Jjajangmeyon | Korean Black Bean Noodles
This is one of the most delicious yet easy recipes for jjajangmyeon—seriously!!
📺 Watch How to Make This Jjajangmyeon
And don’t forget—watching the cooking video first is always the best move before jumping into the kitchen. Like I always say, watching once is better than reading ten times!
❓ What’s Jjajangmyeon
Jjajangmyeon (also spelled jajangmyeon) is a Korean-Chinese noodle dish topped with a thick, savory-sweet black bean sauce made with chunjang (Korean black bean paste).
Unlike the original Chinese version, which is more salty than anything else, the Korean version is all about that perfect balance of sweet and savory.
The ingredients are super simple and it doesn’t take much time to prepare.
So I really hope you give it a try one day!
🛒 Ingredients You’ll Need
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 lb fatty pork shoulder or butt, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped (approximately 1 1/2 Tbs)
- 2 green onion, chopped (approximately 3 Tbs)
- 1 tbsp chopped ginger
- 1/3 cup black bean paste (Choonjang)
- 1 large sweet onion, cut into 1-inch chunks (approximately 12 oz)
- 1/4 of large green cabbage, cut into 1-inch chunks (approximately 10 oz)
- 1/4 cup rice wine (optional)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch and cold water
- 2 portions of fresh Jjajang noodles (you can substitute with udon, dry egg noodles, or spaghetti)
- Cucumber, optional
- 4 Fired eggs, optional
Whether you grew up eating it or you’re trying it for the first time, jjajangmyeon is the kind of dish that keeps you coming back for more.
Let me show you how to make this restaurant favorite at home—simple, delicious, and totally satisfying!
Jjajangmeyon Korean Black Bean Noodles
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 4
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 lb fatty pork shoulder or butt, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped (approximately 1 1/2 Tbs)
- 2 green onion, chopped (approximately 3 Tbs)
- 1 tbsp chopped ginger
- 1/3 cup black bean paste (Choonjang)
- 1 large sweet onion, cut into 1-inch chunks (approximately 12 oz)
- 1/4 of large green cabbage, cut into 1-inch chunks (approximately 10 oz)
- 1/4 cup rice wine (optional)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch and cold water
- 2 portions of fresh Jjajang noodles (you can substitute with udon, dry egg noodles, or spaghetti)
- Cucumber, optional
- 4 Fired eggs, optional
Instructions
- Heat a wok over hight heat; add pork cubes and salt. Stir fry until pork is golden brown crispy, about 5 minutes. You will see a couple tablespoons pork fat in bottom of wok, then add garlic, green onion and ginger. Stir fry for a minute or until you can smell aroma.
- Now, add black bean paste and stir fry for a minute; add onion and cabbage and stir fry for 3 minutes or until vegetables are slightly soften.
- Add rice wine and stir until all alcohol evaporates. Add chicken stock and sugar, stir to combine. Bring it to boil and reduce heat to medium, simmer for 15 to 20 minutes without cover.
- Mix cornstarch and cold water in a small mixing bowl, pour into Jjajang sauce while you are stirring. You will see the sauce is instantly thicken and glossy. Jjajang is ready to serve!
- Bring a big pot of water to boil and cook noodles by following directions of package you are using. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain completely.
- In a serving bowl, add noodles and top with jjajang sauce. If you like to, add julienne cucumber and fried egg. Enjoy!
Notes
1. Do not drain the pork fat, this is where the Korean-Chinese restaurant’s secret flavor is coming from!
2. You can also serve the jjajang sauce on top of warm cooked rice! We call Jjajangbap! 🙂
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
🍜 Check Out More Jjajangmyeon Recipes
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Old-fashioned Jjajangmyeon – classic jjajangm sauce loaded with shrimp, squid, and extra umami
Instant Jjajangmyeon – Don’t have time to cook from scratch? Upgrade these few tips for quick jjajangmyeon!
48 comments
Hi There!
I already bought the powdered jjajang sauce before stumbling upon this amazing video and was wondering if you could advise on how I could use it instead of the paste you have in your recipe.
Follow the direction of the package you are using would be the best. However, you can adopt the first step of the recipe, and then add cabbage and onion. (skipping add and stir fry the sauce) Then add the ratio of water/chicken stock of your choice and the powder by following the direction of the package. I believe the powder one has thickening ingredient already, so you won’t need cornstarch either. Hope this helps!
Thank you so much! I finally tried it and the recipe was delicious!
Hello !
I love your videos ans your recipes. I discovered korean food by a restaurant near me in Luxemburg and it makes me to do it by myself at home 😀
I have a little question to ask you, what is the side dish you eat at the end ?
I think I already taste it and it was amazing. I would like to try that again 😀
Thank you very much !
Hello! Sorry for my late reply!!
The yellow side dish I ate with Jjajangmyeon was Danmooji- korean yellow pickled radish. They have white one too, which I like better. (The taste is same, just didn’t use the food coloring.) Hope this helps!
Hi!
Can I substitute “1/3 cup black bean paste (Choonjang)” with hoisin sauce? Thanks!
Hi Francine,
They are totally different sauces, not sure if hoisin would work…??
If you wanted to add potatoes to the dish, do you just add it with the cabbage and onion? Miss seeing you in your videos – I understand you are dealing with some issues with the house but hopefully you get them resolved ASAP and come back and make great videos like before. 🙂 Take care –
Can I subsitute the porc with any other meat? I cant eat porc
You can make with beef, chicken or seafood! 🙂
Hi Seonkyoung….love your videos 🙂 I’m confused about Rice vinegar, rice wine, Mirin…can you shine a light on that pls? I have Mirin and rice vinegar…but can’t find rice wine at the store. Thank you.
