I used a combination of recipes, but Maangchi is my favorite YouTube channel for Korean cuisine.

I substituted rice noodles for the udon-style jajangmyeon noodles because it’s what was in my pantry. I really like the contrast the pure white noodles had with the black sauce, though, and will probably use rice noodles going forward. I somewhat prefer the thinner rice noodles from a texture perspective as well.

Can someone who’s made this tell me whether or not I should be removing the seeds from the cucumber slices? I’ve done it both ways and, while I can’t tell a difference myself, I’m still interested in knowing the traditional method of making the dish.

  • @cybervseas@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5•1 year ago

    Looks good. I’ve made the Chinese version a few times and for that I use cucumber with seeds removed.

    Rice noodles sound interesting enough that it’s worth a try. I’m surprised to hear they stood up to such a heavy sauce.

    • @baseless_discourse@mander.xyzEnglish
      4•1 year ago

      I am surprised with the rice noodle as well. From my experience they either have a hard tine grabbing sauce or breaks easily.

      That being said many traditional noodle used for jajangmyeon doesn’t grab sauce that well, as it is a pretty heavy sauce.

      • @LoneGansel@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        2•1 year ago

        The rice noodles I used were fairly strong. I shocked them with cold water after boiling them from a dry state, which seemed to have been what was needed for this dish.

        Next time I’ll take a picture after it’s all mixed together so you and others can see how it comes out.

    • @LoneGansel@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2•1 year ago

      Thank you for the compliment! :)

      I did end up transferring it to a plate after the picture for that same reason, ha. Rookie mistake on my end, but next time I make it I’ll get my portions under control.

    • @LoneGansel@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1•1 year ago

      Appreciate the insight! I can see how you could argue for some crunchy cabbage over the cucumbers, especially if you’re after a blend of flavors instead of a garnish from that crunchy element.

      I wholly agree with onions in the sauce (there’s a sneaky one peeking through the sauce right in the middle of the pic). This version had onion, daikon, and potato in the sauce alongside the diced pork. I’m looking forward to trying new vegetable combinations as I get more access to ingredients.

    • @LoneGansel@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2•1 year ago

      I feel like I should buy at least one just as a thank you for all the things I’ve learned from her videos. She does such a good job introducing Korean foods to people.