Jjamppong… or Jajangmyeon? They’re the two most popular dishes at Korean-Chinese restaurants. I think these two dishes account for more than 90% of total sales. In fact, if you go with Koreans, you never ask for the menu. Just count the number of hands that want Jjamppong or Jajangmyeon. Occasionally, you get that one guy (or girl) that wants Shrimp Fried Rice. I personally am more of a Jjamppong guy. That’s because I love seafood and spice! And this dish brings the two elements together. My one complaint is that restaurants give 1-2 shrimps and maybe 4-5 mussels. It forces you to strategically eat the seafood pieces - you know, save one one the side so it lasts… hah! Today, I’ll show you how to make it at home, so you can splurge on the ingredients 🙌
This specific recipe is from Chef Baek Jong Won. He has a large chain of Korean-Chinese restaurants in Korea (and even a few in the US) that specialize in Jajangmyeon and Jjamppong. I like this recipe because it’s simple to make and includes a good ratio of vegetable to seafood. Now, allow me to add a few cooking notes:
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This will make enough broth for 4-5 people
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For a deeper-tasting broth, I highly recommend replacing water with anchovy-kelp broth!
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If the broth turns out too spicy for you, dilute with more water or broth. Then season-to-taste with more salt and black pepper.
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Traditionally, mussels are used when making Jjamppong. The black shells provide a good visual balance to the redness of the soup.
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Feel free to thrown in any other seafood into the soup.
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If you don’t have a Korean mart nearby, try making flour noodles at home!

Ingredients
Fresh Vegetables
- 2 stalks Spring Onion each, length of your forearm
- 1 whole Onion
- 1 piece of Carrot length of your pinky
- 1 piece of Zucchini length of your pinky
- A small piece of Cabbage similar size to your julienned carrot & zucchini
- ½ teaspoon Grated Ginger
- 1 Whole Chili Pepper (optional, for garnish)
Fresh Seafood
- 15-20 Clams (or Mussels)
- 10-15 Shrimp
- 1 whole Squid
- 150 grams Pork use any cut
Making Broth
- 3-4 Tablespoons of Cooking Oil
- 2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
- ½ Cup of Gochugaru
- Enough Water to cover ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons of Salt add more to taste
- 10-13 shakes of Black Pepper
Noodles
- 1 servings of Flour Noodles
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Cut spring onion into small thin circles. Julienne onion, carrot, zucchini and cabbage into thin slices. Grate a small piece of ginger. (Optional: Slice chili pepper into thin slices)
- Fill a large bowl with cold water and a few shakes of salt. Then place in your clams (or mussels). Cover the bowl with a plate and set aside for 15-20 minutes. The clams will purge themselves during this time.
- Peel, devein and wash shrimp.
- Next, clean-out the squid and cut it into bite-sized strips.
- Also, cut the pork into small bite-sized strips.
Cook ingredients
- Place a large pot (or wok) on high heat. (You want high heat!) Then add-in a good amount of oil (3-4 Tablespoons). Once the oil turns hot, place in the diced spring onion pieces and the minced ginger (½ teaspoon). Stir both around for 1 minute or until you can smell the aroma of the spring onions.
- Now add in the pork pieces. Stir it around until most of the pink in the meat is gone.
- Then add in the squid pieces. Stir it around for 30 seconds.
- Then season the stir-fry with Soy Sauce (2 Tablespoons). Then immediately add-in the sliced onions, cabbage, carrot and zucchini. Mix everything around for 1 minute.
- Now, add in ½ cup of gochugaru. Mix it around and get everything evenly coated. Then immediately add in water so the gochugaru doesn't burn. Pour just enough water to cover the top of your ingredients.
- Once the pot comes up to boil, place in your shrimp and clams (or mussels).
- Let the stew boil away until the clams (or mussels) start to open. Then season the stew with some salt (2 Tablespoons). Take a sample of the broth and add more salt - if needed.
- Next, add 10-12 good shakes of black pepper into the broth. Our master pot is now finished - all we need is noodles!
Cook Noodles
- If you'll use flour noodles, give the noodles an initial soak in cold water. This will remove the extra flour that is covering the noodles.
- Next, briefly boil your noodles according to the package instructions.
Serve-a-bowl
- Place the freshly cooked noodles at the center of your bowl
- Then add a few scoopfuls of the Jjamppong broth over your noodles.
- Now, enjoy life. Bon Appetit!
Tried this recipe?Tag us at @efutureneighbor with your dish!
[…] variously, Champong/Jjamppong/Jampong. As I searched around for a recipe, I did come across https://futuredish.com/jjamppong-spicy-korean-seafood-noodles/ which claimed to have a jampong recipe from Chef Baek Jong Won (who is a celebrity chef in S. Korea […]