A Recipe for Plant-Based Jjajangmyun
From Joanne Lee Molinaro's "The Korean Vegan Cookbook"
**Just as a heads up: some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you decide to purchase the amazing books, ingredients, etc. through them. Thank you ever so much in advance for your support of this newsletter! ❤️
Hi hello, all! Hope everyone out there’s having a great week so far. Last Wednesday, I got to interview award-winning author and digital creator Joanne Lee Molinaro (aka The Korean Vegan) for the first installment of what I’ll be calling the “‘That One Dish’ Spotlight”—a segment of conversations with AAPI chefs, writers, artists, entrepreneurs, and creators about that one dish that best encompasses their life experiences. In case you missed it, Joanne and I chatted about everything from her approach to veganizing the dishes of her Korean-American upbringing to her creative process, and from all the things she misses about Chicago (now that she resides in California) to all the childhood memories wrapped up in a bowl of jjajangmyun—which just so happened to make the cover of her first book, “The Korean Vegan Cookbook: Reflections and Recipes from Omma’s Kitchen.” Jjajangmyun is a beloved Korean noodle dish with strong Chinese influences. Descended from the Chinese zhajiangmian, jjajangmyun made its first appearance in Incheon’s Chinatown where Chinese immigrants aimed to cook the dishes they knew and loved with Korean ingredients. Chewy wheat noodles are coated in a thick, rich, and glossy sauce made of fermented soybeans with cubed vegetables and meat, then served with fresh, julienned cucumber. Joanne writes in her book that she used to refer to it as “Korean spaghetti” when she was growing up.
Today, I’m sharing here Joanne’s plant-based version that employs soy fillet instead of the traditional pork and a homemade mushroom dashi (recipe also included in this post) instead of meat stock. It’s a lighter, easy-to-put-together dish that’s perfect for the middle of the week. (For all my carnivores out there, though, I’d like to add that there’s a fantastic recipe for traditional jjajangmyun in the fourth issue of Dill Magazine from Dave Park, the chef and owner of Chicago’s Jeong (with a beautifully-written story from the talented Dennis Lee!)
Both versions are delicious and comforting, of course, not to mention give way for the gleeful satisfaction that comes with slurping down a big bowl of rich, saucy noodles. I can’t think of anything better, honestly.
Have a great rest of the week!
Serves 4
3 large or 4 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
3 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil
½ soy fillet, cut into ½-inch cubes* (see note)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chopped onion
1 Yukon Gold potato, diced
¾ Korean squash or regular zucchini, diced ½ cup chopped cabbage
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
¼ cup jjajang
1 tablespoon soup (light) soy sauce
½ cup Mushroom Dashi (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
2 tablespoons potato starch
4 servings cooked noodles** (see note)
1 cup julienned cucumber
Soak the shiitake in cold water for 1 hour to reconstitute. Drain and thinly slice.
In a wok or very large pan, heat ½ tablespoon of the olive oil over medium- high heat. When the oil is hot, add the shiitakes and soy fillet and cook until the mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add another ½ tablespoon of the olive oil to the wok or pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, potato, and squash. Season with the salt and pepper. Cook until the onions turn translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the center of the pan and heat over medium- high heat. Once it gets hot, add the jjajang directly to the oil. Using a wooden spoon, stir the paste into the oil constantly so that it doesn’t burn, until it gets very shiny, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the cooked mushrooms, soy fillet, and vegetables and coat them evenly with the fried black soybean paste.
Add the soy sauce to deglaze the pan. Add the dashi and brown rice syrup. Bring the sauce to a boil, then cover the pan and simmer until the potatoes are nearly cooked, about 5 minutes.
Add the potato starch to ¼ cup water (this is your slurry). Stir the slurry into the sauce and cook until the sauce is thick and shiny, an additional minute.
Serve with your favorite noodles and garnish each bowl with julienned cucumber. Use any leftover sauce over a bowl of rice.
*A note from Joanne: “Did you know that the Chinese have been using meat alternatives in their cooking for hundreds of years? Take a cruise through the tofu section of your nearest Asian grocery store. I like soy fillets (a type of textured soy protein that is popular in Asia) for jjajangmyun, but you can also use tempeh or fried tofu!”
**“This sauce is so delicious, you can use it with your favorite noodles. (I’ve even used it with gluten-free pasta when my husband was experimenting with a gluten-free diet.) However, for the more traditional approach, you can find fresh udon or ‘jjajangmyun’ noodles in the frozen foods aisle of the Asian grocery store.”
Makes 4 cups
6 large or 7 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
Submerge the dried mushrooms in 4 cups of cold filtered water for at least 4 hours at room temperature.
Scoop out the reconstituted mushrooms and save them for future use. They are just as good as, if not better than, regular “fresh” mushrooms for soups, stews, stir- fries, and a variety of recipes!
Pour the dashi through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a storage container. The dashi will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze for any future use.
Recipe excerpted from “The Korean Vegan Cookbook: Reflections and Recipes from Omma’s Kitchen” by Joanne Lee Molinaro, published by Avery. Copyright © 2021. Used with permission of the author. All rights reserved.