Ever wondered how some Korean dishes taste like? Jajangmyeon is a popular Korean-Chinese cuisine. It is a noodle dish topped with black bean sauce (chujang), sweet and sour diced pork, or beef and vegetables. Jajangmyeon is also known as black bean noodles.
Just like pizza in America, it is the most popular delivery food in Korea.
Jajangmyeon can be found in Korean-Chinese restaurants or easily prepared at home, provided you can get the black bean sauce. If you are a great lover of Asian cuisines or you just want to feel a taste different from your normal recipes but you’re skeptical about how it will taste and affect your cooking experience, this article is for you.
What does jajangmyeon taste like? The black bean noodle on its own has a deep pungent earthy and sour taste tempered with salt. The overall sweet taste of jajangmyeon is dependent on the black bean paste that goes into the sauce you eat it with. The pork or beef added to jajangmyeon adds a sweet, savory taste to the dish. The jajangmyeon tastes like udon noodles and spaghetti noodles, just that it is thicker and a little bit chewier.
Jajangmyeon is a very satisfying dish that can be made ready in minutes. It’s not one of the most popular fast foods in Korea for no reason! With the vastness of dishes in the world, Jajangmyeon is just another scintillating cuisine that needs to be added to your list of foods to try.
Nutritional Benefits of Jajangmyeon
Eating jajangmyeon does more good to the body and mind than bad. It brings maximum satisfaction to your stomach while improving your health. It is the perfect fast food to prepare or order if you need something to cheer or warm you up.
Antioxidants in the body have been studied to help protect the body and its cells from damage from free radicals. The preparation of black bean noodles is not complete without the addition of vegetables like onion, zucchini, mushrooms, and cabbage which are antioxidant-rich.
The jajangmyeon helps renew broken cells in the body, promotes the body muscles, and provides the body with energy as well. This is made possible because of the great amount of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and iron contained in the dish.
If you are looking for a good substitute for food that increases body weight, jajangmyeon is the one for you. Because of the low-calorie content and fiber present in jajangmyeon, it would be an ideal food in achieving a reduced body weight. You can manage the pork or beef added to your black bean noodles to reduce the calorie level.
The jajangmyeon is good for people with diabetes or those that have high blood sugar levels. Jajangmyeon has a low sugar level, thereby reducing the risk of getting the glucose level spiked. It also helps promote good heart health, prevents hypertension, and boosts the immune system.
Culinary Uses of Jajangmyeon
Jajangmyeon is usually served with black bean sauce and garnished with diced beef or pork and vegetables. Cooking jajangmyeon at home requires a stress-free procedure. You can fry the black bean sauce before boiling the jajangmyeon to remove its bitter taste.
Simmer the sauce with diced pork, zucchini, and potato for about 10 minutes to thicken up the sauce. You can then ladle the buffed-up sauce on the cooked wheat noodles. Your jajangmyeon can be served with thinly sliced cucumber or boiled eggs.
Where Did Jajangmyeon Originate From? How Do You Procure Them?
The Korean black bean noodles can be dated back to 1905 where it was first introduced to Koreans in a restaurant called Gonghwachun located in the official Chinatown; Incheon city. It is probably the most iconic dish in Korean cuisine whose sweetness is known all over the world. Jajangmyeon is said to have been gotten from the Chinese noodle dish ‘Zhi Jiang Mian’ whose translation is fried sauce noodles.
Jajangmyeon can be found in Chinese-Korean restaurants all over the world or easily prepared at the comfort of your home. All you need to do is get your hands on the right paste and ingredients. You can always get Korean pastes and ingredients in airtight plastic tubes in the grocery store or supermarket nearest to you.
Allow your noodles to boil for about 30 minutes before adding the store-bought black bean sauce in it. Use an airtight container to store leftover black bean sauce for about 2 to 3 days in the freezer before it starts to lose its quality.
Are Chapagetti and Jajangmyeon the Same Thing?
No, they aren’t the same, even though their taste is almost similar. Jajangmyeon has a richer and better taste than chapagetti. Chapagetti is the first instant noodles product made to resemble jajangmyeon in South Korea.
Chapagetti is made with a special blend of dehydrated carrots, spice, and ground bean grains. While jajangmyeon can be made vegan-friendly, chapagetti cannot. The dish contains eggs in one form or another.
The chapagetti is the instant form of jajangmyeon made with ramen. Unlike jajangmyeon, the flavor of chapagetti is mild and not spicy at all.
Facts You Didn’t Know About Jajangmyeon
- Yearly, on the 14th of April, Koreans celebrate Black Friday with jajangmyeon. It is a day where single people who didn’t get any gifts on Valentine’s day (February 14) and white day (March 14) commiserate with each other.
- Immediately after the war in South Korea in the early-mid 50s, jajangmyeon was sold at an extremely cheap price to make a large number of people eat it without burden.
- Jajangmyeon is not pronounced jajangmyeon because the origin Is not a Korean word but a transliteration of the Chinese pronunciation.