Jajangmyon - 杂酱面

Yesterday, Singapore had its 2nd mass cycling event, the first was held a year ago with great success. This year, it gets even better. I participated in the 40km event which saw more than 6000 participants and am really glad that I finished the race without....coming in last! (LOL)  - in fact, I did better than last year, completing the 40km in 2 hours, without any soreness or pain in my butt as I pedalled furiously to maintain an average speed of 20km/hr.  This, anyone who bikes will know, is snail pace. However, for my fitness level, and with zero training prior, this was the best I could realistically aim for. Honestly, even up to the last minute, I was still trying to conjure up believable excuses to pull out of the event. I started feeling breathless even during the 1st 5km - and was seriously contemplating to pull up at the 1st aid stop to tell them that I had a pinched nerve and had to stop. It was also especially nerve wrecking as I noticed all the road bikes, half the weight of my mountain bike were overtaking me effortlessly - I felt like I was riding on a hippo!


My Pink Hippo...

Then, at some point, I started to ignore those whizzing road bikes and focus on just maintaining the 20-21km/hr figure displayed on my speed indicator. It was then that I found myself panting less and my legs started to acquire the rhythm to pedal with smooth continuity.... and before I realised it, I was already 25km into the race and the remaining 10km or so lying ahead did not look so unachievable anymore.

One of the best part of pushing your body to the limits is the total restfulness that follows the exertion . After showering, I literally spent the rest of my Sunday morning and afternoon, lounging on my couch, watching TV... it felt good to be able to give in to the exhaustion and let the body just slump... it was after 3 episodes of Friends, 2 episodes of American Idol, that I surfed over to the Chinese station that was showing a Korean Drama. It was odd, but over the span of 30mins, Jajangmyon was mentioned more than 10 times in the show. It immediately stirred up my craving for Jajangmyon - which is a Korean noodle dish which originated from China. The key ingredient of this dish is the Chinese bean past sauce, （杂酱) Jajang. It is a favourite dish among Korean children. I remember a Korean colleague once told me he had to cook Jajangmyon for her daughter every Sunday and it is the one dish that she prefers from her dad than her mum.

Such is the power of food craving... it was strong enough to have me drag my listless body out of the couch, and out to the supermarket to get the Korean Bean paste!
I am not sure if I have prepared this correctly but the bean paste was so tasty that I suspect it wouldn't be easy to make this taste bad. Following dinner, I went to bed early and slept like a baby.


Recipe :

1                   potato, diced
1                   small carrot, diced
1                   onion, diced
50g               minced pork
2 tbsp           Jajang (black bean paste)
1tsp              Sugar mixed with 1/2 cup water
1 tbsp           Oil

Noodles ( the Koreans will use wheat noodle. I used a thinner version Japanese Udong)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a hot wok.
2. Add in Jajang and fry until a little dry.
3. Add diced potato, onions and minced pork and fry for a few minutes. Add sugar solution. Cover and cook over low fire until vegetables are softened.
4. If the sauce become too dry, add a little water.
5. In a spearate saucepan, boil some water and once water boils, add and blanch noodles. Drain noodles
6. Divide noodles into 2 portion, lay sauce over the noodle. Garnish with cucumber strips and hard boil egg.