1.012

17 (Sun) January 2010

Jjajang Myeon

2.0

from The Fu

at my brother-in-law’s home

-Apgujeong (Hyundai Apts), Gangnam, Seoul, Korea-

with the Family, In-Laws

Jjajang myeon (짜장면) is a Korean-Chinese noodle dish.  Flour noodles (“myeon”), topped with a black sauce made from fermented/roasted soybean paste (“jjajang”), along with pork or seafood, onions, and other aromatics.  In contrast to the original zhajiang mian in China, the version found in Korea is very different, much darker, sweeter, richer.  Having cooked it myself, I know that a serving contains a sickening amount of oil and sugar, which is why it tastes so good.  It’s the equivalent of pizza in the States: cheap, simple (at least in its basic form, though more expensive and fancier varieties are served in more expensive and fancier restaurants), available for delivery wherever, usually from neighborhood joints specializing in delivery (as opposed to in-dining), often 24 hours, and even when it’s bad it’s still pretty good.

In fact, despite the crappy quality of the photo, which may appear to suggest a lack of regard, it’s my favorite dish of all-time.  I was so excited to dig in that I forgot to take the photo until halfway done.  Whenever I watch a prison movie involving the execution of a prisoner on death row, and the guard asks the condemned what he’d like for his last meal, this is what flashes through my mind.

NOTE: This post was initially published on GMTD’s prior site and is now reposted on this site.  Due to the unavailability of the original image files, however, the photos presented here are the low-resolution versions downloaded from the prior site, hence the poor quality.  Thank you for your understanding.