Super Easy Korean Style Black Beans 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.

KONG JABAN (KOREAN SWEET BLACK BEANS)

Steps:

• Soak the beans in enough water to cover them by 3 inches in a covered container in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.
• Drain the beans, put them in a pot, and add the dashi or water and soy sauce. Set over medium-high heat and bring the liquid to a simmer. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring the beans on a regular basis. The level of liquid will reduce as the beans cook; once it gets to the point where it does not completely cover the beans, you will need to stir more often to ensure that the beans cook evenly. After an hour, the beans should be tender but still retain a little bite. If they are still hard, add more dashi or water and cook for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until the beans are tender with a little bite.
• Add the sugar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds to the pot and mix well. (It's important to wait to add the sugar until the beans are tender, as adding it in the beginning will cause the beans to harden when refrigerated.) Let the beans cool slightly, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until chilled. (The beans will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.)
• Serve the beans cold with hot rice.

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.)

SUPER EASY KOREAN STYLE BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• 1. Soak the black beans in water overnight or use the quick soak method. Drain the beans.
• 2. Place the drained beans in a crock pot and then fill the crock pot with water until 2/3 full.
• 3. Stir in most of the soy sauce (reserving approximately 2 tablespoons for garnish), sugar or honey, garlic clove(s) and 1/2 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil.
• 4. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-10 hours and cook beans until tender. Usually what I do is start the crock pot on HIGH for about 3 hours then reduce to LOW for another 5-6 hours.
• 5. Transfer the cooked beans to a serving bowl. Pour some of the cooking liquid into the beans (about 1/4 cup or so.)
• 6. To serve: Taste and add a little more toasted sesame oil-up to 2 tablespoons (but be careful because toasted sesame oil has a very pronounced flavor and its flavor can quickly overpower!) Garnish with the green onions, fresh cilantro, sesame seeds and gochujang sauce.

JAJANGMYEON (VEGETARIAN KOREAN BLACK BEAN NOODLES)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a wok over medium heat. Add garlic, carrot, and potato. Stir and add salt and pepper. Cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add zucchini and onion; stir.
• Combine cornstarch and water together in a bowl until fully mixed.
• Add water, black bean paste, and sugar to the wok and stir. Add starch mixture to wok slowly while stirring; cook until sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook noodles in boiling water, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender yet firm to the bite, about 3 minutes. Drain.
• Serve noodles in a large pasta bowl and add black bean mixture on top. Mix well.