I am partial to the original Chinese version of Zha Jiang Mian 炸酱面, which consists of fried and lightly sauced meat with fresh shredded vegetables on top. The Korean version is another animal altogether and is composed with a rich syrupy sauce in which the vegetables are braised.
For this recipe, the vegetables should be diced uniformly to bite size pieces, about 3/4" square is ideal. The total amount should be about 6 cups, or 1 1/2 quarts, in about equal ratio of vegetables and greater proportion of meat and onion, but adjust this to your taste.
fresh korean wheat noodles
pork belly, diced or sliced
daikon or korean radish, peeled, diced
waxy potato or sweet potato, peeled, diced
1 large onion
korean squash or zucchini
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup fermented black bean paste, chunjang3 1/2 cup water
3 tsp potato starch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
1 tbsp sugar
cucumber* for garnish, thinly shredded
In a large pot, fry pork belly briefly on medium heat until the meat releases some liquid. It doesn't need to be cooked through. Scoop into a large resting bowl and drain most fat from the pot. Turn down the heat a little and gently saute vegetables in the pot for several minutes, adding one at a time, first daikon, then potato, and a shorter period for onion, and very briefly zucchini. Do not brown. The goal is to sweat them so the final texture is uniform but the vegetables remain relatively intact after braising. Add vegetables to pork belly bowl.
In the same pot, heat in almost smoking hot oil, and fry the black bean paste till broken up and glossy.
Return vegetables and meat to the pot with the water. Vegetables should be barely covered. They will release Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer and cover for 15-20 minutes till vegetables are tender. Meanwhile boil water for noodles.
Once the potato and daikon are cooked through
Add the potato starch in water, then add sugar. Adjust seasonings. The final sauce should be a little sweet with the aroma of bean paste dominant. Smooth like a gravy but glossy and translucent, the texture is comparable to a Japanese curry but less thickened by potato starches.
Serve with slices of bright yellow danmugi, also known as takuan.
0 comments