Instant noodles is not something our family ate often growing up. While it’s something that many Korean families eat once, twice, or thrice a week – my mom deemed it unhealthy and it was only a “treat”given to us every so often. So, that means, I don’t actually crave for ramyun like some of my friends (gasp). But, out of all the instant noodles, chapagetti is one of my favorites. And, it was recently on sale, so why not!
For those who are unfamiliar, chapaghetti is one of the most popular and top selling instant ramyun noodles in South Korea (#2 according to Wikipedia!). It’s a black bean sauce based instant noodle mimicking the popular Korean-Chinese jajangmyeon dish. Though, I’d say that it has more of its own distinct flavor. I dare say that sometimes I just crave chapaghetti over regular jajangmyeon.
This upgraded version first stir fries pork and onion like a usual jajangmyeon recipe to add more aromatic flavors in the beginning (and to have more mix-ins)! A few more familiar jajangmyeon ingredients like oyster sauce and soy sauce are added to the original powder packaging for a stronger boost of flavor! This results in a pork filled upgraded saucier chapagetti with the distinct flavor still intact. Delicious, easy and quick. (But if you’re expecting it to taste like jajangmyeon you maybe disappointed. If you want it to have the unique chapagetti flavor but more robust, enjoy!)
Let’s be real though, this isn’t a recipe per-say. But a good way to glam up instant noodles!
Ingredients
- 1 package of chapagetti
- ½ onion
- 2 oz (50 g) pork, pork loin or pork belly
- 2 Tbsp peas
- 1 tsp olive oil, for black bean powder package
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1 egg, fried
Instructions
1. Chop the onions and pork into bite sized pieces.
2. In a small bowl, pour in the powder package, and then the oil package and an additional 1 tsp of oil. Mix it so it becomes a thick sauce. Set aside.
3. Heat a small frypan (or pot) on high heat and add in the pork. Stir-fry until no longer pink. Add in the onions and stir-fry until the onions are soft and the pork is fully cooked through. Continue to mix.
*The pork should give out enough fat for the onions. If there is not enough, add a bit of oil with the onions.
4 Pour in the powder package mix. And then the additional sugar, soy sauce and oyster sauce. The sauce will be thick. Throw in the peas.
Stir around and coat the peas, onion and pork. Add in about ¼ cup of water to loosen the sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for a minute or two to reduce back slightly.
5. On a side stove top, heat a pot of water. (You can put the water on the stove before you cook the sauce above if you can multi-task!) Once the water is boiling, add in the instant noodles and the dried vegetables package. Cook until the noodles are soft (or I prefer al dente). About 5 minutes according to the packaging.
6. Once the noodles are cooked, drain through a sieve and run through cold running water. The cold water will make the noodles more chewy. Set aside if the sauce is not ready yet or throw them into the sauce pot.
7. Mix the sauce and noodles together in the pot. Plate on to a pretty plate. Top with a fried egg! Enjoy!
Upgraded Chapagetti (Jajang Instant Noodles)
Ingredients
- 1 package of chapagetti
- ½ onion
- 2 oz (50 g) pork pork loin or pork belly
- 2 Tbsp peas
- 1 tsp olive oil for black bean powder package
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1 egg (fried!)
Instructions
- Chop the onions and pork into bite sized pieces.
- In a small bowl, pour in the powder package, and then the oil package and an additional 1 tsp of oil. Mix it so it becomes a thick sauce. Set aside.
- Heat a small frypan (or pot) on high heat and add in the pork. Stir-fry until no longer pink. Add in the onions and stir-fry until the onions are soft and the pork is fully cooked through. Continue to mix. *The pork should give out enough fat for the onions. If there is not enough, add a bit of oil with the onions.
- Pour in the powder package mix. And then the additional sugar, soy sauce and oyster sauce. The sauce will be thick. Throw in the peas.Stir around and coat the peas, onion and pork. Add in about ¼ cup of water to loosen the sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for a minute or two.
- On a side stove top, heat a pot of water. (You can put the water on the stove before you cook the sauce if you can multi-task!)Once the water is boiling, add in the instant noodles and the dried vegetables. Cook until the noodles are soft (or I prefer al dente). About 5 minutes according to the packaging.
- Once the noodles are cooked, drain through a sieve and run through cold water. The cold water will make the noodles more chewy. Set aside if the sauce is not ready yet or throw them into the sauce pot.
- Mix the sauce and noodles together in the pot. Plate on to a pretty plate. Top with a fried egg! Enjoy!
It works really well for me
Bought a package of chapagetti for the first time recently and made this recipe. It was absolutely delicious! I have never made Korean food before, but let me say this was a most positive start! I followed the directions exactly and it was very good – it is company-worthy for sure.
Happy to hear it worked out well for you! Making changes to Korean instant noodles is always fun and guarantees a delicious end result. Thanks for your comment!