We previously talked about the versatility of Shanghai Noodles and the many dishes it can be used in. One of the dishes that we listed out was one called Jajangmyeon and we've had some questions about what it is and how we can make it for ourselves. Let's take a closer look at this dish together!

Jajangmyeon is a traditional Korean-Chinese dish where a dark thick sauce is layered on top of a bed of noodles. The sauce contains vegetables and pork (we like to use pork belly) that's cooked until they're nice and soft and then mixed in with the sauce that's made with bean paste. Though there are a lot of ingredients and preparation to Jajangmyeon, the dish is actually quite easy to make.

Jajangmyeon is traditionally made with a wok, but a medium to large pan will be just fine. As you cook the pork belly, keep in mind that since pork belly gives off a lot of oil, there can be a lot of splattering and the pork belly pieces could even pop! The vegetables will eventually be simmered in water so that they become nice and soft (so your wok or pan will need a lid).

The sauce that we'll be using is a black bean paste. The one that we used is called Wang Korea Black Bean Paste. You can buy a jar of this for a few dollars at a Korean grocery store or a grocery store that sells oriental or Korean goods. Please be aware that this paste is extremely salty and you'll notice that the recipe doesn't call for salt because the paste is concentrated enough to cover the entire dish. The paste itself is also fairly sticky, but you'll find that it dissolves well in water, especially when it's being cooked.

While the sauce can be served with rice or plain noodles like our Shanghai Noodles, we find that it works especially well with our Spinach Noodles. Our Spinach Noodles come in the same width as our Shanghai Noodles, but the dough has been completely tossed with spinach, which makes the noodles green! You can learn more about our Spinach Noodles here.

Come visit our store at Typical Noodles in Richmond today and pick up a pack of our noodles and try out the Jajangmyeon recipe for yourself!

Full recipe below.

Ingredients

1 pack of Typical Noodles Spinach or Shanghai Noodles (thin)
1/2 pound of pork belly, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 2 or 3 pieces)
1 cup of radish, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (preferably Korean radish, but not necessary)
1 cup of zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup of potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1-1/2 cups of onion, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons of oil
1/4 cup of black bean paste
Water

Jajangmyeon Recipe

Serves: About 2 or 3
Time: 30 minutes including preparation

1. At medium to high heat, stir fry the pork belly in a large pan (you will need a lid) with a little bit of oil for about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and starting to crisp.

2. On the side, start boiling water in a medium to large pot.

3. Safely pour out the excess oil that the pork belly gives off.

4. Add the radish and stir fry for 1 minute.

5. Add the zucchini, potato and onion. Keep stirring it around the pan so that it doesn't stick for about 3 minutes.

6. When the potato starts to look a bit translucent, push everything off to the edges of the pan and add roughly 2 tablespoons of oil to the center of the pan.

7. Add the 1/4 cup of the black bean paste and use a wooden spoon to stir it around to fry it up for about 1 minute.

8. Mix everything together.

9. Add 2 cups of water to the pan and close the lid and let it simmer and cook for about 10 minutes at medium to high heat.

10. At this point, place the frozen noodles into the boiling pot of water to cook the noodles for 5 minutes. Strain it and place the noodles onto a large serving plate.

11. Open the lid and taste the radish and potato to see if they're soft. By now, the sauce should have thickened. If not, keep cooking it in the pan until the sauce thickens.

12. If the sauce is still too watery, you can use a mixture of corn starch (2 tablespoons) and water (1/4 cup) to thicken it.

13. Pour all of the contents in the pan over the noodles on the serving plate.