Easy Jajangmyeon (Korean noodles in black bean sauce) recipe!
Have you ever tried Korean black bean sauce noodles (Jajangmyeon, 자장면 or Jjajangmyeon, 짜장면) before?
What is Jajangmyeon
It is a popular noodle dish served with black bean sauce, which consists of chunjang (춘장, a salty black soybean paste), diced pork (or other kinds of meat) and vegetables. You can find it easily at a Korean Chinese restaurant.
While there are many theories about when it was first introduced to Korea, officially the first known Jajangmyeon is from a restaurant called Gonghwachun (공화춘) in Chinatown of Incheon, Korea back in 1905. It was introduced by Chinese merchants but the flavor evolved to suit Korean’s taste buds over time.
It is a very common and easily accessible dish now. But when I was a child I only ate this on special occasions such as school carnival day or school entrance and graduation ceremony day. So you’ll understand how special this Jajangmyeon is to me and also to most Koreans.
What is Korean Black Day
On a side note, Korean black day (블랙데이) is also approaching.
Korean black day (14th April) is a special day where single people who didn’t get any gifts/presents on Valentine’s day (14th February) and White day (14th March) get together and have these Korean black bean sauce noodles (Jajangmyeon) and commiserate with each other.
So here is a good excuse for making this delicious noodle dish and giving you an opportunity to participate in this Korean food culture! 😉
Anyway, I hope you get to try my recipe soon!
Watch How to make Jajangmyeon (video tutorial)
Ingredients for Jajangmyeon, 6 servings
Main
- 1kg (35 ounces), fresh jajangmyeon noodles (Or you can use fresh udon or ramen noodles)
- 1 large onion (150g / 5.3 ounces)
- 1 medium zucchini (110g / 3.9 ounces)
- 2 large potatoes (470g / 1 pound)
- 7 large button mushrooms (240g / 0.5 pounds)
- 1/4 small cabbage (160g / 5.6 ounces)
- 600g / 1.3 pounds diced pork
Pork marinade sauce
- 1 Tbsp rice wine (mirin)
- 5 sprinkles ground salt
- 5 sprinkles ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
Korean black bean sauce
- 6 Tbsp Korean black bean paste (Chunjang, 춘장)
- 90g / 3.2 ounces lard (or 6 Tbsp cooking oil – e.g. rice bran oil)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 4 Tbsp rice wine (or mirin)
- 1 cup chicken stock (as natural as possible)
- 1 cup water
- Slurry (potato starch 5 Tbsp + water 4 Tbsp)
Toppings
- 1 large cucumber (150g / 5.3 ounces)
- Peas or sweet corn (from a tin, alternative)
- Hard boiled egg (alternative)
*1 Tbsp = 15ml, 1 Cup = 250ml
**If you want to learn more about Korean ingredients, check my Essential Korean Cooking Ingredients list!
Preparations
1. Rinse the pork in cold water and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Add the pork marinade sauce onto the pork. Mix them well and leave it for 15 mins. 2. Cut the onion, zucchini, and potato into small cubes. 3. Thin slice the mushrooms.
4. Cut the cabbage into small to medium size pieces. 5. Julienne cut the cucumber.
How to Make Jajangmyeon
1. Pre heat the wok until the bottom is heated well. Add the lard (or cooking oil) and melt it in the wok. Add the black bean paste and stir it constantly on medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. (Try not to burn it.) Add the brown sugar and stir it for an additional 2 to 3 mins. 2. Scoop out the black bean paste (without the oil) and set it aside. Leave the oil in the wok to use in the next step. 3. Add the pork into the wok and stir until the pork is half cooked. 4. Add the onion, zucchini, and potato and stir until all are 1/3 cooked (for 3 to 5 mins). 5. Add the mushrooms and cabbages and stir for 2-3 mins. 6. Add the black bean paste (from step 2) into the wok and mix it in with vegetables. Stir for 1 to 2 mins. 7. Add the chicken stock, water and rice wine then simmer it for 5 to 7 mins on medium heat. (Cover the wok with a lid if possible. This will make the cooking process faster.) 8. Add the slurry into the wok then stir it. (This will thicken the black sauce. It is the final stage of making the black bean sauce.) 9. (While working on step 7) Boil some water in a pot and add the noodles when it starts to boil. Boil them until the noodles are cooked (for 3 to 5 mins). 10. Rinse the noodles in cold water and drain. Put them into a serving bowl/plate. 11. Add the black bean sauce (from the step 8) on top of the noodles. You can serve it as it is or decorate it with some cucumber slices, green peas or sweet corn or hardboiled egg. 12.Mix the sauce and the noodles well with chopsticks. Dig in. (It is ideal to have them with some (yellow) pickled radish. Apparently, it helps digestion. Also, eat it up quickly before the noodles get swollen.)
Note
- (Update August 26, 2015) I tried using lard instead of cooking oil for the first time and I am really liking the result it gives. It gives a much deeper flavour. I know I might be biased, but it tastes as good as a restaurant version. 😉
- The black bean sauce can last for 2 to 3 days in the fridge if you have leftover sauce. Use an air tight container, preferably made with glass or BPA-free material to store.
- You can also have this black bean sauce with rice instead of with noodles. In that case, it will be called Jajangbap (자장밥).
