Recipe is not mine. I used this recipe here with some key differences based on what I’m used to/what I like.
I skipped the marinade step, as well as the white pepper, corn starch and salt.
I used pork belly instead of ground pork, cut into tiny pieces about 1/3rd of an inch cubes. I cook this directly instead of doing any marinading. Even oil is optional as the pork belly has more than enough oil to “fry” the sauce. I would cook the pork until a lot of the fat/oil has been extracted out before adding the garlic/ginger/star anise. This is what I “fry” the sauce with.
I omitted the shiitake mushrooms.
I added a couple of star anise. I add this in with the garlic and ginger. After the sauce is done, fish them out and discard.
Nearing the completion of the sauce I add a bunch of green onions. Around 2 stalks.
I don’t remember the recipe mentioning this but this is a critical step in my opinion. After simmering the sauce for 15-20 minutes you will likely need to make sure the sauce is not too thin otherwise it will not cling to the noodles. The consistency you want is around what pasta sauce is. If the sauce is too thin bring the sauce to a boil, uncovered and keep boiling and stirring until the thickness is correct. If you over thicken it, just add some water.
So normally when I make this I make a bunch of sauce like you would with pasta sauce. Then you can freeze it or refrigerate for later use.
To make a bowl, cook some wheat noodles (this is the most traditional noodles to eat it with but nothing stops you from using different noodles). Top the noodles with as many or few of the following: carrots (match sticks), cucumbers (match sticks), and bean sprouts (cooked by dipping in boiled water for about a minute). And of course some of the sauce. Just toss the noodles until it’s coated with the sauce and eat it as is.
Some people like to also top it with some minced fresh raw garlic for a spice kick.
This dish is very popular. So popular that China, Korea and Japan all have their own versions of this dish. I’ve listed their names below with a brief description in case anyone wants to try making the other variants.
Zha Jiang Mian - Chinese, this is probably the saltiest variant.
Jajangmyeon - Korean, this variant is generally sweeter. It also has a lot more veggies in the sauce so it’s probably healthier (?). The sauce also uses a darker sauce base so the end result is a sauce that is almost black. This is generally how you can distinguish it in photos.
Jajamen - Japanese, this is probably the least popular of the three. It’s much milder compared to the other too versions because it uses much milder ingredients. Instead of very salty bean pastes as a sauce base, the Japanese version uses miso.
Recipe is not mine. I used this recipe here with some key differences based on what I’m used to/what I like.
So normally when I make this I make a bunch of sauce like you would with pasta sauce. Then you can freeze it or refrigerate for later use.
To make a bowl, cook some wheat noodles (this is the most traditional noodles to eat it with but nothing stops you from using different noodles). Top the noodles with as many or few of the following: carrots (match sticks), cucumbers (match sticks), and bean sprouts (cooked by dipping in boiled water for about a minute). And of course some of the sauce. Just toss the noodles until it’s coated with the sauce and eat it as is.
Some people like to also top it with some minced fresh raw garlic for a spice kick.
This dish is very popular. So popular that China, Korea and Japan all have their own versions of this dish. I’ve listed their names below with a brief description in case anyone wants to try making the other variants.