Tray jajangmyeon makes a lot of food, and there is a high chance of having leftovers. If you intend to heat your leftovers, store the noodles and sauce separately. Jajangbap is another way to eat the sauce, served over warm rice. Use high heat and boiling, smoky oil to cook it quickly. The sauce will last for up to a week in the fridge.
Jajangmyeon can be eaten cold or hot. It may seem like an odd combination, but the flavors are good together. When reheating food, it may get rubbery and lose its original sometimes taste. The noodles are molded together, giving you a flavorless blob. To avoid that, you need to heat the food properly. Below are methods that you can use to reheat the dish.
Stovetop
Frying
Reheat your Jajangmyeon in a pan on the stove. All you need is a large pan, a little bit of oil, and minimum heat. Whether you are warming up noodles, rice, or vegetables, a couple of minutes over high heat will perk everything up, restoring the meal better than a microwave could do. It leaves even leaving the edges a little charred.
You can reheat each item separately for consistency, but if you need to eat your leftovers immediately, do not separate them. If you want more flavor, throw in a dash of soy sauce.
Boiling
When using the stovetop, you can alternate frying with boiling. The boiling method works if you keep your noodles and sauce separate. When heating noodles the first time around, portion out what you will eat at that meal, then rinse the remaining un-sauced noodles under cold water to stop the cooking and prevent it from getting mushy.
When you are ready to reheat your noodles, boil a pot of water, dunk the noodles in for about 30-60 seconds, drain, and then put the noodles and cold sauce directly back into the hot pot to mix them and heat the sauce.
Steaming
Bring a few tablespoons of water to simmer in a low frying pan with a tight-fitting lid if your dish already has sauce. Add your noodles and put the lid on. Wait for 30 seconds, remove the lid, stir it around, and close the lid for another 30 seconds. Repeat the process until heated.
Stir continuously to ensure it gets evenly heated and to avoid overcooked bits. The steam generated by water will revive the sauce and noodles so your food does not dry out. The method works in an office microwave, but you should be attentive.
Add a little water to a microwave-safe container with your leftover jajangmyeon. Zap for 30-60 seconds, remove, stir well, zap again, and repeat until well heated. The steam from the water will revive your dish and gives you a more even heating. Stirring often will keep it from turning into a gluey mess.
Microwave
If taking your noodles and sauce to work, boil water in a kettle or even the microwave, then pour it over your noodles in a container or large bowl. Wait 30-60 seconds, then drain. You may want to zap your sauce in the microwave for another 30-60 seconds to warm it up before topping your noodles.
Oven
When using the oven, bake the jajangmyeon. You can only use this method if you like the crispness of your dish. Spread your leftovers out evenly on a baking tray. Bake at 350 for about 15 to 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through. That gives you evenly heated noodles and crispy bites of toasted noodles. For extra taste, add a little cheese on top.
Reheating pasta tends to stick to the tray, so you should line the tray with parchment paper, a reusable silicone liner, or lightly oil a non-stick baking tray before adding pasta. This option works if your office has a toaster oven. You can do this in small batches on the toaster oven tray. Be considerate of your office mates, and bring a piece of foil to cover the baking tray to avoid leaving stuck-on pasta bits for eternity.
Rice cooker
The rice cooker is a versatile kitchen for reheating jajangmyeon. Use the Keep Warm setting to heat your dish. If you have leftover soup, you can heat them in the rice cooker with the lid open.
Rice cookers have different settings for cooking different types of food. You can add water to the congee and season with salt and pepper for better taste. Ensure that the food does not dry out by adding soy sauce and water as you heat it.
To keep the food warm, put it in the Keep Warm setting. Play around with the settings and reheat your dish. You can also use the steaming tray to reheat food.
The best method
Heating your food on the stovetop allows mix-ins to be added to your leftovers, such as vegetables, a fried egg, meat, or sauces such as the teriyaki sauce. Veggies like bok choy, broccoli, carrots, or peppers work well and help to add lots of flavor to your leftovers. Unlike heating your food in the microwave, reheating it on the stovetop allows all the flavors to be rejuvenated, making your dish taste better.
Storage
Keep extra sauce for several days in the fridge, so reheat and enjoy later. The black bean sauce can last for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator if you have leftover sauce. Leftovers are safe to consume within three to four days to avoid food poisoning. It is safe to reheat the leftovers after three days for Chinese food with lots of sauces.
Going beyond this timeframe is dangerous and leads to food poisoning. Severe cases of food poisoning can result in life-threatening neurologic syndromes leading to permanent disability or death (Monitor.co.ug). Refrigerate your leftovers within two hours. Store leftovers in a clean and airtight container. Safe Temperatures
The temperature of the refrigerator should be 40F or lower. More heat makes noodles rehydrate by absorbing water, and the starches and proteins break down (Exploratorium.edu).
FAQs
Is jajangmyeon sweet or salty?
The taste of jajangmyeon is deep, salty, and sweet altogether, bringing out gamchimat, which some diners love in their food.
Is Jajangmyeon healthy?
Jajangmyeon is a noodle dish with different flavors from bean paste, lard, rice wine, chicken stock, and cornstarch. More bean soup and vegetables make it a balanced dish. Expecting more calories coming from carbs and fats makes Jajangmyeon a fattening option.
Does jajangmyeon go bad?
Black bean sauce that has been continuously refrigerated stays for about two years. Smell and look at the black bean sauce: if sauce develops an off odor, flavor, or appearance, or if mold appears, get rid of it.