Cooking syrup = A type of corn syrup. I don’t know if it is significantly different from regular corn syrup as I found a bottle that said “Cooking Syrup” on it in a market. The label says specifically that it is [Corn Syrup “Brown Color” (YoRoJoChung)].

Refined rice wine = I’m not 100% sure on this. I used a Japanese product labelled as “Aji-Mirin: Sweet Cooking Rice Wine”. It seemed OK but admittedly I wouldn’t know if it was all wrong. As Anita mentioned above, she uses white balsamic vinegar, which is surely easier to find.

Noodles = The type of noodle is Kalguksu, as written here. I got something labelled as Kongguksu. I found it in a Korean market in the refrigerated food section, and they were soft, unlike pasta. Since her directions indicated only cooking for 3 minutes I think I was on the right track (though again, I can’t be sure). I’m sorry, but I have no idea what would work as a substitute if you can’t find them.

The bean paste = The stuff I got was called “Black Bean Paste” (no mention of soybeans but they are listed as a main ingredient). Luckily the brand I found had a picture of jajangmyun on it so that was that. There were actually several kinds so I ended up looking at the ingredients. The top three ingredients are wheat flour, soybeans, and water, if that means anything.

While it sounds like I messed up a lot of stuff it sure tasted right! Hope this helps.

Anyway, have you ever done a blog on just making sauces? My mother (a native born Korean) always did them well but she could never teach me how to get those wonderful thick brown sauces down well! I would love to see a post on any tips you have for just making general brown or chili sauces.

So i was wondering if it was okay for me to take out the cooking syrup? and would any noodle do okay for the recipe?

Thanks in advance!

Ingredients:
Chunjang: 3 tbsp (Haechandeul brand with a jajangmyun picture on the label of the rectangular plastic tub in the refrigerated section). Although I have not tried this, you can substitute black bean paste from a Chinese market if there is no Korean supermarket in the area.
Oil: 2 tbsp
Ground pork butt ¼ lb
1 medium onion: chopped
1 medium potato: cubed
Regular soy sauce: 1 tbsp
¼ cubed zucchini
Sugar: ½ tsp
Water for the sauce: 2 cups
Thickener: mix 2 tbsp water and 2 tbsp corn starch
Jajang noodles (Package with a picture of the jajangmyun noodles on the label in the refrigerated section): 2 bunches
Water for the noodles: enough to cover the noodles

Ground pork marinade:
Rice wine: 1.5 tsp
Vinegar: 1.5 tsp
Fresh ground pepper
Salt

Directions:
1. Saute oil and chunjang in low heat for 1 min
2. Set aside sautéed jajang sauce
3. Saute marinated pork in excess oil until lightly brown
4. Add potato and sauté for 2 minutes
5. Add onion and zucchini and sauté for 2 minutes
6. Add water, soy sauce, sugar and heat to a boil
7. Add sautéed jajang sauce
8. Reduce heat to simmer and add thickener until desired thickness of the sauce is reached
9. Bring water for the jajang noodle to a boil and drop in noodles
10. Cook noodles for about 3 minutes or until soft.
11. Remove and drain soft noodles into bowls
12. Combine sauce with cooked noodles

Enjoy.
If you prefer to eat out in Norther California, San Tung (Irving St.) in San Francisco and Koryo Jajang (Telegraph Avenue/45th St) in Oakland are good. Try it with the supremely delicious chicken wings at San Tung or Tang Su Yuk (lightly battered sweet and sour beef) at Koryo and you are set.