Ja Jang Myeon Recipe

I've actually made this around five times now, but just in case I lose the recipe, I'll have it online. I used the recipes from here and here, but modified them to fit my wants and needs (vegetarian and onion/garlic-free, while trying to make it as authentic as possible). I saw it in Coffee Prince and I just had to try it (Yoon Eun Hye made it look so delicious!). Now, I make it at least once a month and I never get tired of it.

Ja Jang Myeon (짜장면)
About 4 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

• About 1 cup each of diced zucchini, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and fried tofu
  
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 7 tablespoons of black bean paste
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water
• 3 cups of water
• Noodles
• Oil

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat small skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and add the black bean paste. Stir-fry for a minute and set aside.
• In large pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute the diced ingredients (carrots, potatoes, and tofu first for about 2 minutes, then add the zucchini and mushrooms and stir-fry for another 2 minutes).
• Add 3 cups of water or until all the ingredients are submerged. Close the lid and boil for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add the fried black bean paste and stir. Now add in the sugar.
• Mix 2 to 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with the 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the boiling soup. Stir immediately. It will turn sticky.
• Cook the noodles and place the sauce on top. Serve hot.
  

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

• The fried black bean paste resembles tar but it's fine once incorporated into the 'soup.' Remember to immediately run water into the sauce pan so it will save some cleaning time.
• I boiled the ingredients for a little over 15 minutes and the vegetables came out not too hard, not too soft.
• When stir-frying the potatoes, don't over do it or the starch will come out and it'll make the end product even thicker.
• I put in about 3 teaspoons worth of sugar.
• There's actually a specific noodle that's specifically for Ja Jang Myeon, but I didn't have it on hand so I used buckwheat noodles instead. It tastes just fine. :) You can also eat it over rice, but then it's no longer Ja Jang Myeon - it's now Ja Jang Bap.
• The sauce looks like black goop with unidentifyable lumps. Don't mind the looks. It tastes delicious.
• Even though you place the sauce on the noodles, you mix everything up before you eat it. Refer to the Korean Drama, The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince.
  

CULTURE NOTES:

• Ja Jang Myeon is seen as a comfort food in Korea, especially for those without significant others. [Wiki]
  
• China also has their own version (Zha Jiang Mian/炸醬麵) but I haven't tried to make it yet. There several differences and the main one is that the Korean version adds sugar. There are others but since I haven't made it, I can't really say.
  

A picture of my first attempt, before the mixing. :)