Food - Drink
The Noodle Fusion Involved In Making Korea's Jjapaguri
By KATHERINE BECK
The delicious Korean noodle dish known as jjapaguri is made of the unlikely combo of instant noodles and steak, seasoned with savory and spicy flavors. To go into more detail, jjapaguri is made with two brands of instant noodles: slightly sweet Jjapaghetti (or Chapagetti) and spicy Neoguri, which are both quite different from each other.
Jjapaghetti is a kind of Korean black bean noodle that has a savory and slightly sweet flavor. It contains the same style of dried noodles that other ramyun (Korean instant ramen) brands use, but the powder included with the jjapaghetti package becomes a silky dressing when combined with water and boiled, rather than forming a liquid broth.
Meanwhile, Neoguri has thicker noodles in the style of udon, and it has a spicy seafood flavor, with the seasoning packet using dried kelp to add extra texture and flavor. In stark contrast with the humble brands of instant noodles, jjapaguri is usually made with a type of expensive Korean-raised beef called hanwoo chaekkeussal.
To cook jjapaguri, cut premium beef into small pieces, add mirin, sesame oil, salt, and pepper, then sear it for a few minutes in a hot pan. Boil 5 cups of water, add the noodles, cook for 2 minutes, drain half the water, pour in all of the Jjapaghetti seasoning and half the Neoguri seasoning, then let it finish cooking before adding the steak.