[0:00]Hello from so. All right, here's the scenario. You're stranded on an island, all by yourself and can only eat one noodle dish for the rest of your life. What's your pick? Yeah, it's really hard to pick one because we need to choose the best of the best. But if I were you, I'll definitely pick this one.
[0:39]Today, we are making jajjajangmyeon. Yeah, the nice and thick black noodles that always come out on YouTube. But we're not going to make a regular jajjajangmyeon. It's bigger and fancier, and in my opinion, this is one of the greatest noodle dishes of all time. So if this is something you haven't tried before, you should give it a try. Trust me. You won't regret it. For this, you will need onion, green onion, button mushroom, garlic chives, ginger, shrimp, squid, pork, and chunjang, black bean paste. Since I want to make this a little fancier, I'm using a lot of stuff, but as long as you have pork, black bean paste, onion, and green onion, you'll be fine. So don't worry about it. First, let's prepare the black bean paste, which is the most important ingredient for jajjajangmyeon. When you go shopping for this, you should grab a Korean product. And sadly, there's no substitute. So you got to make sure there's Korean written on it. If you use products from other countries, I can't guarantee that's going to be delicious, and probably something weird will come out. I told you already. So if that happens, I'm not responsible. All right, in a cold pan or walk, add half a cup of vegetable oil, one cup or 250 grams of black bean paste, and place it over medium heat. And then we're going to fry this for about two minutes, and make sure to keep stirring it. In this step, the black bean paste can stick on the bottom, so I highly recommend using a non-stick pan. If it scorches on the bottom because you didn't use it, I'm not responsible. When you see the bubbles in the middle, give it about 30 seconds to one minute, and that's pretty much it. It's been going well without any troubles. Nothing crazy. Congratulations. You're almost there. Here, some of you might think it's too much, but don't worry about it. Once it's completely cooled down, you can keep this in the fridge, and it should be fine for up to two weeks. So try to make a lot of different things with this, but I'm pretty sure you're going to make this jajjajangmyeon over and over again because it's too delicious. Now, let's prep some vegetables. First, finely mince 4 grams of ginger.
[2:41]Since it's a small amount of ginger, you might want to skip it, but if I were you, I wouldn't do that. Because this teeny tiny amount of ginger will make a huge difference in taste. Next, onion. You can cut this anywhere you like. Big or small, doesn't really matter. So you can even slice it if you want. But since I have a strict judge who really cares about texture, I'm going to chop it into nice big chunks. Still cold out there. I don't want to sleep on the street. And then chop some green onion into small pieces. A lot of recipes say you need different types of vegetables, such as zucchini, carrot, and cabbage. But I dare say, you don't really need them. Trust me. What really affects the taste of jajjajangmyeon is onion and green onion. That's it. This time, grab a handful of garlic chives and cut them into long strips. If it's difficult to get this, you can use bok choy instead, or it's more of an aesthetic thing, so you can skip it. No problem at all. Now, let's move on to the mushrooms. I'm going to cut six button mushrooms into quarters. Just like chives, it's not necessary either, but obviously, this bad boy will make your jajjajangmyeon a little more fancier. So if you have some leftover mushrooms, bring them all. And then cut some pork belly into nice bite-size pieces. You could use pork leg, shoulder, or anything you have, but make sure it's a nice fatty cut because fat makes everything taste better. That's why I always use pork belly. But in Korea, restaurants don't use this for jajjajangmyeon. Why? Because it's quite expensive here. But I think it's not that expensive where you live. So give it a try, then you will definitely meet more delicious jajjajangmyeon. All right, you guys remember I always say green makes your food look fancy? Do you remember that? But there's one more thing that does the same thing, that is seafood. All right, let's say you ordered Pad Thai at a Thai restaurant. If there's shrimp or seafood in it, it's more expensive than other protein, right? For that reason, I brought this squid and shrimp. At this point, some of you might say, what? Frozen seafood? They're too fishy. Yeah, sometimes. But don't worry about it. If you blanch it in hot water like this, you won't taste fishy. If you could have a big, big fire, just like a Chinese restaurant, you don't have to do this. But if you just add it right into the frying pan and make a stir-fry, then I don't want to talk about it. It's your choice, but don't complain to me. All right, we're set. Let's get cooking. Add two tablespoons of oil in a wok. It doesn't have to be new. You can use the one that you fried black bean paste with. Don't waste, save the environment. And then add one tablespoon