Jjajangmyeon

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 packs of Japanese noodles (Udon, the thick ones)
• 2 small onions or 1 large onion
• 1 zucchini
• 2 potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 300 g pork belly or neck
• 2 tbsp seasoning paste (black bean paste – Chunjang, heaped tbsp)
• 2 tbsp potato starch
• some water to mix
• n. B. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 5 small mushrooms
• 200 ml beef or pork broth
• 200 ml water
• Cucumber(s) for garnishing

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Noodles with black bean sauce, also called Jajangmyeon

Cut the onion into eighths and separate the pieces. Cut the zucchini and mushrooms into small cubes, and cut the potato (peeled if desired) and pork belly into 1-2 cm cubes. Finely chop or press the garlic and mix the potato starch with a little water. Prepare the noodles according to the package instructions. Fry the pork belly with a little oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat for 4-5 minutes until crispy and brown. If desired, you can absorb the pork fat with a kitchen towel. Now add the potatoes, zucchini, onion, and mushrooms and stir well for about 2 minutes while still on high heat. Push the meat and vegetables to the edge, leaving a free space in the middle. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to this space, wait a moment until it is hot, and then add the black bean paste. Stir-fry the paste for about 1 minute, then reduce the heat to low, then finally combine the vegetables and meat with the paste. Now add the stock and 100-200 ml of water, cover the wok, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through. Carefully stir in the starch water and continue stirring until you have a thick sauce. Divide the noodles into bowls, pour over plenty of sauce, garnish with cucumber if desired, and enjoy. Chunjang, or black bean paste, is very hard to find. Alternatively, you could use ready-made Chinese black bean sauce, but I’ve never tried it and don’t know how it affects the flavor. With the udong noodles, make sure you use the thick ones that are packaged in portions and not the thinner ones that are completely dried out. You can get them in almost any larger supermarket. Alternatively, regular Chinese egg noodles will also work.