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Chef Chris Cho making jjajangbap — This is how you make Jjajangbap!

Jjajangbap is the rice counterpart of the famous, all-time favorite jjajangmyeon. This is an easier but equally delicious version that will satisfy your jjajang cravings.

The other day I saw my brother-in-law thoroughly enjoying a bowl of jjajangbap. Essentially, this is black bean sauce over rice. And I thought to myself, even if jjajangmyeon was my favorite as a child, jjajang sauce over rice also hits differently.

As an adult who just loves a quick meal, this is probably one where I can prepare an authentic Korean recipe while keeping it super easy to make. Without further ado, this is a recipe I am super excited to share because I know your family will love it too!

Ingredients for Jjajangbap

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Chef Chris Cho showing pork, onion, and black bean paste — Pork, Onion, and Black Bean Paste

Pork – This is the best meat for jjajangbap; use pork belly or pork shoulder and mince. As it cooks and releases oil, the black bean paste will cook down in it and add that pork flavor to the sauce. If you don’t eat pork, you can use chicken, or beef, or completely omit meat and use vegetables instead. Just use more oil to cook.
Onion – This is the only vegetable-slash-aromatic we will use in the dish. Two birds in one stone and onion are great with black bean paste! We’re only using one so it’s easier, nevertheless, you can also add cabbage, potatoes, or zucchini if you like more veggies. Add more sauce as well, as needed.
Black Bean Paste – This is also known as “chunjang”. It’s fermented soybeans that were originally from Chinese cuisine but adapted to Korean taste. It has a salty and bitter flavor, but when cooked off, it becomes salty and rich. It’s usually available on Hmart or Amazon, and it comes in tubs. You will only use a small amount when cooking, so it should be refrigerated after opening.
Soy Sauce and Oyster Sauce – These will be the seasonings for this dish. Since the black bean paste is salty in itself, we are not going to use any more salt. But using a small amount of these two will add a boost of umami to the sauce.
Sugar – Since the sauce is mainly salty, the sugar will be the balance for it.
Garlic, Ginger, Cooking Wine – These are the aromatics for the dish. They will lessen any strong odor from the pork, onion, and black bean paste.
Potato Starch Slurry – This is a combination of potato starch and water. It will be the thickening agent we will use for the sauce so it clings beautifully in the rice.

How to Make Black Bean Sauce Over Rice?

First, chop the onion and pork into bite-size pieces. If you like the pork to be chunkier, chop it bigger. Personally, I like to chop it smaller so that it’s easier to cook and eat.

Sauteing the pork and adding black bean sauce

Following that, place your pan on high heat. Put cooking oil, pork, black bean paste, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger in it. Saute for one minute to cook down the bitter taste from the black bean paste, and have the pork flavors get well mixed in it.

Add the onion and saute for another minute. Add cooking wine and oyster sauce, and mix thoroughly. Then add water and sugar, and mix thoroughly. At this point, you can taste the sauce and adjust it as needed. Add more black bean paste and soy sauce if you want it tastier!

Make a starch slurry by combining 1/2 tablespoon potato starch and 1 tablespoon of water. Gradually add this into the sauce while mixing the sauce so that it quickly thickens up. Once you like the consistency, the sauce is done.

Serving Jjajangbap

Serve this with a bowl of rice and any egg dish. Omelette and hard-boiled eggs are great, but my personal favorite is topping this with a fried egg and splash of sesame oil, then egg drop soup on the side! You can also serve this with pickled radish or kimchi!

If you want the sauce with noodles, you can definitely serve this with some jjajang noodles too! The sauce is a great make ahead which you can store on the fridge for a week. You can now have jjajangbap or jjajangmyeon anytime! Bonus, this is the type of sauce that gets tastier each day! Ooh!

Other delicious rice dishes you might like:

Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!

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