Recipe · 15 minutes · Serves 2
It's Okay — You Can Make Parasite's Jjapaguri Tonight
Jjapaguri is what Koreans call the mix of two instant noodles — one black bean, one spicy seafood — and it was a home-cooking favorite long before it became 'ram-don' in the Parasite subtitles. The steak on top is the movie's joke, not a requirement: the noodles alone are already a perfectly good dinner.
Before You Shop: Quick Ingredient Check
- Chapagetti (Nongshim black bean instant noodles)sold at Korean and many Asian grocery stores — see below if you can't find it
- Neoguri (Nongshim spicy seafood udon-style noodles)found in the same aisle as Chapagetti
- Steak (optional — sirloin or ribeye)easy anywhere, and honestly skippable
- Buttereasy everywhere
- Cooking oilyou already have this
If you can only find one of the two noodles, you can still make a very good bowl — keep reading.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 1 pack Chapagetti (black bean instant noodles) (noodles, sauce packet, oil packet, and vegetable flakes)
- 1 pack Neoguri (spicy seafood instant noodles) (noodles, seasoning packet, and vegetable flakes)
- About 250g (1/2 lb) sirloin or ribeye steak, cut into 2cm cubes (optional — the movie uses expensive Korean beef, but any good steak works)
- 1 tbsp butter (optional, for the steak)
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- Salt and pepper, for the steak (optional)
Steps
- 1 Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the noodles from both packs along with the vegetable flakes from both packets.
- 2 Boil for about 4-5 minutes, until the noodles are just tender. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the cooking water and set it aside, then drain the noodles well.
- 3 Return the noodles to the empty pot over low heat. Add the whole Chapagetti sauce packet, the Chapagetti oil packet, and about half of the Neoguri seasoning packet (the full packet is quite spicy and salty). Add a splash of the reserved cooking water and toss until the noodles are evenly coated and glossy.
- 4 If you're making the steak: pat the cubes dry and season with salt and pepper. Sear in a hot, oiled pan for about 1 minute, add the butter, and keep cooking and turning for another 1-2 minutes, until browned outside and still pink in the middle.
- 5 Pile the noodles into bowls, top with the steak if using, and eat while hot. Taste, and stir in a little more of the Neoguri seasoning if you want more heat.
꿀팁Start with half the Neoguri seasoning packet and add more to taste — it's much easier to add heat than to take it away.
Substitution Guide
Can't Find Both Noodles? Here's What to Do
Jjapaguri really is just two specific packaged noodles, so the 'ingredients' are brand names — and not every store carries both. That's okay, there's a sensible fallback for each.
Use this if you can't find Chapagetti
Any jjajang (black bean) instant noodle works for the savory, slightly sweet half — look for 'jjajangmyeon' or 'black bean' on the package. Failing that, plain instant ramen noodles with a spoonful of soy sauce and a little sugar gets you a milder cousin of the same idea.
Use this if you can't find Neoguri
Any spicy instant noodle in the shin-ramyun style will bring the heat and savoriness. Use roughly half the seasoning packet, same as the recipe above, and taste before adding more.
If you can only find one of them
Make it as a single-noodle bowl and don't worry about the 'two-noodle' part. A black bean noodle with a little chili flake, or a spicy noodle with a pat of butter, is still a satisfying dinner.
Why mixing two noodles works (so you can improvise with what's on the shelf)
Chapagetti brings a rich, savory-sweet black bean sauce, and Neoguri brings a spicy, seafood-flavored kick. Mixed together they balance each other — the richness softens the heat, and the heat cuts the richness. Once you see that the trick is one 'rich' noodle plus one 'spicy' noodle, you can try your own pairings from whatever your store has.
A Few Things Worth Knowing
Where the name 'ram-don' came from
In Parasite's English subtitles the dish is called 'ram-don' — a made-up mash-up of ramyeon and udon. In Korean, it's simply jjapaguri (짜파구리), from Chapagetti plus Neoguri.
About the steak
The steak is the movie's wink at wealth — it's optional, and not how most Koreans eat jjapaguri day to day. Plain, or with a fried egg on top, is a very normal way to enjoy it.
Want to Go Further?
Once you're comfortable with instant noodles, the next step is learning the sauces that show up in nearly every Korean dish. Three of them cover most of what you'll cook.
Getting Started with Korean Cooking: The 3 Sauces You Need →Watch It Made
Cooks' versions
Made it your way? Show us.
Swapped an ingredient, changed the heat, plated it differently? Add a photo and a few words — we'll turn it into a pretty card right here on the Jjapaguri (Ram-don) page, so the next cook can follow your lead.
Found a noodle pairing that worked well where you live? Let us know in the comments — it helps the next person who gets stuck on this step.