As someone that can’t handle any spicy food, you shouldn’t be sweating so much about jajangmyeon.
Jajangmyeon is not spicy at all, and you’re probably overthinking it. Unlike many other Korean foods, jajangmyeon tends to be very mild.
I’ve been eating jajangmyeon every single week for almost 3 years now, and unless you’re going to add some spicy sauce to it, it’s not spicy at all.
But how often should you eat jajangmyeon?
Let’s get started
How Often Should You Eat Jajangmyeon?
Jajangmyeon is something you’ll most likely eat when you’re too lazy to cook, or don’t have time. For a simple meal it’s amazing, but how often should you eat jajangmyeon?
Experts say that eating jajangmyeon once a week is okay. However, eating jajangmyeon more than once a week should make you cautious. The black bean sauce has a lot of sodium and saturated fats, which is not healthy at all.
Now, sometimes when you don’t have the time it’s okay to eat it twice a week. But don’t do it too often.
In Seoul, people eat jajangmyeon almost every week, which is completely normal there. It’s considered “fast food”, which isn’t really healthy.
But when you’re making your own jajangmyeon it shouldn’t be as bad. You can control the amount of black bean sauce and how you make it.
Considering that you’re not making it very unhealthy it shouldn’t be a problem at all.
What Noodles Are Used
Jajangmyeon uses fresh udon noodles. You can also use ramen or rice noodles. But that’s not really considered to be jajangmyeon.
Jajangmyeon originates from Shandong a province in China. According to scholarblogs, it was first introduced to a small restaurant in Incheon.
Back then it was considered to be a quick meal for factory workers. Looking back, still to this day, it’s still considered to be a “quick meal”
If you’re looking to grab a quick lunch or dinner, then jajangmyeon is the go-to food.
What Is The Sauce Made Of
Jajangmyeon sauce is made of black bean paste. This paste is cooked with some water and other ingredients that eventually create a black bean sauce.
The sauce is then mixed with the udon noodles, and served after.
To be very honest with you… there’s no secret to making jajangmyeon. Everyone can do it within 10 minutes.
Now, some restaurants have their own recipe for their sauces. Like adding:
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
- Gochujang
There’s no perfect recipe when it comes to making jajangmyeon. Most importantly, is that you, yourself like eating it.
4 Easy Ways To Make Jajangmyeon Yourself
1. Instant Noodles or Chapagetti
If you’re running short on time, energy, and money than going this route is your best bet. Buying instant noodles, which is also known as chapagetti is what most people do.
It’s easy, fast, and affordable. Anyone can make this dish without any prior experience. The only thing you have to do is go to the grocery store, buy chapagetti, boil instant water, and wait…
…yes it’s really that easy.
Now, this might be very boring and lazy. But hey… if you’re short on time, then it’s really something you have to take into account.
What I really like to do is buy chapagetti and mix it with Neoguri noodles. These noodles combined have been around for a while, but it makes the chapagetti taste way better.
And with better, I mean REALLY BETTER.
Don’t like the bitter taste of chapagetti or jajangmyeon?
Add some Neoguri noodles to it and BOOM that’s it. This will literally melt in your mouth. Give this a go, you won’t be disappointed.
2. Homemade Noodles
Homemade noodles are of course… way better. But making homemade noodles takes time. You need wheat flour, eggs, and milk to make fresh udon noodles.
And yes… it’s more fun.
But make sure that you have enough time for this. It’ll take at least 30 to 45 minutes in total to make this entire this.
I’ve done it myself. Even as a beginner without any prior experience you can do this. The only thing I did was look up some YouTube videos and copied what they did.
Anyone can do this.
As long as you take the time and like making fresh noodles, it’s a no-brainer. And the more you do it, the better you’ll become at it. So give it a try, and it’ll likely get easier over time.
3. Homemade Sauce from Scratch
Do you really want to get your hands dirty BUT make it the best you can?
Then making the jajangmyeon sauce from scratch you must try. It’s by far the most delicious jajangmyeon noodles I’ve ever tried.
This takes even longer than making the noodles yourself, but hey…
…the result will be FANTASTIC.
It can’t get any better than this. You can create the black bean sauce to your own liking and add or remove any spices you like.
In total, this takes about 1.5 hours. BUT WAIT.
You can make as many portions as you’d like. Put them in the fridge and whenever you’re hungry you can grab your fresh jajangmyeon and enjoy your meal.
4. Food Delivery
Food delivery is if you’re even lazier than going to the grocery store to get some instant noodles.
I know for a fact that some of you don’t even want to move and order jajangmyeon straight from your food app.
Many of my friends do this all the time, and whenever they’re working from home it gets even worse.
These days, you can do anything from home. You just open the food delivery app, order food, and wait 15 minutes.
BOOM.
There you have it.
Jajangmyeon noodles are at your doorstep.
Final Thoughts
Jajangmyeon noodles are not considered spicy. It’s mostly the spices that people add to the jajangmyeon noodles that can make it spicy. Experts say that jajangmyeon noodles are considered to be a mild dish.
