Jajangmyeon

''Jajangmyeon'' () or ''jjajangmyeon'' () is a Korean Chinese noodle dish topped with a thick sauce made of '' chunjang'', diced pork, and vegetables. It is a variation of the Chinese dish '' zhajiangmian''; it developed in the late 19th century, during the Joseon period, when Chinese migrant workers from Shandong arrived in Incheon. The Korean variant of the dish uses a darker and sweeter sauce than the Chinese version. Variants of the dish use seafood, or other meats.

Name

''Jajang'' or ''jjajang'' is borrowed from the Chinese word ''zhájiàng'' (), which means "fried sauce", while ''myeon'' (; 麵) means "noodles", itself a Sino-Korean loanword in place of the native ''guksu'' (). The Chinese characters are pronounced ''jakjang'' () in Korean, but the noodle dish is called ''jajangmyeon'', not ''*jakjangmyeon'', because its origin is not the Sino-Korean word, but a transliteration of the Chinese pronunciation. As the Chinese pronunciation of ''zhá'' sounded like ''jja'' (rather than ''ja'') to Korean ears, the dish is known in South Korea as ''jjajangmyeon'', and the vast majority of Korean Chinese restaurants use this spelling.

For many years, until 22 August 2011, the National Institute of Korean Language did not recognize the word ''jjajangmyeon'' as an accepted idiomatic transliteration. ''Jjajangmyeon'' did not become the standard spelling because the transliteration rules for foreign words announced in 1986 by the Ministry of Education stated that the foreign obstruents should not be transliterated using doubled consonants except for some established usages. The lack of acknowledgment faced tough criticism from the supporters of the spelling ''jjajangmyeon'', such as Ahn Do-hyeon, a Sowol Poetry Prize winning poet. Later, ''jjajangmyeon'' was accepted as an alternative standard spelling alongside ''jajangmyeon'' in the National Language Deliberation Council and, on 31 August, included as a standard spelling in the Standard Korean Language Dictionary.

History

''Jajangmyeon'' was brought to Incheon, Korea during the late nineteenth century by migrant workers from Shandong province, China. At a time when both Qing and Japanese businesses were competing against each other, ''jajangmyeon'' was offered at the Chinese restaurant Gonghwachun in Incheon Chinatown, which was founded in 1905 and run by an immigrant from the Shandong region. The restaurant is now the Jajangmyeon Museum.

Both the name and dish originate from the Chinese dish '' zhájiàngmiàn'' (). The common copied features of both are pork, long wheat noodles, and a sauce made from fermented soybean paste. Originally the sauce that was introduced from China to make the noodle dish was saltier, richer, and of a deep brown color. Chefs at Incheon, Korea later added in caramel to sweeten the sauce, and added grains that darkened the sauce to copy the jet-black-brown color over time.

In the mid-1950s in South Korea, immediately after the Korean War, ''jajangmyeon'' was sold at low prices so that anyone could eat it without economic burden. The new Korean-style ''jajangmyeon'' became popular among merchants visiting the port of Incheon, the center of trade, and the many dock workers working in the fish market, and quickly spread throughout the country, being recognized as its "own dish" rather than a copied version of the traditional Chinese one.

Preparation and serving

''Jajangmyeon'' uses thick, hand-made or machine-pulled noodles made from wheat flour, salt, baking soda, and water. The sauce, jajang, is made with fried '' chunjang'' with other ingredients, such as soy sauce (or oyster sauce), meat (usually pork, but sometimes beef), seafood (usually squid or shrimp), aromatics ( scallions, ginger, and garlic), vegetables (usually onions, zucchini or Korean zucchini, or cabbage), stock, and starch slurry.

When served, ''jajangmyeon'' may be topped with julienned cucumber, scallions, egg garnish, boiled or fried egg, blanched shrimp or stir-fried bamboo shoot slices. The dish is usually served with '' danmuji'' (yellow pickled radish), sliced raw onions, and '' chunjang'' sauce for dipping the onions.

Variations

Variations of the jajangmyeon dish include ''gan-jjajang'', ''jaengban-jjajang'', ''yuni-jjajang'', and ''samseon-jjajang''.
* ''Gan-jjajang'' () – ''Jajangmyeon'' with a dry sauce, made without adding water (stock) and starch slurry. The letter ''gan'' comes from the Chinese pronunciation of the character 乾 (; Chinese pinyin: ''gān'') meaning "dry". However, it is now changing to mean that the '' chunjang'' itself is thick as it is lightly stir-fried in oil without any moisture from the vegetables so that no water comes out. The sauce and noodles are usually served separately.
* ''Jaengban-jjajang''() – ''Jajangmyeon'' made by stir-frying the parboiled noodles with the sauce in a wok, and served on a plate instead of in a bowl. ''Jaengban'' means "plate" in Korean.
* ''Yuni-jjajang'' () – ''Jajangmyeon'' made with ground meat. The word ''yuni'' derived from the Korean reading of the Chinese word ''ròuní'' (; Korean reading: , ''yungni'') meaning "ground meat". Although ''yungni'' is not a word in Korean, the loanword ''yuni'', used only in the dish name ''yuni-jjajang'', is likely to have been derived from Chinese immigrants' pronunciation of the Korean reading of the word, with the dropping of the coda ''k'' (or ''ng'', due to the Korean phonotactics) which is difficult for native Mandarin speakers to pronounce.
* ''Samseon-jjajang'' () – ''Jajangmyeon'' which incorporates seafood such as squid and mussel. The word ''samseon'' derives from the Korean reading of the Chinese word ''sānxiān'' () meaning "three fresh ingredients".
There can be combinations. For example. ''samseon-gan-jjajang'' may refer to seafood jajangmyeon made without adding water.

Dishes such as ''jajang-bap'' and ''jajang- tteok-bokki'' also exist. ''Jajang-bap'' is essentially the same dish as ''jajangmyeon'', but served with rice instead of noodles. ''Jajang-tteok-bokki'' is '' tteok-bokki'' served with ''jajang'' sauce instead of the usual spicy sauce. ''Bul jajangmyeon'' is a spicy variation of ''jajangmyeon''.

Instant ''jajangmyeon'' products, such as Chapagetti, Chacharoni, and Zha Wang, are instant noodle versions of ''jajangmyeon'' consisting of dried noodles that are boiled in the same manner as ''ramyeon'', using dried vegetable pieces that are drained and mixed with ''jajang'' powder or liquid ''jajang'' sauce, as well as a small amount of water and oil.

File:Korean.cuisine-Jajangmyeon-01.jpg, ''Gan-jjajang''
File:Jaengbanjajang.jpg, ''Jaengban-jjajang''
File:Jajang.jpg, ''Yuni-jjajang''
File:Haemul-jajangmyeon.jpg, ''Samseon-gan-jjajang''
File:농심 짜파게티 매콤한 사천 6.jpg, Chapagetti

See also

* Black Day
* Zhajiangmian
* Morioka jajamen

References

External links

{{Noodle

Korean Chinese cuisine
Chinese noodle dishes
Korean noodle dishes
Mixed noodles