Vegan's Chronicles

VMF Day 19: Jja jang bab

I haven't been doing as much cooking as I had hoped I would do for MoFo... but here's something I made the other day: Jja jang bab! The jja jang (blackbean paste sauce) is usually eaten with noodles, but I'm not a fan of boiling my own noodles, so I just ate it with rice. Rice trumps noodles. Infact, rice pretty much trumps all other carbs, in my book. But I digress...

To make it, I used The Vegan Korean's recipe (posted here) as a reference, but I didn't have all the veggies she used, so mine is heavily modified. It would've been better with some potatoes, or cabbage, but oh well. You can also try Maangchi's recipe here (minus the pork ofcourse!).

{ Ingredients }
1-2 Tbs oil (i used sesame oil)
1 carrot, diced
1 onion diced
1/2 a yellow bell pepper, diced
1 green pepper, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs ‘jja jang’ aka Korean salty black bean paste.
1 Tbs cornstarch
About 1.5 cup water (add more if needed)
rice

{ Method }
1. Heat oil in a skillet, add onions and then garlic (don't let the garlic burn).
2. When onions are half cooked, add the rest of the vegetables and saute for a few minutes.
3. Add 1 cup of water, or enough to almost cover everything. Bring to a boil.
4. Once carrots are cooked, reduce heat to a simmer.
5. Add the jja jang paste, and dissolve well.
6. Whisk the cornstarch with about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water in a separate bowl, then pour into the pan. Mix while the sauce thickens. Add more water if it's too thick.
7. Simmer over low heat for a few minutes until all veggies are well-cooked.
8. Plate with rice (or noodles), and enjoy!