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South Korean Jjapaguri Recipe

South Korean Jjapaguri Recipe

Jjapaguri is a South Korean noodle dish made by combining two different types of instant noodles. The two noodles used are Chapagetti and the other is Neoguri. Chapagetti is a wheat noodle which is accompanied by black bean sauce. Neoguri is an udon noodle with a slightly spicy seafood flavor.

To make Jjapaguri, the two instant noodles are cooked together and the sauces from both noodle packets are mixed into the noodles creating the signature dark noodles with a savory, spicy, slightly sweet flavor.

Since the name Jjapaguri is a portmanteau, made up from combining the name of the two noodles, it may be confusing how the “chapa” from Chapagetti becomes “jjapa” in Jjapaguri.

Jjajangmyeon, or Jjajang for short, is a Chinese-Korean noodle dish with black bean sauce. Chapagetti is the instant noodle version of this dish. Chapagetti is also a portmanteau. The “pagetti” portion comes from the word spaghetti and the “Cha” portion is how the “Jja” in Jjajang is pronounced.  In English, Jjapaguri is called Ramdon, a combination of ramen (Chapagetti) and udon (Neoguri)

Origin and Cultural Significance

Jjapaguri has been around for several years in Korea but it gained popularity in the west because of the film, Parasite. In the film the dish was featured in a dressed-up version with steak.

While Jjapaguri is a Korean dish, some of its roots come from China. Jjajangmyeon, which is the inspiration for Chapagetti is originally a Chinese dish. It was brought to South Korea by Chinese migrant workers. The flavors of the dish were adapted to better suit the tastes of South Korean cuisine. The most notable change to the original dish is the dark, slightly sweet bean sauce favored by Koreans.

Jjapaguri

Korean Jjapaguri Recipe

Yield: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Tender beef – 8 oz
  • Salt and pepper
  • Cooking oil- 1 tbsp
  • Garlic cloves, crushed - 2
  • Chapagetti pack – 1
  • Neoguri pack - 1

Instructions

  1. Cut the beef into bite size pieces and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
  2. Add 4 cups of water in a medium size pot and put to boil.
  3. In the meantime, in another sauce pan or skillet, heat the tablespoon of cooking oil.
  4. Add the meat and garlic and cook until they are nicely seared.
  5. Cook all sides of the meat to slightly less than the desired level of doneness. Set aside.
  6. By this time the water should be boiling. Add the Chapagetti and Neoguri noodles and the vegetable mix packets and cook for about 3 minutes until al dente. Don’t overcook.
  7. Drain the noodles and reserve 1 cup of the water.
  8. Transfer the noodles to the pan with with the meat.
  9. Pour the cup of reserved water over the noodles.
  10. Turn the heat to medium and pour the entire packet of the Chapagetti sauce and Neoguri seasonong over the noodles.
  11. Stir well until the sauces is evenly distributed and slightly thickens, about a minute. Add more reserved water if needed.
  12. Remove from the heat and stir in the oil from Chapagetti. Serve immediately
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 233Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 318mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 15g

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