Jjajangmyeon Korean Noodles With Black Bean Sauce Food

KOREAN BLACK BEAN SAUCE NOODLES (JAJANGMYEON)

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.)

JJAJANGMYEON (KOREAN BLACK BEAN NOODLES) RECIPE

Steps:

• If Stir-Frying the Black Bean Sauce (see note): Add oil to a wok and heat over high heat until oil reaches 350°F (180°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Set the wok's spatula in the oil as it heats so that the spatula is heated as well; this will help prevent the black bean sauce from sticking to the spatula when it's added.
• Add black bean sauce and fry, stirring constantly, until black bean sauce begins to look just slightly curdled. Immediately transfer to a heatproof container, along with all the frying oil. It's better to err on the side of less frying if you're unsure, as over-fried black bean sauce will clump up and be difficult to work with later.
• To Make the Jjajangmyeon: In a small saucepan of simmering water, poach shrimp until just pink on the outside and still undercooked in the center, about 30 seconds. Drain. Shell shrimp and cut into 1/4-inch dice.
• In a clean wok, heat about 3 tablespoons (45ml) vegetable oil over high heat until smoking. (You can use some of the vegetable oil from the bean-frying step, if you stir-fried the beans.) Add pork belly and spread in an even layer. Allow to sear for 30 seconds, then begin stirring and tossing constantly until pork is browned all over, about 30 seconds longer. (If you're working over gas, you may get some flare-ups; they'll die down quickly and enhance the flavor of the stir-fry.)
• Add scallion, ginger, and about 3 tablespoons diced onion, then cook, stirring and tossing, until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add soy sauce, pouring it down the side of the wok to make it sizzle. Cook, stirring, for 10 seconds longer.
• Add potato and squid and cook, stirring and tossing constantly, until potato is about half cooked, about 3 minutes. Add remaining onion and cook, stirring and tossing, until onion has softened, about 1 minute. Working in 1-tablespoon (15ml) additions, add black bean sauce (without too much of the oil it was fried with), tossing to coat all the ingredients; exactly how much you add will depend on your taste, but your goal is a rich black bean character and very dark brown color throughout. (We ended up adding about 5 heaping tablespoons of the black bean sauce we used.)
• Add shrimp and toss to combine. Add oyster sauce and sugar and stir well to incorporate. Season with black pepper. Add water, 1 tablespoon (15ml) at a time, until the mixture has thinned enough to create a thick but flowing sauce. Continue cooking until potato is just cooked through; stir often and lower heat as needed to prevent scorching.
• Add more water as needed, roughly 1 tablespoon (15ml) at a time, to reach a saucy consistency; if sauce becomes too thin, add 1 teaspoon (5ml) potato-starch slurry and bring to a simmer to help thicken the liquid. Repeat this process, adjusting with small amounts of water and slurry as needed, until the sauce is glossy and thick but slowly pourable. Adjust seasoning with more oyster sauce or soy sauce as desired.
• Meanwhile, boil jjajangmyeon noodles following the manufacturer's instructions. Drain and portion into serving bowls. Spoon the jjajangmyeon sauce on top, garnish with cucumbers, peas, or scallions, and serve.

CHINESE BEEF AND ASPARAGUS WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare the asparagus by washing, breaking the stem at the "natural" break point and slice diagonally into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces.
• (OPTIONAL: Steam the asparagus pieces for 3-4 minutes.) Put aside.
• Combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl (soy sauce, ginger, sherry and cornstarch) then add the sliced meat. Mix well and let sit for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally if you wish.
• Head a wok or large frying pan, add the oil. When it is is just beginning to smoke, add the meat, laying each piece on one side in the pan, Do not turn but cook over high heat for a moment, until the one side begins to brown. Toss-stir the meat for a moment and remove from the pan, allowing the oil to drain back into the pan. You may want to do this in two batches to keep the meat sizzling.
• Heat the pan to hot again and add the garlic. Stir-fry for a minute then add the rinsed, chopped black beans and stirfry another bit. Add the asparagus, toss with the vegetables then add the other T of soy sauce and the pinches of sugar and salt. Stirfy until the asparagus is done to your liking (probably about 5 minutes if you didn't steam it first; less if you did).
• Add the meat and its drippings and the chicken broth. Stir to make a sauce, then serve.