Jjamppong Spicy Korean Seafood Ramen

A few years ago, I took a friend who had never been exposed to much Asian food to a Koreatown plaza where we had a chance to try a bunch of different Korean dishes. 

I was really craving some Jjamppong because... spice, seafood, noodles, soup? What more could you want? 

For anyone who hasn't been exposed to Jjamppong before, it's a Korean-Chinese dish that involves a mix of seafood, vegetables, meat, and noodles in a spicy, savory soup. The origins are debated but supposedly it was created by Chinese immigrants living in Nagasaki, Japan and then became adapted by Koreans, who added chili oil and gochugaru, a popular Korean hot pepper flake ingredient.

When the dish arrived, my friend looked shocked. He leaned over and whispered, "Why are they serving Cioppino at a Korean place? Is this Italian owned?" 

I laughed... a lot. Truthfully, I hadn't ever made that connection but I could see why he thought that.

They are both red-colored seafood soup based dishes - although cioppino's are red from the tomatoes whereas Jjamppong gets its redness from gochugaru.  

Ingredients

• 1/4 onion
• 1/2 small carrot
• 1/2 zucchini
• 3 oz napa cabbage
• 2-3 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 2 scallions
• 3 oz fatty pork (or pork belly)
• 4-6 littleneck clams
• 4-6 mussels
• 4-6 shrimps
• 3 oz squid
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 1 tbsp Gochugaru Korean Chile Flakes (we used Mother In Law's Kimchi brand)
• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• salt and pepper
• 5 cups of chicken stock
• 1 serving of ramen noodles. We love using immi low carb high protein ramen noodles.

Recipe

Vegetable Prep

1. Cut ¼ onion into thin slices
2. Cut ½ of a carrot into thin 2” length slices
3. Cut ½ of the zucchini into thin 2” length slices
4. Cut ⅓ of the napa cabbage into thin 2” length slices
5. Cut 2 shiitake mushrooms into thin slices
6. Cut 2 scallions into slices
7. Mince 1 tsp of ginger
8. Mince 1 tbsp of garlic

Meat Prep

1. Cut the pork belly into thin slices
2. Cut squid into thick slices
3. Soak mussels and clams in salt water to clean

Broth

1. Heat a wok over high heat
2. Add 1 tablespoon of oil
3. Add minced ginger
4. Add minced garlic
5. Add sliced scallion
6. Add 1.5 tablespoons of gochugaru
7. Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and stir fry for a minute
8. Add the sliced pork and stir-fry for 2 minutes
9. Add in the onion, carrot, cabbage, zucchini, and mushrooms
10. Pour in 5 cups of chicken stock
11. Add the clams first, then the mussels, then shrimp, and squid last
12. Add salt and pepper to taste
13. Add in your noodles of choice. We love immi’s low carb, high protein ramen noodles

Assembly

1. Ladle the broth into a serving bowl
2. Add extra gochugaru flakes
3. Enjoy!

Fun Visual Recipe 

 

Food Facts to Get Rameducated

• Gochugaru is an essential ingredient for kimchi and Korean cooks will recommend against using any other kind of dried chili, as they won’t produce the same results.