South Korean comfort food gets spotlight on ‘Wok of Love’

One of the most popular comfort South Korean foods is the “jajangmyun,” or noodles with black bean sauce. Its origin goes back to the Chinese “zhajiangmian” dish literally meaning fried sauce noodles from the Shandong region of China.

The dish has a featured role on “Wok of Love,” a drama that takes place at a Chinese-Korean restaurant run by gangsters.

Jajangmyun, also spelled jajangmyeon, is made with black bean sauce, pork and vegetables. There are several variations of it, which you can find here in Hawaii at multiple locations. Search Yelp for it to find Chinese-­Korean restaurants that have it on the menu.

Be warned: It’s not the best first-date food as it can get a little messy eating it. You can wind up with black bean sauce all over your mouth by the end of your meal.

THIS WEEK’S SYNOPSES

“Secret Mother”

Episodes 5-6

>> Sunday, 6:30 p.m.: Hae Kyung, Ji Ae and Hwa Sook, three mothers from the Gangnam academic district, feel threatened by Eun Young, who knows their secret. Yoon Jin makes a dangerous deal to find her daughter’s kidnapper.

Episodes 7-8

>> Sunday, 7:45 p.m.: Yoon Jin gives Eun Young the pink slip. However, she takes her back as Min Joon’s tutor, when she sees Eun Young standing up for her son. Eun Young learns of the accident. Jung Wan gets furious when Yoon Jin tells him she wants to stop pursuing the case.

“Wok of Love”

Episodes 13-14

>> Monday, 7:45 p.m.: Chil Seong feels the retaliation from Dal Hee’s new man. She warns Sae Woo not to fall for the likes of him, that she’d end up getting hurt. Still, Chil Seong can’t get over his feelings for Sae Woo, as Poong’s feelings grow for her as well. Poong can’t accept that he has feelings for Sae Woo, and can’t control his emotions.

Episodes 15-16

>> Tuesday, 7:45 p.m.: Sae Woo falls asleep at the emergency room with butterflies for Chil Seong. But to her surprise, she dreams of Poong. As Poong’s feelings for Sae Woo grows, he tries to suppress it by being mean to Sae Woo. Poong gets his wits together, and develops a new menu to confront his former employer.

“The Undateables”

Episodes 3-4

>> Wednesday, 7:45 p.m.: A counselor at a matchmaking company, Jung Eum manages clients who fail at love. She is given tasks to get them matched with an imminent due date. Hoon Nam can’t seem to get that mysterious woman out of his mind.

Episodes 5-6

>> Thursday, 7:45 p.m.: Jung Eum discovers that Hoon Nam is the writer for the popular dating column “Hunnamjeongeum.” Jung Eum goes after Hoon Nam, hoping to scout him. She plans methodically to get him on board and finally succeeds. Will they overcome their less-than-pleasant first encounter?

“Rich Son”

Episodes 17-18

>> Friday, 7:45 p.m.: Soo Hee is devastated after finding out the loan taken out by Gye Dong can never be repaid. Kyung Ha and Attorney Park continue seeing each other. With each meeting, they realize they have many things in common.

Episodes 19-20

>> Saturday, 7:45 p.m.: Gye Dong gives Soo Hee a signed divorce paper. He pledges to protect Gwang Jae and Soo Hee. Gye Dong learns Young Ha is the one Tae Il has in his heart. Tae Il is torn between his love for Young Ha and his loyalty to Gye Dong. Tae Il ends up professing his love for Young Ha.

Jeff Chung is general manager of KBFD-TV, which televises Korean dramas with English subtitles. Reach him at 521-8066 or jeffchung@kbfd.com.