This review marks my first experience with jjajangmen, or black bean sauce noodles, starting with Nongshim’s Chapagetti. You might recognize this from the movie Parasite, where it was combined with Neoguri and steak to make the now-famous “Chapaguri” (or “ram-don”). I actually tried that hack myself before starting the channel, but I never tasted Chapagetti or Neoguri on their own until now. Nongshim has since released a bowl version of Chapaguri, which I’ll check out if I find it.
Read more: Noodle Journey Episode 22: Nongshim ChapagettiI got this as part of a giant Korean ramyun variety pack, but it’s also widely available at local stores and online for the same price range as other standard Nongshim offerings. Sodium content is 1,100 mg per serving, or 48% of the daily recommended amount. While some Redditors suggest ignoring the package instructions and using less water to get a thicker sauce, I followed them exactly here to see how it turns out.
Noodles:
These look and feel like Nongshim’s usual noodles: thick, chewy, and well-suited for brothy applications or saucy ones like this. If they’re supposed to be spaghetti-style or egg-enhanced, I couldn’t tell the difference, but they still work great here.
• 8/10
Spiciness:
There’s a tiny bit of heat buried in the ingredient list from red chili pepper, and I only noticed it because I was actively looking for it. Most people wouldn’t register this as spicy at all.
• 1/10
Overall:
This surprised me. The flavor is earthy in the best way: bean-forward, with onion and a little root vegetable flavor from the carrot flakes. It doesn’t taste like anything I’ve had before, which I love. Some people online dismiss it as not being suited to a “Western palate,” but I think that’s nonsense. It’s unique, satisfying, and honestly kind of exciting. I do wish the sauce had come out thicker, but it was already improving in texture by the time I wrapped up the video review. If the rest of the jjajangmen I have in my stash is anything like this (some with seafood or extra spice) I’m looking forward to what’s next.
• 7/10
If you’re into black bean sauces or want to try something different, this is worth picking up. It’s probably not for everyone, and if you dislike sweet, earthy flavors you’re going to want to avoid this entirely. If you do, I think this is a nice entry point to the world of jjajangmen.
Notes since filming: I had no idea Chapagetti was such a divisive flavor when I reviewed it, but there are a lot of people out there who hate this. But there are also a lot of people who love it, and I’m one of them. I’ve since discovered that way better jjajang noodles are out there, but if I hadn’t tried Chapagetti first, I wouldn’t have known that I even liked jjajang sauce at all. Make sure you understand what kind of flavor Chapagetti is before you commit to buying it, because that sweet and earthy black bean flavor is not for everyone.
