With the growing popularity of Korean culture, food from Korea simultaneously gained popularity. Among many such foods, one major that stood out was the different types of noodles.
Similar to ramen, Jajangmyeon gained huge popularity even outside Korea. But the central question is whether Jajangmyeon is halal for Muslims to eat! Well, it depends on how it is cooked. Jajangmyeon in raw form doesn’t contain any haram items but what you put in it to cook decides whether it is halal or haram.
While most Jajangmyeon is cooked with diced pork, one can substitute it with chicken ( slaughtered in the Halal method).
What is Jajangmyeon?
Jajangmyeon is a popular Chinese Korea Noodle that was originally developed by Chinese immigrants that came to Korea. (source) It is also commonly known as Black Bean Noodles.
After Ramen, it is one of the most liked ready-to-eat noodles in Asian countries, and Muslims should be aware of whether the jajangmyeon is Halal or not.
Is Jajangmyeon Halal or Haram?
Jajangmyeon is made up of wheat and salt. But then further tossed with different sauces, veggies, and meat. So while preparing Jajangmyeon make sure to use halal chicken or beef, the rest veggies and sauces are good to go. In this way, you can enjoy your halal Jajangmyeon.
How to make Halal Jajangmyeon?
Traditionally Jajangmyeon is prepared by boiling it and then tossing it with chunjang sauce. This sauce is made up of wheat flour, soybean, and caramel and then fermented.
According to Islamic Scholars fermented food is halal. Yes, it is true there is some alcohol formation which is again very low (0.2% to 0.6%) and which as per scholars is a safe level to be consumed as it does not intoxicate you. (source).
Along with this onion, garlic (max 4-5), cabbage, mushroom, and other vegetables (as per your liking) are added on. Then it is further tossed with Pork, but one can definitely replace it with halal chicken or beef.
Adding a bit of sugar and oil combined helps balance out the bitterness of the black bean paste. (source)
One can also refer to this video to make halal Jajangmyeon:
Does Alcohol in Jajangmyeon make it Haram?
People do add pork marinade sauce which does consume alcohol but one can skip it completely if he/she wants to.
Besides this, out of many recipes, none of them contain alcohol. Thou during the process of making chunjang sauce, very less % of alcohol is realized but that is safe to be consumed as it does not intoxicate you.
The thumb rule as per Islamic Scholars is if you consume any item that has traces of alcohol in it, it should not intoxicate you (source).
What does Jajangmyeon taste like?
I personally have tried 2-3 brands of Jajangmyeon noodles, it is a bit thick compared to other noodles and taste a bit salty and sweet (as it is used to cut down the bitterness of the black bean paste). The flavor is quite unique especially due to its signature sauce.
Is Samyang Jajangmyeon Halal to Eat?
Thou all the products of Samyang aren’t halal certified but a lot of them are by the Korean Muslim Federations. Just to be on the safer side, always look for a halal certification stamp on the packet before consuming it. One can go for the Samyang Instant Noodle, Halal Certified, and get it delivered to your home.
Is Chapagetti Jajangmyeon Halal?
No, Nongshim Chapagetti is not halal, they even use shrimp as an ingredient. Also, when asked on their Amazon product listing page, the seller clearly mentioned it is not halal. It is not exactly Jajangmyeon but a quicker version of it.
Is Paldo Jajangmyeon halal?
Yes, there is a type of Paldo Jajangmyeon Noodle which is halal as stated by the brand itself, you can check out the product here. But do make sure to check all the ingredients behind the package before eating it.
Is Jajangmyeon Spicy?
People in general are skeptical about whether Jajangmyeon is spicy or not, but surprisingly it is not at all spicy. It actually depends on the type of sauce you add to it. Once, just for a change I added Samyang 2x Noodle sauce to Jajangmyeon noodles and it was way too spicy, so again it totally depends on the dressing or simply terms of how you are actually cooking it.
