Black bean noodles

Ingredients  (for 4 servings):

• Noodles (special noodles, or “myeon” for jjajangmyeon), black
• bean paste (chunjang), pork belly, sugar, olive oil, potato
• starch powder, sesame oil, Korean radish (muwu), potato, zucchini,
• onion, and cucumber.

1) Cut ½ pound of pork belly into ½ inch (about 1cm)

cubes. Leave the skin on.

2) Add ½ tbs of olive oil to a heated wok. When it’s hot,

add the pork and stir fry until it looks crispy.

3) When the pork is well cooked and golden brown, drain

off the hot fat and set the wok aside.

4) Preheat a small skillet over medium heat with 1 tbs

of vegetable oil. When it’s hot add 6 or 7 tbs of black

bean paste and stir fry for 1 minute.

5) Remove the extra oil and set the black bean paste

aside.

6) Prepare the vegetables by cutting 1 cup’s worth of radish,

1 cup’s worth of potato, 1 cup’s worth of zucchini,

and 2 cups’ worth of onion into ½ inch cubes and place

them on a big plate or tray.

10

7) Over high heat, reheat the crispy pork that you set

aside in your wok. Add 1 tbs of olive oil.

8) Add radish and potato and sauté them for 2 minutes.

Then add zucchini and onion and sauté them for

another 2 minutes.

9) Add 3 cups of water, or enough until all the ingredients

are submerged. Close the lid and boil it for

15-20 minutes.

10) Open the lid and skim off any foam from the surface.

Add the fried black bean paste from the small skillet

and stir it all up.

*tip: to check if ingredients are cooked or not, try a

sample potato chunk. It should be cooked, not raw.

11) Mix 1-2 tbs potato starch powder (or corn starch) and

1 tbs water and add it into the boiling soup. Stir until

you have a sticky sauce. This is called jjajang sauce.

Now let’s cook the noodles (the myeon part of jjajangmyeon).

For 2 servings, you’ll need one bunch of noodles from the

package.

1) Boil water in a big pot, add the noodles and close the

lid. Cook for a few minutes, according to the directions

on the package (usually around 3 minutes).

2) Try one sample noodle to see if they’re done. The

sample should be soft and chewy in your mouth, and

not stiff at all. If it’s cooked, drain the noodles and

place them on a large plate or bowl.

3) Reheat the jjajang sauce and pour it over the noodles.

Garnish with cucumber strips and serve it with kimchi or yellow

pickled radish (danmuji). It should always be served hot, never

cold.