Looking for a light and healthy meal? Why not try your hand on this famous Korean-Chinese dish instead?
This sweet and savoury noodle with black bean sauce is simple to make. Not only is it tasty, but it is significant to Koreans as it is usually consumed on celebrations like birthdays and graduations.
Ingredients:
- 12 oz of fresh udon noodles
- 4 oz of pork loin (use beef for a halal option)
- ½ teaspoon of ginger, grated
- 4 oz of cabbage, sliced
- ½ zucchini, sliced
- One large onion, chopped
- Five tablespoons of Korean black bean paste (chunjang or jjajang)
- One tbsp of sugar
- One tbsp of oyster sauce
- Two tbsp of vegetable oil
- One tbsp of mirin or white wine (use vinegar for halal option)
- 1 cup of chicken stock
- One tbsp of corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation Method:
- Cut the pork into ½ inch cubes and marinate it with rice wine/mirin/vinegar, ginger and salt and pepper. Let it marinate for an hour.
- Do the same if you are using beef (for a halal option).
- Under medium heat, add in the black bean paste (jjajang or chunjang) along with oyster sauce and stir for about 2 minutes and set aside. If you are using roasted jjajang, you can skip this step.
- Heat olive oil in a pan and add the pork. Stir fry until the meat is almost cooked then add in the cabbage, zucchini and onion. Continue to stir fry until the vegetables are slightly wilted to indicate that it is cooked.
- Add black bean paste to the mixture and stir until all the ingredients are coated in the black bean sauce.
- Pour the chicken stock to the pan and let it simmer for about 4 minutes.
- Add sugar and the corn starch paste to thicken the sauce and mix well.
- While the mixture is simmering, prepare your noodle accordingly. The best way to prepare is by soaking it in boiling water for about 1-2 minutes. Make sure you don’t overcook the noodles. To ensure noodle is cooked just right, it should still hold a firm texture when it is drained.
- To serve, add a generous amount of noodle to individual bowls and top with the black bean sauce. You can garnish with sesame seed and seaweed or serve it as it is.
- Enjoy your Jajjangmyun!