Vegan Jajangmyeon

Today, my daughter who turned a teenager, requested that I cook her favorite Korean dish noodle -“Jajangmyeon” or Noodles in Black Bean Sauce. This dish is usually made with pork & this veganized version is still so delish without the taste of cruelty ! This recipe is for 4 regular servings !

 

? RECIPE

? Ingredients:

▪︎ 4 serving size of udon or buckwheat noodles, ideally fresh

▪︎ 3 medium potatoes, diced

▪︎ 1 medium zucchini or radish, diced

▪︎ 1 medium onion, diced

▪︎ small knob of ginger, minced

▪︎ 4 heapful tbsp of Korean black bean paste or “chunjang”

▪︎ 3 tsp potato starch mixed with 1/2 cup water (room temperature)

▪︎ 1 tbsp coconut sugar

▪︎  2- 3 tsps sesame oil

▪︎ julienned cucumber for topping

▪︎ sesame seeds for topping

▪︎ 1 to 1 1/2 cup of water for the sauce

▪︎ 2 tbsp vegetable oil for sauteing

▪︎ salt to taste, opt for Himalayan

▪︎ optional vegan umami or natural mushroom seasoning or vegan chikin seasoning for added flavor

 

? Instructions:

▪︎ Boil water to cook your noodles as instructed in the package.

▪︎ While waiting for the water to boil, start to heat up a pan in medium heat and pour cooking oil.

▪︎ As soon as it starts to heat up, saute the ginger for about 2 mins, then the onion until slightly translucent. Add the potatoes and saute together .

▪︎ Add the black bean paste and continue sauteing for few minutes making sure you adjust the heat so the sauce doesn’t burn. The sauce will stick to the pan but it shouldn’t burn if you continuously stir it.

▪︎ Add water and stir while scraping the sauce at the same time that’s sticking to the pan.

▪︎ When you scraped most of the sauce off the pan, cover and simmer until the potatoes are halfway soft. Stir occasionally to prevent sauce from burning underneath.

▪︎ Add the zucchini or radish, coconut sugar & salt then stir well and cover. Simmer until all veggies are cooked.

▪︎ Slowly add the potato starch water while stirring. You may add little bit of water if the sauce is too thick. Continue to simmer until the sauce thickened. Turn off the heat and stir in the sesame oil.

▪︎ Serve noodles with the black bean sauce on top. Add grated cucumber and sesame seeds as topping.