Jjajangmyeon Food

JAJANGMYEON (NOODLES IN A BLACK BEAN SAUCE)

Steps:

• Have a pot of water ready to cook the noodles. Turn the heat on when you start cooking the meat. This way you will have the boiling water ready, for cooking the noodles, by the time the sauce is done.
• Prepare the pork and vegetables by cutting them into 1/2 - 3/4 inch cubes. Marinate the pork with a tablespoon of rice wine (or mirin), ginger, salt and pepper while preparing the vegetables.
• Add the black bean paste to a small saucepan with the oil, sugar, and the optional oyster sauce. Fry it over medium heat for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Heat a large pan with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over medium high heat. Add the pork and stir fry until no longer pink, adding a tablespoon of soy sauce half way through.
• Add the onion and cook until soft, stirring occasionally.
• Add the cabbage and zucchini and continue to stir fry until vegetables are softened.
• Stir in the black bean paste and mix everything together until all the meat and vegetables are coated well with the paste.
• Mix everything together until all the meat and vegetables are coated well with the paste. If you like ganjjajang, you can stop here and skip the next two steps. See note.
• Pour in the stock (or water) and bring it to a boil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Stir in the starch slurry and cook briefly until the sauce is thickened. Add more sugar to taste.
• Add the noodles in the boiling water. Cook according to the package instructions and drain. Do not overcook. The noodles should have a firm bite to them (al dente). Place a serving size of noodles in each bowl. Spoon the sauce over the noodles and garnish with the optional cucumber matchsticks. Alternatively, you can serve over cooked rice.

JAJANGMYEON

Steps:

• Heat a wok or large sauté pan over high heat, and add the oil to it. When it shimmers and is about to smoke, add the pork belly and shoulder, and allow them to brown, stirring occasionally, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
• Turn the heat to medium-high, and add the ginger and garlic, and sauté until softened, approximately 1 to 2 minutes, then add the carrot, potato, onion and the diced zucchini, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add the black-bean paste to the pan, along with the sugar, a light sprinkle of salt and about 1 cup water. Stir to combine, then allow to cook until the sauce has thickened and the meat and vegetables have cooked through entirely, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, set a large pot filled with water over high heat to bring to a boil. Add the noodles, and cook until they are soft, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Reserve a cup of the noodle water, and then drain the noodles, rinsing them with cold water to bring them to room temperature. Set aside in a large serving bowl.
• Add a little of the reserved noodle water to the pork-and-black-bean sauce if it is too thick, then pour the sauce over the noodles. Garnish with the julienned zucchini and the pickled daikon.

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.