What Makes Jjajangmyeon, Korea’s Favorite Noodle Dish, So Good - The New York Times


Jjajangmyeon, a beloved Korean noodle dish with a sweet and savory black bean sauce, has become a national favorite, transcending age and occasion.
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If you want to see your Korean friend revert to their childhood self, surprise them with a bowl of homemade jjajangmyeon.

Smothered in a supersavory gravy that’s studded with pork belly, this Korean takeout staple of chewy wheat noodles is universally appealing. Children and babies love it. Adults eat it on their cheat day, birthday, moving day. Korean singles eat it alone on Black Day, April 14, which falls on Monday.

A variant of China’s zha jiang mian, jjajangmyeon (pronounced JJA-jahng-MYUN, the double “j” sound existing somewhere between cha and ja) was created in Incheon, South Korea, by Chinese migrant workers around the turn of the 20th century. Over time, its flavor has become sweeter and richer to match Korean palates. Words can feel inadequate to describe what these black bean noodles taste like. Sweet-salty comes to mind, as does the Korean word for umami, gamchil mat.

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