Sacheon Jjajang (Spicy Jjajangmyeon)

Jjajangmyeon is a popular Korean noodle dish typically made with Chinese-style noodles and a fried black bean sauce. It is closely related to the Chinese 炸酱面 (zhá jiàng miàn). This variant does not involve any black bean paste. It is a somewhat spicier "Sichuan" version that incorporates spicy Sichuan bean paste (辣豆瓣酱 - là dòu bàn jiàng) into the sauce instead.

I still have yet to try the traditional jjajangmyeon, but this Sacheon/Sichuan version was definitely a big hit! TF and the Kidlet are currently threatening to duel for the leftovers, so I'll take that as a compliment and call it a success.

Aaron recommends making this with pork belly, but advises that other (preferably fatty) cuts of meat are also acceptable. I ended up using extra lean ground beef. (Not fatty, I know, but I'm still trying to watch my weight, so I compromised a bit.) I think shiitake mushrooms would also work well in the sauce if you wanted to go for a vegetarian option. Beyond Meat or even firm tofu might also be viable options.

We didn't have any of the recommended zhungwhamyeon or udon noodles on hand, so we ended up going with an Italian-style wheat noodle instead. We had an unusual, long rigatoni in the cupboard, so I decided to give that a try and I think it worked well here. That said, I think cavitapi or buccatini would also be good choices if you didn't have any of the preferred noodle types on hand. Aaron even suggests serving the sauce with rice if you run out of pasta. So really, the sky's the limit and you have lots of options!

Sacheon Jjajang

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

ingredients

Sauce

• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. gochugaru
• 1 Tbsp. dasida (Korean beef stock powder)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. 辣豆瓣酱 (spicy Sichuan bean paste)
• 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp. mirin

Everything Else

• 2 Tbsp. chili oil
• 450g ground beef (or sliced pork belly)
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 150g cabbage, chopped
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 tsp. Sichuan peppercorn oil
• 450g udon or noodles of your choice
• 1/2 cucumber, julienned
• 1 c. green peas¹ (optional)
• danmuji, chopped
• 6 large eggs, fried (preferably sunny-side up)

Directions

1. Combine all sauce ingredients and mix well. Set aside.
2. Heat a wok over medium-high heat.
3. Drizzle in the chili oil.
4. Add the beef and cook, breaking up chunks, until no longer pink (1-2 minutes).
5. Add green onions, garlic, and ginger and stiry-fry for another 2 minutes.
6. Add onion and cabbage and stir-fry until softened (~2 minutes longer).
7. Pour in sauce and stir-fry for another minute or so.
8. Mix cornstarch with water to make a slurry.
9. Pour the slurry into the wok and stir-fry until thickened.
10. Boil and drain the pasta.
11. Toss the pasta with the sauce.
12. Mix in the Sichuan peppercorn oil.
13. Divide the noodles into bowls.
14. Top each portion with a fried egg, some cucumber, and some danmuji.
15. Mix well before eating.

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Variants

Vegetarian Version

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. gochugaru
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable stock powder or concentrate
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. 辣豆瓣酱 (spicy Sichuan bean paste)
• 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp. mirin

Everything Else

• 2 Tbsp. chili oil
• 450g shiitake mushrooms, chopped
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 150g cabbage, chopped
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 tsp. Sichuan peppercorn oil
• 450g udon or noodles of your choice
• 1/2 cucumber, julienned
• 1 c. green peas¹ (optional)
• danmuji, chopped
• 6 large eggs, fried (preferably sunny-side up)

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¹ Aaron recommends serving the noodles topped with julienned cucumber, but does suggest green peas as a possible alternative. I was thinking that it might be interesting to try both next time. ^Back