12.111 Jjara Myeon

12.111

26 (Mon) April 2021

Jjara Myeon

2.5

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family

As previously noted, DJ had been under room quarantine for a couple weeks after a classmate tested positive for C19, so the district government sent us a box of food supplies.  Based on the amount of staples provided – 6 bowls of rice, 5 packets of noodles – it’s enough for 11 small meals, between 4 to 6 days.  I don’t see who would really need the box, except maybe someone like a day laborer who would be unable to earn money while staying home, but even then the food would last less than half the quarantine period.  For us, it’s kinda fun, and we’re grateful, but we don’t need it, and it kinda makes us eat things that we otherwise might want to avoid (e.g., instant curry sauce).  Seems like a waste of taxpayer money.

Way better than the supplies from Hoengseong (see 11.150 Jin Ramen).

At the restaurant in Chinatown last week (see 12.104 Gonghwachun Jjajang Myeon), they gave me a packet of instant jjajang myeon, their own proprietary brand, which isn’t available through mainstream channels, as far as I’m aware.

The camera’s AI refused to focus on the noodles, despite several attempts, only on Louis’s face – BTW, that’s where he sits when we eat, to watch us and whimper for scraps.

W, being such a VIP customer of many food delivery services, recently received a promotional jjamjja bowl (see generally 1.352 Jjamjja Myeon).

So, with instant jjajang myeon from Gonghwachun, and instant ramyeon courtesy of Sujong-gu District Office, I was inspired to make jjara myeon – not an actual thing, as far as I’m aware.

In contrast to other instant jjajang myeon packets, which come with powdered black bean sauce that’s hydrated with the boiling noodle water, the one here came with wet sauce ready to pour over the noodles.

The jja half was okay.  The wide, thick noodles were nice.  But even with the wet sauce, it still tasted instant.  Like frozen pizza in the west, developing a realistic instant jjajang myeon remains the holy grail of food producers in Korea.

The ra half was okay.  I tend not to like Jin Ramen, which is generally very bland, though the spicy version here was much better than the mild version that we had at the cabin (see 11.150 Jin Ramen).

I should get a full set of the bowls and make actual jjamja myeon for everyone.

(See also FOODS)

(See also PLACES)

Leave a Reply