Jajangmyeon is thick chewy wheat noodles topped with jajang (fried chunjang sauce) combined with diced pork and vegetables (onion, potato, zucchini). The black paste is fried in oil or lard first to remove bitterness — this is the critical step that separates the Korean version from its Chinese origin.
Chunjang (춘장)
Chunjang is Korean fermented black soybean paste with caramel, producing a slightly sweet, deeply savory, almost chocolatey sauce when fried. It is not interchangeable with Japanese hatcho miso or Chinese doubanjiang.
Black Day association
Jajangmyeon is culturally associated with ‘Black Day’ (April 14 in Korea) — a day when single people gather to eat black food after Valentine’s Day (Feb 14) and White Day (March 14). The association made jajangmyeon the most ordered delivery food in Korea.