jjapaguri (짜파구리) + steak

aka ram-don, the 7-minute noodles featured in parasite

did anyone else get super hungry while watching parasite?

if you haven’t seen it already, cancel all your plans and watch it immediately - it’s now available on hulu! i always struggle to decide between jjajangmyun and jjambbong so the jjapaguri featured in the movie is right up my alley. it’s the happy marriage of chapagetti (짜파게티) and neoguri (너구리) instant noodles and brings the best of both worlds. i was so determined to make this dish that when i found there was only one single pack of chapagetti and no neoguri at the korean grocery store, i was utterly devastated. until i looked up and god answered my prayers with 16-pack boxes of both the chapagetti and neoguri - aaand they were on sale. needless to say, i will be on a jjapaguri diet for the rest of the month. which i don’t mind at all because this dish is easy and delicious.

in the movie this dish is whipped up in 7 minutes, but i decided to upgrade the recipe by marinating the steak with garlic, sesame oil, and mirin. i also added sautéed veggies to make this dish healthy-ish, especially since i will be making this at least 15 more times.

if you only have 7 minutes to spare, you can skip the veggies and simply add the seasonings in with the noodles at the end.

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jjapaguri (짜파구리) + steak

ingredients:

½ lb sirloin steak
sesame oil
mirin
salt & pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp neutral oil for frying steak
¼ - ½ cup cabbage, rough chopped
1 onion, diced
nongshim’s chapagetti
nongshim’s neoguri

for topping
sesame seeds
green onion, chopped at an angle
fried egg, sunny-side up

instructions:

1. open both packs of noodles and set seasonings aside. in a shallow dish, drizzle sesame oil and mirin on both sides of the steak. season lightly with salt and pepper, add garlic and massage it all into both sides.

2. fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. while waiting for the water to boil, heat the neutral oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. add the steak to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side. once cooked, let the steak rest for 5 minutes before cutting into 1/2 inch strips.

3. add cabbage and onion to the frying pan and sautée until tender, about 4-5 minutes. once tender, add all of the chapagetti black sauce seasoning and half of the neoguri seasoning. stir well to make sure it’s evenly incorporated with the cabbage and onion. add the steak and stir until evenly coated with the sauce, then turn off the heat.

4. once the water is boiling, add both packs of noodles and the dehydrated vegetable packet and cook 3 minutes or until al dente. once cooked, drain immediately, reserving some of the cooking liquid. add the noodles to the pan along with 1/2 - 1 cup cooking liquid, and the oil packet from the chapagetti. using chopsticks, stir and separate the noodles to mix with the sautéed veggies. add to plates and top off with a generous helping of green onions, an egg if you’re feeling eggstra, and sesame seeds. serving suggestion: enjoy while playing zappaguri in the background.

photography by emily lai.