Vegetarian Korean Jjajangmyeon

Note to self: This is a recipe inspired by Moudi. We were on a YouTube binge watching cooking videos and came across this YouTuber called Seonkyoung longest. She’s super fun and has this segment where she goes live and in 15 minutes has to cook up something on the spot that a viewer requests. We were binge watching her videos and came across this vegetarian Korean jjajangmyeon recipe and Moudi mentioned how it’s been a while since he’s had it. I’ve never had it before and thought it might be an interesting dish to try out.

It had a couple of ingredients that I had to order from Amazon, mostly the dried shiitake mushrooms, udon noodles and black bean paste. I had some oyster sauce in my fridge but there’s a vegan option that can be ordered online if you want to make this dish fully vegan. I opted to use regular oyster sauce and it came out super yummy.

These are the dried shiitake mushrooms I used. Though I realized after that they also have dried mushrooms at Publix in those little plastic containers that they usually sell herbs in. But just in case you can’t find it or don’t have a Publix near you I attached a link so you can purchase it on Amazon. You can also use chicken broth or beef broth if you don’t want it to be vegetarian. Basically any stock you have on hand will work.

Now the black bean paste is essential to this dish. It’s what gives that jet black color and flavor to the dish. I researched a bit and ordered this one from Amazon, I wanted to find one small enough for the recipe so I don’t have much leftover just in case i didn’t like it but something that’s authentic too. Overall it was good and I used about half the bag for the recipe. Make sure to keep stirring the pot once you add this paste though! It burns quickly and you won’t be able to tell because it’s jet black.

Now the Udon noodles were a tough find. I think I spent more time looking for them than other products. There were so many conflicting reviews on certain noodles and then some were super expensive. I didn’t understand why a pack of noodles cost from anywhere between $25-$30! I finally found one where the reviews were good and the price was decent. Still expensive to other noodles but cheaper than the others at ~$6.

Overall it was a pretty yummy dish. I loved the addition of the zuchinni, and next time would probably add more of that and chop up the onion a bit finer.

Ingredients:

For the Shiitake Mushroom Broth:

1 cup hot water
6-7 dried shiitake mushrooms

For the Veggies:

1½ Tbsp minced garlic (approximately 4 to 5 cloves)
1 Tbsp ginger puree (You can also use fresh ginger)
1 large onion, cut into large chunks
1 large zucchini, cut into cubes
4 oz of baby portobello mushrooms

For Stir Fry:

2 Tbsp oil
⅓ cup black bean paste
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp cold water
Black pepper to taste

To Serve:

Udon noodles (3 oz per serving)
Julienned cucumbers

Directions:

In a small bowl combine 1 cup of hot water and 6-7 dried shiitake mushrooms and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut all the veggies.
By this time, the shiitake mushrooms are softened. Squeeze all the water out from the shiitake (make sure to collect all the juice in to the measuring cup.) and chop it.
Make sure the broth equals exactly one cup, if there’s less broth add water until it fills the cup.
Heat a large pot over medium high heat; add 2 tbsp oil, 1½ Tbsp minced garlic, 1 Tbsp ginger puree and stir fry for ~ 1 minute.
Add ⅓ cup black bean paste and stir fry ~ 1 minute.. Constantly stir because the bean paste can easily burn and you won’t know because it’s already black.
Add onion, zucchini, baby portobello mushrooms, minced shiitake mushrooms from broth and stir fry for ~3-4 minutes until they are softened.
Now add the mushroom broth, 1 Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp oyster sauce and mix well.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium and then simmer for 10 minutes without a cover. Remember to stir occasionally.
Bring another pot to a boil and cook you udon noodles. Cook according to your package instructions.
Remove the cooked noodles from pot and rinse under cold ice water to stop cooking and get rid of the starch. Drain completely.
Mix 1 Tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp cold water and pour into the pot.
Stir immediately. Add black pepper to taste. (I added some Sriracha to spice things up and give it more of a kick but it’s totally optional)
Pour the Jjajangmyeon sauce over the cooked noodles. Top it up with some julienned cucumber and mix well before you eat and enjoy!!