Rice wine is also called “Sake” in stores.
Rice Vinegar: most common vinegar for Korean/Japanese/Chinese home cooking.
Rice Wine (Sake): It’s alcohol that you can drink and also cook with, like regular wine made with grape out there.
Mirin: It’s seasoned rice wine(seasoned sake). Sweet and salty flavored cooking alcohol. Not able to drink.
I’m new to Korean dishes…but I’ve made your fresh Kimchii…super yummy…my family and I love them 🙂 I was wondering if you could do a video on Korean cooking essential tools and gadgets. Pls explain also different uses for different clay pots used. When I go to the Korean store…I get lost because I don’t know what to get…lol…regards to the whole family 🙂
Hi Seonkyung! My husband only likes gahn-jjajangmyun. How do they make it that way- is it just omitting the cornstarch step or are there any other changes to the recipe? Thank you!
Hello! To make Gan-jjajang, finish it at step 3 (before add chicken stock) and add sugar. It’s even simpler! 😀
Seonkyung I just made this and it was so delicious! ? My husband and me devoured it. I looked at other recipes before meking this but yours was the simplest so I made it amd I’m not disappointed, it’s my husband’s new favorite,
YAY~! So happy to hear that Gloria!!! <3 <3 <3
I am a Chinese food chef running a restaurant in New York named Joongkoogjip. Your style of making food is totally different. I have made this dish beofre. But without eggs. This dish don’t have eggs in history. But I made it with your style also. And I loved it. You are totally a scientist of food. Keep research on food running.
I made this dish tonight for dinner for my family and it was delicious! I am Chinese-American and usually make a Chinese version of this dish using ground pork, bamboo shoots, and shiitake mushrooms. Your recipe had a lot of the same flavor profile (rice wine, ginger, scallions, and garlic) but I especially liked the cubes of pork and cabbage. Thank you for sharing! I look forward to trying your other recipes as well!
This dish is so delicious! I tried many different kinds of recipe and this one is the best!
Your husband said it right, if we don’t eat it carefully our cloths can get stained! You both work together so well.
Thank you!
So happy and honor to hear that you believe my recipes is the best!! WOOTWOOT~! Thank you Karen!! I always trying to wear something dark color clothes when I make/eat jjajangmyeon. lol!
Hi, is it possible to make it with 볶음장?
Yes you can!
Hi, is there a diffrence if I use jjajang instead of chunjang?
There is no sauce named jjajang as I known? (other than premed jjajang sauce, which is just microwave heating sauce) Chujang is the sauce (black bean sauce) for jjajangmyeon. 🙂
Is Garlic Black Bean Sauce by Lee Kum Kee the same aa the black bean sauce in your ingredient list or will it give the dish a different flavor than the chujang? Also, the only black bean sauce I found at my local asian food store is fermented. There was no Korean name for this sauce on the jar. Is that the sauce I’m looking for?
You can actually use garlic back bean sauce for this recipe, if that’s only black bean sauce you can find. 🙂
It’s going to be my first time cooking, so would it be possible to make this dish in something else other than a wok? The wok kind of scares me?
Thanks!
You can make in a deep pan or in a pot!
Hello Seonkyoung Unniee,
Love all the videos you have posted and have been your avid fan.
I wanted to ask you if
there is any alternative to replace the pork meat With Other Meat as substitute to retain the authentic taste of jjajang myun as my family don’t eat pork.
Hope to hear your advice soon.
Have a great day.
You can replace with beef, chicken or seafood if you like! 🙂 Hope this helps!
I learned about this dish through Korean dramas! I had it for the first time in NYC K-town the other week. I’m excited to try your recipe. Do you have a good recipe for handpulled Jjajangmyun noodles? Fresh noodles are the best!
I don’t have the noodles recipe, but you can always get the fresh noodles from Korean store!
My mom refuses to go online and buy the bean paste you used is it okay to use black bean paste used for dango instead h
The bean paste for dango is actually red bean and it’s for dessert, very sweet. So it won’t work for this recipe. Check out your local Asian grocery stores!
Hi if I don’t add the rice wine will it taste totally off?
Not totally, you can skip if you have to!
Hi Seonkyoung!!
Can I request for you to make a recipe for the black bean paste which would go well with this recipe?
Thank you ?
That will be challenging since will be a few months of process to make the fermented black bean paste!
Hello,
I want to ask if we have to clean the pork meat before we cook this?
Thanks alot!!
Hi there,
I’m going to try to make it first time this weekend. I want to ask if we have to clean the pork before we cook.
Thank you!
Can you use thin spaghetti or Sōmen/somyeon noodles for the recipe?
Yes, you can!
Looks yummy! I’m going to try to cook this. Although, I only have black bean garlic sauce. Will that work at all? I hope so because tonight I’m only going to use what we have in a pantry. LOL
Hi, how much of the 1/3 cup choonjang in gram?
We cooked this tonight and it turned out great. We added just a little, maybe a teaspoon and half, of rice vinegar to brighten it up just a bit. This’ll be my wife’s first taste, but I’ve had it in Korea. Yours is much better than what I had there though.
Made this today and I appreciate the free recipe. It shows you care about bringing authentic dishes everyone can experience to the world. Thank you. House smells amazing!
Thank you for your kind comment 🙂