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Korean Black Bean Sauce Noodles (Jajangmyeon)
Ingredients
Main
- 1 kg fresh jajangmyeon noodles (Or you can use udon noodles or Kalguksu noodles) (35 ounces)
- 1 large onion (150g / 5.3 ounces)
- 1 medium zucchini (110g / 3.9 ounces)
- 2 large potatoes (470g / 1 pound)
- 7 large button mushrooms (240g / 0.5 pounds)
- 1/4 small cabbage (160g / 5.6 ounces)
- 600 g diced pork (1.3 pounds)
Pork marinade sauce
- 1 Tbsp rice wine (or mirin)
- 5 sprinkles ground salt
- 5 sprinkles ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
Korean black bean sauce
- 6 Tbsp Korean black bean paste (Chunjang)
- 90 g Lard (or 6 Tbsp cooking oil – e.g. rice bran oil)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 4 Tbsp rice wine (or mirin)
- 1 cup chicken stock (as pure and natural as possible)
- 1 cup water
- slurry (potato starch 5 Tbsp + water 4 Tbsp)
Toppings
- 1 large cucumber (150g / 5.3 ounces)
- Peas or sweet corn (from a tin, optional)
- Hard boiled egg (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse the pork in cold water and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Add the pork marinade sauce onto the pork. Mix them well and leave it for 15 mins.
- Cut the onion, zucchini and potato into small cubes.
- Thin slice the mushrooms.
- Cut the cabbage into small to medium size pieces.
- Julienne cut the cucumber.
Cooking
- Pre heat the wok until the bottom is heated well. Add the lard (or cooking oil) and melts it in the wok. Add the black bean paste and stir it constantly on medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. (Try not to burn it.) Add the brown sugar and stir it for an additional 2 to 3 mins.
- Scoop out the black bean paste (without the oil) and set it aside. Leave the oil in the wok to use in the next step.
- Add the pork into the wok and stir until the pork is half cooked.
- Add the onion, zucchini, and potato and stir until all are 1/3 cooked (for 3 to 5 mins).
- Add the mushrooms and cabbages and stir for 2-3 mins.
- Add the black bean paste (from step 2) into the wok and mix it in with vegetables. Stir for 1 to 2 mins.
- Add the chicken stock, water and rice wine then simmer it for 5 to 7 mins on medium heat. (Cover the wok with a lid if possible. This will make the cooking process faster.)
- Add the slurry into the wok then stir it. (This will thicken the black sauce. It is the final stage of making the black bean sauce.)
- (While working on step 7) Boil some water in a pot and add the noodles when it starts to boil. Boil them until the noodles are cooked (for 3 to 5 mins).
- Rinse the noodles in cold water and drain. Put them into a serving bowl/plate.
- Add the black bean sauce (from the step 8) on top of the noodles. You can serve it as it is or decorate it with some cucumber slices, green peas or sweet corn or hardboiled egg.
- Mix the sauce and the noodles well with chopsticks. Dig in. (It is ideal to have them with some (yellow) pickled radish. Apparently it helps digestion. Also eat it up quickly before the noodles get swollen.)
Notes
Nutrition Info (per serving)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Absolutely delicious!!! I’ve wanted to try this ever since watching Wok of Love! Will definitely make this again.
Hi Sue I was just watching wok of love and thought I would like to try jajangmyeon as I didn’t get to try it when we visited South Korea recently and up popped your recipe. Anyway could you tell me if you mean butter or margarine when you mention Lard. ?
Actually, I was indeed referring to LARD, not to be mistaken for butter or margarine. You can usually find it near the butter and margarine section in a grocery store.
Lard is a unique type of fat that comes specifically from a pig. One of lard’s standout qualities is its high smoke point, which makes it the perfect choice for frying and sautéing.
Would baby choy/choy sum be okay substitutes for the cabbage? I am growing these but not cabbage this year in my garden. Thank you for the recipe!
Yes, you can use it. I hope it turns out well.
Hi! I just made this awesome recipe with Lee Kum Kee black bean Garlic Sauce, I used olive oil instead of lard, and used chicken breast. At first I thought the garlic would be to much but the result is fantastic. I didn’t have the right noodles so I used Korean ramen noodles, it was so yummy, I really enjoyed it! Thank you for charing awesome recipes, 감사합니다!
This is so far my favorite recipe I’ve made so far from online. I’ve made it twice but as I was the only one that is addicted to it at the time my oldest son is starting to enjoy this dish. I guess it’s time to go back to the store and whip up some. This recipe helped satisfy my inner Korean soul when I couldn’t find a restaurant that had it. Thank you!
Hi – I have a question please. So I’m obsessed with watching the KOREAN MUKBANG shows on Facebook. I’ve seen one couple use a black powder to create the black bean sauce instead of using chujang paste. What is the name of the dark black powder please? Do you think I could buy at an Asian supermarket? Thank you💐
Sorry, I didn’t see your question earlier.
It’s called ‘자장가루’ (jajang-garu). I’m not sure if it would be available at a generic Asian grocer, but a Korean grocer should have it.
I personally prefer chunjang paste, as it brings out more depth of flavor.
Do you know of a way to make a gluten free version of the receipe, i.e which noodles and gf Chunjang I could substitute? I would love to be able to try your receipe.
I’m not sure if GF chunjang exists in the market. As for the noodles, some shops sell GF udon noodles, so you can use them. I’ve also seen some people using GF spagetti. I hope this helps.
What can I do to make it spicy? I know this sounds terrible, but I love the Paldo spicy instant ramen version for the heat, but I want the fresh veggies and noodles.
You can add a bit of Korean chili flakes (gochugaru) when you make the sauce.
Can you freeze the sauce?
Yes, I suggest you freeze it in smaller portions.
Hi Sue! I moved to the US almost six years ago and I find myself missing jajangmyeon more than any other food (the places around me just don’t taste the same)! I was always intimidated by needing to fry the 춘장 so I put off trying to make it, but this recipe was so easy and tasted great! Thank you for sharing.
I’m so pleased to hear that! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Hi Sue, if using beef, do I need to marinate it as well?
I would still use it, but maybe not as much ginger powder. 🙂