Richelle Antipolo's Jajangmyeon

Jajangmyeon is a Korean-Chinese fusion dish featuring thick wheat noodles soaked in black bean sauce. Because the sauce is the key part of this dish, the ingredients and instructions are precise and split into three parts for this recipe. 

Richelle Antipolo's Jajangmyeon

Cook Korean Udon/Jajangmyeon noodles as instructed by the package. Set aside.

Part 1

Ingredients:

• 8-10 oz. of pork (pork shoulder, butt, belly or ground pork 
• 1-3 tablespoon of a neutral flavored oil (vegetable, canola, etc.) (the fattier the pork, the less oil you should use)
• 2 teaspoons of ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste (optional)  

Instructions:

1. Cut the pork into bitesize pieces.
2. Heat up the oil in medium heat and add the meat.
3. When the meat has turned slightly white, add the garlic, ginger and splash of soy sauce.
4. Slightly brown the meat before moving onto the next steps.

Part 2

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion (white or yellow), diced
• ½ cup of sliced green onions
• 1 zucchini, cubed
• 1-2 cups sliced mushrooms
  

Instructions:

1. Add the diced onions to the meat, cook until the onions start to become more translucent.
2. Add the green onions and zucchini.
3. When the zucchini starts to be tender add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes.

Pro Tip: Onion is absolutely a staple of this dish, but feel free to experiment with other vegetables as well. Cabbage and potatoes are also common vegetables used in jjajangmyeon. 

Part 3

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of Chunjang (KOREAN black bean paste)
• 3 tablespoons of neutral flavored cooking oil
• 1.5 tablespoons of sugar 
• 1 cup of water 
• 1 tablespoon of starch slurry (1 tablespoon of starch and 1 tablespoon of water, mixed)
• 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cook the black bean paste in oil.
2. After cooking the paste, add it to the meat and vegetables.
3. Once the paste has nicely coated all the meat veggies, add the sugar, oyster sauce and water.
4. Let the sauce come to a boil, if you feel like the sauce is too runny add the slurry. 
5. Once it’s at the desired consistency, remove from heat, plate then enjoy.

Garnish with a small, julienned cucumber. Peas, eggs and/or thinly sliced green onions may also be used, however cucumber is the most popular topping because its acidity cuts into the richness of the dish.