On the ride back from Uljin Snow Crab Festival we watched a Korean movie called Kim-ssi-pyo-ryoo-gi (translates as "Castaway on the Moon"). It was actually a pretty entertaining story about a man who attempts suicide by jumping off a bridge in Seoul, only to wake up washed ashore on an island on the Han River. The man soon finds that life isn't so bad where he has landed, so he attempts to establish permanent residence on the private island.
When a package of ramen noodles washes up on his beach with the seasoning packet unopened, he begins to obsessively crave black bean noodles- scolding himself for all of the times he turned down the dish in his previous life.
He uses the seeds in bird poop to plant a little garden and eventually makes noodles from the corn he grows. After months of hard work, he takes his first bite of noodles and weeps.
Naturally, after seeing this movie, I developed my own craving for black bean noodles, or jajangmyeon. Today I had the instant kind, but I also bought some chunjang, or black bean paste, so I can make my own one of these days.
The ramen comes with a sauce that you heat inside its package under boiling water. There are small bits of vegetables in the sauce like potatoes and carrots. It tastes more bitter than regular soybean paste (doenjang), something I would liken to espresso or the aftertaste of a burned mocha. There is a sweetness at the end that reminds me of soy sauce.
Maybe this description doesn't make jajangmyeon, one of my favorite foods so far, sound all that appealing. Certainly, the picture above doesn't do it any justice either. However, I suggest you try it for yourself.
Like kimchi, you may not like it all that much at first, but it gets better each time. Soon, you begin to crave it, just like the guy in the Korean movie.
Dude I bought black bean noodles that was really expensive and now you’re making me regret it. Thanks, a lot.
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