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Galaxea · CC BY 4.0

울면 · Ulmyeon

Ulmyeon

울면

What exactly is it?

Seafood and vegetables are cooked in a starch-thickened broth poured over wheat noodles. Egg adds soft ribbons. Unlike red jjamppong, chili is not the defining flavor; the thick soup coats the noodles rather than flowing like a clear udon broth.

Main ingredients

Wheat noodles, shrimp or squid, vegetables, egg, stock, starch

Ordering and serving

Let each spoonful cool: thick broth can stay hot beneath the surface. It can suit a request for less chili, but shrimp, squid and egg still need to be considered.

Origins and changes

Korean-Chinese restaurants use starch and egg to turn seafood-and-vegetable broth into a coating soup. This thickening step creates the smooth texture that distinguishes the serving.

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Ulmyeon

울면

Main ingredients
Wheat noodles, shrimp or squid, vegetables, egg, stock, starch
Flavor and character
Seafood and vegetables are cooked in a starch-thickened broth poured over wheat noodles. Egg adds soft ribbons. Unlike red jjamppong, chili is not the defining flavor; the thick soup coats the noodles rather than flowing like a clear udon broth.
How to eat it
Let each spoonful cool: thick broth can stay hot beneath the surface. It can suit a request for less chili, but shrimp, squid and egg still need to be considered.
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Jjajangmyeon

짜장면

Main ingredients
Wheat noodles, chunjang (dark fermented paste), pork, onion, cabbage or zucchini, starch
Flavor and character
Thick wheat noodles are mixed with a dark chunjang sauce containing stir-fried onion and pork. It is savory and sweet rather than usually chili-hot. The black color comes from the bean-paste-based sauce, not squid ink.
How to eat it
Mix the sauce through the noodles; pickled radish and raw onion often come alongside. Pork is common even when vegetables dominate the sauce. Gopbaegi, written 곱빼기, requests a larger noodle portion.
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