Korean Noodle Bowls are somewhat like a leftover stew. You can use nearly anything in it, with one common ingredient: black bean paste. Diced steak, onion, cabbage, and zucchini are very commonly seen in the noodle bowl, but there’s no reason you can’t add broccoli, cabbage, and green peppers (for example).
This recipe is mild, but a few peppers spice it up nicely.

Korean Noodle Bowl
Ingredients
- Sesame oil
- ½ cup Chunjang (black bean paste)
- ½ pound steak (sliced thin)
- Dash salt
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
- 1 leek chopped (only the white part)
- 1 small chopped zucchini
- 4 cloves garlic (freshly minced)
- 1 ” ginger (peeled and minced)
- 1 cup cabbage sliced in strips
- ¾ cup long pasta (dry)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Dash sugar (white or brown)
- 1 small cucumber (matchstick style)
Instructions
- Pour the oil into a pot, heating it until glossy
- Mix in the bean paste.
- Stir continuously. The bean past becomes very aromatic (about 6 minutes)
- Move the past into a bowl
- Put 2 tbsp oil into a heavy pot. Heat until glossy
- Put a hint of salt on the sliced beef.
- Cook it in the pot, browning it evenly for 7 minutes
- Onions and zucchini follow, cooking them for 3 minutes
- Next comes the garlic and ginger for one minute, and lastly, the cabbage, stirring until it’s wilted.
- Add in the previously made bean paste and stir.
- Add the water
- Turn up the heat under the pan and let the mixture come to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken.
- While you are waiting for the bowl ingredients to thicken, start the water for your noodles
- When the noodles are ready, distribute them into bowls topped with the bean paste mix.
- Serve hot.