Parasite (2019): Ram-don (Jjapaguri)
Discover the Flavor of Ram-don: Recreating the Iconic Dish from Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite
Bong Joon-ho’s award-winning film Parasite captivated audiences around the world with its gripping storyline and thought-provoking themes. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie involves a dish called ram-don, also known as jjapaguri, which has since become a popular dish among fans of the movie. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at ram-don and how you can make it at home.
Ram-don is a combination of two Korean instant noodle dishes: ramyeon (spicy Korean noodles) and jjapagetti (black bean sauce noodles). The dish is made by cooking the two noodle types together in a pot, adding a packet of spicy seasoning, and topping it with thinly sliced beef. The result is a delicious, savory dish that’s both satisfying and easy to make.
In “Parasite,” the housekeeper Chung-sook (played by Jang Hye-jin) is asked to make ram-don for her employers’ son, Da-song (played by Jung Hyun-joon), who wants a snack late at night. The scene is tense and adds to the overall feeling of unease in the movie, but it also showcases the deliciousness of the dish.
If you’re a fan of “Parasite” and want to try making ram-don at home, it’s a simple dish that requires only a few ingredients. You’ll need two packets of instant noodles (ramyeon and jjapagetti), thinly sliced beef, green onions, and sesame seeds. Simply cook the noodles according to the package instructions, then stir in the seasoning packets and sliced beef. Top with chopped green onions and sesame seeds, and serve hot.
How to make the Ram-don (Jjapaguri)
Course: MainDifficulty: *Ram-Don (aka Jjapaguri) is made by cooking Jjapagetti and Neoguri noodles together in one pot. It’s yummy chewy noodles in a Jjajang sauce that has a hint of spicy udon flavour. This dish appears in the movie Parasite and if you love Jjajangmyeon then you will love this combination.
Ram-don isn’t a classic Korean dish, but rather one invented by Parasitetranslator Darcy Paquet. As theLA Timesreports, “Those fluent in Korean would tell you that the housewife in the movie is actually directing her maid to prepare a popular Korean quick food, jjapaguri, a word so hard to translate that for the English subtitlesParasitetranslator Darcy Paquet chose instead to invent a name not known in any language but that would merge the words ‘ramen’ and ‘udon.’
Ingredients
1 Chapagetti(Jjapagetti)
1 Neoguri
5 cups water
2 green onions
4 oz sirloin steak
Directions
- Boil 5 cups of water.
- Slice green onions thinly. Set aside.
- Cut steak into small cubes. Season lightly with some mirin, sesame oil, sea salt and black pepper.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan and cook steak cubes for a few minutes until it’s cooked to your desired doneness. Set aside.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan and cook steak cubes for a few minutes until it’s cooked to your desired doneness. Set aside.
- When the water boils, add both noodles to the pot and boil for 2 min.
- Drain water (about half) from the pot, still leaving enough water so it comes up to just below the top of the noodles. Return the pot with noodles to the stove. Turn on to medium-low and simmer.
- Open dry flakes packet from BOTH packages and add to pot. Add all of Chapagetti seasoning packet and 1/2 of Neoguri seasoning packet (add more if you like it more spicy and salty). Keep mixing until noodles are all well coated in sauce.
- Simmer noodles for another 2-3 min until most of the liquid is gone and noodles are well coated in sauce.
- Right before turning off the heat, add the cooked steak cubes and also the oil from Chapagetti. Stir. Immediately transfer to a dish.
- Plate noodles with the steak cubes and top with sliced green onions. Serve with some Danmuji (pickled yellow radish).
Recipe Video
Notes
- Jjapaguri is best eaten right away. Do not leave it too long, noodles will soak up the sauce and become unpleasant to eat.
- adding the steak is optional – I mainly added it because of how it was done in the movie. It’s totally fine without the steak.
- don’t overcook the noodles
- the right amount of water is important – leave enough water to a level just below the noodles and then continue to simmer until you just have the thick sauce left.
- serve with Danmuji and Kimchi
