its best!
Click for recipe and more pictures.

Jja Jang Myun - Maangchi

Jja Jang Noodles
2 T Black Bean Paste
200 g Pork, cubed
1 t Sugar

Vegetables (all cut into small cubes):
1/2 C Radish
1/2 C Zucchini
1 C Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes
1 Large Onion

Potato Starch Powder
Olive Oil
Sesame Oil
Cucumber (Optional, shredded)

Add olive oil into hot pan and fry up the pork, cook until pork is very crispy. Drain any excess grease. After draining, add pork back in pan. Add a bit more of olive oil and add the radish and potatoes. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, then add the zucchini and onions. Stir-fry for about a minute more and add water, just enough to submerge all the contents.

This is a good time to prepare the noodles, so it can remain fresh and not get sticky as it waits to be mixed into the sauce. Prepare the noodles al dente.

The next step for me is optional. In her video, she tells you to heat up some oil in a pan to heat up the black bean sauce. I've tried the recipe with that step and without and didn't find a different in taste.

Add the black bean sauce to the vegetable mixture, mix it together. Mix the potato starch with water, as with all starches, it should be a 2-1 part mixture. I use 2 tablespoons of potato starch and 1 tablespoon of water, add this mixture into the sauce to thicken it. Let it simmer until thick and add a few drops of sesame oil before serving. Serve the sauce over the noodles and garnish with cucumber shreds if you wish. Enjoy!




Here are the noodles, I love jja jang noodles. They are wonderfully thick and chewy...


Here are the ingredients, ready to cook! Cubing takes time...by the way! I didn't use potatoes this time...I enjoy a saucier sauce...so I tried to add less cubes.


Radish (daikon)...


Onions


This is the time to get the non-lean pork, it works really well with the noodles.


Zucchini


Here is the pork; fried, drained and ready for the sauce...


Vegetables sizzling...


Vegetables with the pork. Oops...looks like I heated up the vegetables by themselves and then re-added the pork afterwards. Whichever way works best for you is okay!


Of course I do noodle shots while I cook! Who doesn't?


Here's the sauce in progress...


Close-up of the jja jang sauce...


Noodles shot!


If you look in the corner of the bowl, you see some kimchee. I love some crisp kimchee with my jja jang myun.

Replies: 8 Comments

on Monday, February 18th, jenny said

Thank you Maangchi for such a wonderful comment. I love your tutorials and will continue to be a fan!

on Monday, February 18th, Maangchi said

Hi, Thank you for using my recipe. Your jja jaang myun looks better than mine! : )

on Sunday, February 3rd, jenny said

Hi Shakasherry!

The way I pick pork is pretty sad...well for this dish anyway! I always look for the fattiest one...that is also a very good price. Hahaha...so I don't really look for a particular cut. Easy enough right?

Hey Kat!

Thanks! I think it tastes like it too! I've tried the instant kind...and it doesn't match up! I hope you're enjoying your visit back to Hawaii!

on Thursday, January 31st, kat said

looks just like the noodles from the k-dramas, way to go!

on Tuesday, January 29th, shakasherry said

what kind of pork did you use? this looks amazing. I am very tempted to try this.

on Thursday, January 24th, jenny said

Nate - It is indeed rich, but not as rich as it may look. I forgot to mention that I actually probably add way more than 2 spoons of that black bean sauce.

Jocelyn - The noodles were bought from Palama Supermarket. I actually found them in the frozen section by all the mandoo...there is a noodle section! The package says jja jang in Korean on it...but also has a picture of this dish. I hope you find it!

on Tuesday, January 22nd, jocelyn said

looks yummy! where do you buy the noodles from?

on Tuesday, January 22nd, Nate said

Woooo, looks rich!