of lard and heat it over medium heat. Lard is totally optional. But I'll say this guy will take it to the next level. Once it's nice and hot, add in the pork belly and let it cook for about two to three minutes. The goal here is to render out the fat so that all the great flavor from the pork comes out to the oil. Yes, this is the restaurant secret. You're welcome. When the pork is nicely browned, add the ginger and stir-fry that for about 30 seconds. And then add one tablespoon of soy sauce and give it a good stir for another one minute. Here, please be careful because the oil will be hot and it could splash back on you. But still, this step will give you that amazing fragrance, so it will be totally worth it. High risk, high return. Now, increase the heat to high, add in your onions, green onions, and stir-fry for about two minutes or until they're slightly softened. And then add in your seafood, one and a half tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon of oyster sauce, one tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder, and stir-fry for another two minutes. Lastly, add half a teaspoon of MSG as a secret weapon. Now, some of you might be thinking, what, MSG? All right, enough is enough. Today, I think I'm going to have to put my foot down on this MSG. Jajjajangmyeon without MSG, I don't like it. Because without it, it doesn't taste like a restaurant's. Don't get me wrong. I love homemade stuff, but it just doesn't taste right to me. So if you want to get that restaurant taste, I mean, something you had in Korea or Korea town, then please give it a try. Something magical will happen to you. MSG company, call me. I'm waiting for you. Now, add one and a half tablespoons of fried black bean paste and stir it all together for about two minutes. You know what? I totally forgot to add the mushrooms. It is supposed to be put along with the seafood, but don't worry about it. It should be all right. And once everything is well coated, reduce the heat to medium, add half a cup of water, and bring it to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, carefully add the cornstarch slurry and give it a good stir. All right, the sauce is done. Let's keep it warm until the noodles are ready. Here, some of you might say, Aaron, I can't get that jajjajangmyeon noodles. They don't sell it here. You know what? That amazing sauce works really great with any type of noodles, like Kalguksu, soba, udon, or even pasta noodles. They're all fine, so just make sure that you cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Don't worry about it. Everything will be fantastic. Now, bring the sauce to a boil over high heat and add the drained noodles. And then quickly toss it around for about one to two minutes. Actually, you can just place the noodles in a bowl and pour the sauce we made. But if you stir-fry everything like this, it will become more special. That's why it's more expensive than regular jajjajangmyeon. Once everything is well incorporated, turn the heat off. And sprinkle some garlic chives, one tablespoon of toasted sesame oil, and just give it a final mix. Now, all we have left is transfer it to a serving plate. That's it. But if you want to make it prettier, then add some sliced cucumbers. See, green always makes your food look fancy. All right, it's done. Let's call our taste tester. Claire? This is something I always want to eat, but didn't order. It usually comes in like this size, like two or three servings, and there's no way to finish it by myself. Plus, it's more expensive than regular jajjajangmyeon. So, believe it or not, this is my first time to try this. Can't wait. Let's mix it. Ooh, it's still hot. So steamy! I wish I could have this in one bite. (Maybe I can, lol). Ready?
[8:52]Oh my God. I can't stop eating this. It's really delicious! Wow, this jajjajangmyeon sauce is literally full of umami! It's so savory, fragrant, and there's even a pleasant sweetness in it, and they all stimulate my appetite. So good!
[9:30]In my opinion, there could be some people who've never had this jajjajangmyeon, but, I don't think there is a person who has tried it only once. YES! It's that addictive! This might be a little shocking, but if you go to a Korean-Chinese restaurant, they serve it with this danmuji, yellow pickled radish, and raw onions. How do I eat this? Just dip it in the chunjang, black bean paste. Let me show you. Like this. Just a little. Let's try it. I'm sure Aaron doesn't want to talk with me anymore, but I'm so happy about it. It's so delicious! I know this gigantic jajjajangmyeon has to have some seafood, so I understand why you added it, BUT, personally, it's not my type of thing. I want more meat, no seafood! I think that's gonna be more delicious! Don't get me wrong, it's delicious. Today, I showed you how to make jajjajangmyeon, one of the most iconic noodle dishes in Korea. I know there are so many great noodle dishes around the world, but if you are looking for some noodle dish that will change your life, I really hope you give this a try. Once you have a bite, there might be some changes in your noodle ranking. All right, this is it for today, and I'll see you next time.
