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.
