Ok. I have to admit that, although I love cooking, I suck at recipes. I guess the key player in jjajangmyeon would be the Korean Black bean paste.
First I would take a couple of deboned chicken thighs or a breast and cut it into smallish pieces. Mix with a Tbsp each crushed garlic and grated ginger. Add a bit of Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper. Mix well and set aside.
Prep the following into a small dice,
Small onion
2 carrots
Small daikon
Small potato (if you swing that way)
3 green onions, white ends. (Save the green parts for later)
2 strips of bacon or some pork belly.
Heat a couple of Tbsp oil in a deep pan, add the bacon and some dried chilli flakes to your taste cook the pork until it curls a bit, but not crispy.
Add the chicken and sear the outside, then add all the Vegetables along with a bit of sesame oil.
Temper all of this for, say, 10minutes.
Make a hole in the middle and add 2 Tbsp of Black bean paste. Loosen the paste up with the oil in the pan and heat it through before mixing it throughout the ingredients.
Add a couple of good shots of soy sauce and a bit more Shaoxing. Finally add water to cover and let it simmer for half an hour before reducing the sauce. It should thicken on it’s own. You can add a bit of cornstarch solution if needed.
Slice the remaining green onions and julienne a cucumber. Make a couple of very soft boiled eggs.
Finally, prepare your favorite noodles (we like rice noodles).
Plate the noodles with a soft boiled egg on the side, then ladle the sauce over top. Add cucumber, and green onion.
Mix the sauce into the noodles in your own plate or bowl and get it down your neck while still scalding hot.
Chase with shots of kaoliang.
Enjoy!