Jjolmyeon (Korean: 쫄면) is either a type of Korean noodle with a very chewy texture made from wheat flour and starch, or a cold and spicy dish bibim-jjolmyeon (비빔쫄면) made with the noodles and vegetables.[1] Jjolmyeon can add many vegetables such as cabbage and bean sprouts. The spicy and hot sauce is a combination of gochujang (chili pepper paste), vinegar, sugar, and minced garlic. It is also a type of bibim guksu (mixed noodles).
A bowl of boiled jjolmyeon
| |
| Type | Korean noodles |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Korea |
| Region or state | Incheon |
| Main ingredients | Noodles (wheat flour, starch), sauce (gochujang, vinegar, sugar (optional), garlic), vegetables |
| Jjolmyeon | |
| Hangul | 쫄면 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 쫄麵 |
| Revised Romanization | jjol myeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | tchol myŏn |
The chewy texture of jjolmyeon noodles owes to its manufacturing process in which the dough is heated to 130-150 degrees Celsius and extruded by a machine under high pressure, in a manner similar to rice cake production.[2]
The first syllable of the name comes from the sound symbolism jjolgit-jjolgit (쫄깃쫄깃) in Korean, which means "chewy", while myeon is a hanja word meaning "noodles". Thus, the name literally means "chewy noodles".[3]
Jjolmyeon is one of the most popular noodle dishes in South Korea, especially among young people at bunsikjeom (Korean snack restaurants).[4] It is a representative dish of Incheon, where jjolmyeon originated in the early 1970s by a mistake made while making naengmyeon. Noodles larger than regular naengmyeon noodles were made at a factory and instead of being thrown out, were given away to a nearby bunsikjeom. The owner mixed the noodles with gochujang sauce and jjolmyeon was born.[5][6]
