Korean Spicy Seafood Jjamppong
A fiery, deeply savory Korean-Chinese noodle soup. Garlic, ginger, and gochugaru are bloomed in oil. Napa cabbage and vegetables are stir-fried, then simmered in stock. Mussels, squid, and shrimp finish cooking in the broth, which is ladled over chewy wheat noodles.
Steps
Before you start
- Buy mussels the day you cook them and keep them refrigerated, uncovered, on a bowl of ice or in a damp cloth until needed.
- Have every ingredient prepped before you turn on the heat. The stir-fry moves fast and gochugaru burns in seconds.
- Check your noodle package for cooking time. Fresh noodles usually need 3 to 4 minutes, and dried udon needs 8 to 10.
- Open a window or run the vent fan. Toasting chili flakes in hot oil is fragrant and can make you cough.
Prep the seafood
- Scrub the mussels under cold running water and pull off any fibrous beards.
- Tap any open mussel on the counter.
- Discard it if it does not close within a minute.
- Pat the squid dry.
- Score the inside of each body in a shallow crosshatch, then cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces.
- Pat the shrimp dry.
- Keep all seafood refrigerated until step 7.
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Ready when: Mussels are clean and closed; squid pieces are scored and dry.
Tip: Dry squid sears and cooks evenly. Wet squid releases water and turns rubbery.
Cut the vegetables
- Prep the cabbage, onion, carrot, zucchini, and shiitake as listed.
- Mince the garlic and ginger together and keep them in one small pile.
- Slice the scallions, keeping the whites and the greens in separate piles.
- Put the vegetables on a tray in the order they go into the pot: onion and carrot, then mushrooms, then cabbage and zucchini.
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Ready when: Everything is cut to a similar size so it cooks evenly.
Bloom the aromatics
- Set a large wide pot over medium-low heat.
- Add the oil and heat for 30 seconds.
- Add the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and stir constantly for 1 minute, until fragrant and just softened but not browned.
- Add the gochugaru and stir for 20 to 30 seconds, until the oil turns bright red and smells toasty.
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Ready when: Oil is bright red and the aromatics smell fragrant, not burnt.
Tip: Gochugaru scorches fast and turns bitter. If it darkens or smells acrid, start again.
Stir-fry the vegetables
- Raise the heat to medium-high.
- Add the onion and carrot and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the shiitake and stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the cabbage and zucchini and stir-fry for 2 minutes more, until the cabbage edges look glossy and slightly wilted.
- Keep everything moving so the chili flakes coat the vegetables without catching on the bottom.
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Ready when: Onion looks translucent at the edges and cabbage is glossy and slightly wilted but still crisp.
Tip: Vegetables should sizzle. If the pot looks dry, add 1 tbsp (15 ml) of the stock.
Build and simmer the broth
- Pour in the rice wine and let it bubble for 15 seconds, scraping up any browned bits.
- Stir in the gochujang, soy sauce, and sugar until the gochujang dissolves.
- Add the stock and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for 8 minutes so the flavors meld.
- Meanwhile, fill a 4 qt (3.8 L) pot with about 3 qt (2.8 L) of water and bring to a boil over high heat for the noodles.
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Ready when: Broth is deep red-orange, with a gentle simmer and a spicy, savory aroma.
Tip: Do not add salt yet. The seafood releases its own salinity.
Cook the noodles
- Boil the noodles in the large pot of water according to package directions, usually 3 to 4 minutes for fresh.
- Stir once in the first 30 seconds to separate the strands.
- Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water for 20 seconds, rubbing gently to remove surface starch.
- Drain well and divide among four bowls.
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Ready when: Noodles are chewy and tender with no raw white center, and they feel bouncy after rinsing.
Tip: Rinsing keeps the noodles springy and stops starch from clouding the broth.
Cook the seafood
- Raise the broth to a steady boil over medium-high heat.
- Add the mussels, cover, and cook for 3 minutes.
- Uncover and add the squid and shrimp.
- Cook for 1½ to 2 minutes, stirring once, until the shrimp are pink and curled and the squid is opaque white and just firm.
- Most mussels will have opened by now.
- Remove the pot from the heat.
- Discard any mussels that remain closed.
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Ready when: Mussel shells are wide open; shrimp are pink and C-shaped; squid is opaque and tender. Seafood is 145°F (63°C).
Tip: Squid turns tough after about 3 minutes in hot broth. Take the pot off the heat as soon as it turns opaque.
Season and serve
- Taste the broth.
- Add salt and black pepper a pinch at a time until it tastes savory and balanced.
- If you want more heat, stir in another ½ tsp gochugaru.
- Ladle the hot soup, vegetables, and seafood over the noodles, dividing the mussels evenly.
- Top with the scallion greens and serve right away with an empty bowl for shells.
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Ready when: Broth tastes well seasoned, with a balance of heat, savoriness, and a hint of sweetness.
Tip: Serve immediately. The noodles keep absorbing broth and soften quickly.
Good to know
Tips
- Season the broth only at the end. Seafood, soy sauce, and gochujang all add salt.
- Cook noodles separately and rinse them. Cooking them in the soup clouds the broth and makes them mushy.
- Add seafood in stages: mussels first, then squid and shrimp. Squid and shrimp overcook quickly.
- Keep the flame high when stir-frying to get a slightly smoky wok flavor, but lower it at once if the gochugaru begins to darken.
Make ahead
"Prep the vegetables, aromatics, and seafood up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate them separately in covered containers. The broth can be made through step 5 up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat to a boil, then cook the noodles and seafood just before serving."
Storage & reheating
"Best eaten right away. Store leftover broth and seafood separately from the noodles in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Do not leave at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Reheat the broth to a gentle simmer for about 1 minute and warm the seafood in it briefly. Freezing is not recommended for the seafood, but the broth without seafood freezes for up to 2 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before reheating."
Substitutions
- mussels → littleneck or manila clams. Use the same weight. Cook until the shells open, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- fresh wheat noodles (udon-style or jjamppong noodles) → dried udon (12 oz / 340 g) or ramen noodles. Cook according to package directions, then rinse well.
- low-sodium chicken stock or anchovy stock → water with 1 tsp fish sauce and 1 tsp kosher salt. Flavor will be lighter, so add 1 tbsp more gochujang for depth.
- coarse Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru) → 2 tbsp mild gochugaru plus 1 tsp cayenne. Use for extra heat. For a milder soup, use only 1½ tbsp gochugaru.