Jjajang Sauce (짜장 소스)
Jjajang is one of the two pillars of Korean-Chinese cuisine, along with Jjamppong. It’s a dish you should definitely try when you visit Korea. Like how Germany has countless Döner Kebab shops, Korea has many “Chinese” restaurants serving Jjajangmyeon and Jjamppong.
Jjajang is actually the name of the sauce itself, often served with noodles (Jjajangmyeon). However, if finding Chinese-style noodles is difficult in Germany, you can enjoy the sauce with rice (Jjajangbap) or pasta. Many Korean-Chinese restaurants in Korea also serve Jjajangbap, so no worries!
Steps
Dice the meat and vegetables into small cubes. Ground meat works well too.
- 4:00
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add the black bean paste and stir-fry for about 3–4 minutes. Be careful not to burn it. Remove the paste from the pan, leaving the oil behind.
Use the leftover oil to stir-fry the diced meat. Add a small amount of dark soy sauce to enhance the flavor.
Once the meat changes color, add the diced vegetables and stir-fry until slightly softened.
Add the pre-cooked black bean paste back to the pan and mix well. For “gan-jjajang” (a dry-style sauce), you can stop here.
To make a saucier version, add 200ml of water, sugar, and oyster sauce, stirring well to combine.
Dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water, then gradually add the mixture to the sauce while stirring. Cook until the sauce thickens.
Serve the sauce with rice, noodles, or pasta. Enjoy!
