Jjolmyeon Noodles & Mandu Pancake. The two complement each other well. The Jjolmyeon noodles are cold, spicy and tangy. And the Mandu is hot, greasy and meaty.
This is my favorite cold noodle dish to eat in the summer. What I like most about this dish is the chewy noodles. The noodles are made from wheat flour and starch, turning them slightly thick and bouncy. I think you can add any type of sauce to it and it would taste good.
The traditional Jjolmyeon sauce is sweet and tangy. Very similar to the spicy sauce used in bibim-guksu. The spiciness will first get your heart racing. Then you will taste a slight sweetness from the honey. It's the right blend of sweet and spicy.
Keeps you coming back for the next bite 😉
Whenever I eat Jjolmyeon, I always need a side-dish to pick at. Preferably something greasy and meaty. Today, we will whip-up some Korean dumplings (mandu) and turn them into a crispy pancake. I learned this recipe from Chef Baek Jong Won. The result is a fun gyoza-like pancake which is extra crispy on the bottom and steamed on top.
An overall fun dish to enjoy during lunch. Bon Appetit!
Jjolmyeon Noodles + Mandu Pancake
Ingredients
Jjolmyeon Noodles (1 serving)
- Jjolmyeon Noodles - 1 serving
- Cucumber - 1-finger length
- Carrot - 1-finger length
- Soybean Sprouts - 1 handful
- Purple cabbage - 1 leaf size of your hand
- Alfalfa sprouts - few pinches
- Egg - 1
Spicy noodle sauce (2 servings)
- Soy Sauce - 1 Tablespoon
- Honey - 3 Tablespoons
- Gochujang - 2 Tablespoons
- Gochugaru - 1 Tablespoon
- Vinegar - 3 Tablespoons
- Sesame oil - 1 Tablespoon
- Minced garlic - 1 teaspoon
- Sesame seeds - few shakes
Mandu Pancake (2 servings)
- 8-10 Mandu Korean Dumplings
- Spring onion - 1 piece forearm length
- Flour - 1 Tablespoon Korean Pancake Mix 부침가루 works even better
- Water - 4 Tablespoons
Instructions
Make Jjolmyeon Noodles
- Cut carrot, cucumber and purple cabbage into thin julienne pieces. Wash alfalfa sprouts and set aside.
- Hard-boil egg: Place egg into a pot. Fill the pot with cold water - about 1-inch (~2 cm) over the egg. Then bring the pot to a hard-boil on high heat. When the pot comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to a medium-high heat. Place a lid on and let the egg boil for exactly 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, place egg in cold bath and/or running cold water.
- Boil soybean sprouts: Put handful of soybean sprouts into a pot. Fill it with water - just enough to cover the sprouts. Put the pot on a high heat. When water comes to boil, turn off heat and drain water. Rinse blanched sprouts under cold water. Drain and let excess water drip off.
- Mix all the ingredients listed under Spicy Noodle Sauce.
- When ready to eat, place all of the prepped vegetables over or next to the noodles. Pour a few large spoonfuls of the spicy sauce over the noodles and give a thorough mix.
Mandu Pancake
- Cut spring onion into thin pieces. Take out a small bowl and mix flour & water together.
- Place dumplings into a large non-stick frying pan (must be non-stick!). Make sure they have some space between each other. Then put frying-pan on a medium heat.
- Then pour some oil around the pan and in between the dumplings. Let it cook for a few minutes. Then check the bottom of one of the dumplings. Once the dumpling starts to slightly brown, stir-up your flour mixture again and gently pour it around the the pan.
- Place the lid on. Reduce heat to a low. Let it cook for 8-10 minutes.
- After 8 minutes, give the pan a slight shake back-and-forth. The pancake should come loose (use spatula if it doesn't) from the pan. Slide the pancake onto a plate.
- Use a slightly larger plate to cover the plate with the pancake. Then quickly flip it over. Garnish the top-side with spring onion pieces. Enjoy!
Notes
- For even crispier pancake skin, use Korean Pancake mix (부침가루). Or Korean Frying Mix (튀김가루)
- See video below for more details
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