Ram-Don (Jjapaguri Noodles)

Ram-Don, or Jjapaguri, is a popular Korean dish that combines two kinds of noodle brands – chapagetti and neoguri. Featured in the Oscar-winning movie Parasite, you'll love how simple and fast it is to make with simply 5 ingredients!

Did you watch the movie Parasite, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture?

There is a scene where the wealthy Mrs. Park asks her housekeeper, Mrs. Kim, to prepare "ram-don" noodles for her son. Well, Mrs. Kim has NO idea what "ram-don" is. So she tosses together some cubed steak with two different kinds of noodles and hopes it passes for whatever "ram-don" is.

It does, indeed, pass the test.

After watching the movie, We did some research and learned that the "ram-don" recipe in the movie refers to a popular Korean comfort food dish known as Jjapaguri.

The actual Korean name derives from combining the two types of instant noodles used to make it — jjapa(getti) and (neo)guri.

As a Filipino-American, We am all about learning different ways of making noodles from Asian cultures. We grew up eating Pancit Bihon regularly, and love finding different ways of making homemade ramen.

So We was excited to learn how quite EASY it is to make these Korean noodles! And, how DELICIOUS this instant noodle dish is in real life.

If you love ramen noodles, We think you'll love this recipe, too!

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🍜 What is Ram-Don?

In real life, the name Ram-Don is what Koreans know to be Jjapaguri noodles.

When making the Parasite movie, they found it was difficult to create subtitle translations for the dish that American audiences would understand, so they made up a new name for it and called it ram-don. Ram-Don is, essentially, a combination of ramen and udon noodles.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

You'll love this Ram-Don noodles recipe for so many reasons!

You need simply 5 ingredients to make this noodle dish. Most can be found at your grocery store or an Asian market.
The whole dish can be made in less than 30 minutes.
It's simple to double or even triple the recipe to feed a larger family.
You can customize the dish to your personal taste preference by putting more or less of the spicy seasoning in.
Like other ramen and udon recipes, you can garnish this Korean noodle dish with so many tasty extra touches – or leave it as is in its pure comfort food perfection.

🥩 Ingredient notes for Ram-Don

One of the favorite parts about this Ram-Don recipe is that you can make it with simply 5 ingredients!

Neoguri noodles – These are the instant Japanese-style udon noodles with a spicy broth, and the most popular are Nongshim's Neoguri noodles.

Chapagetti noodles- look for Nongshim's Chapagetti instant ramen (jjajang) noodles. It's a combination of spaghetti and black soybean paste known as Chajang.

TIP: you can also buy noodle packs that include both Neoguri and Chapagetti noodles in order to make Jjapaguri!

Beef – in the Parasite movie, Mrs. Park specifically asks for Hanu or Hanwoo beef – the Korean term for premium (read: expensive) beef. If you were to stick with the script, you could use Wagyu beef, which is the most expensive type of beef in the world.

We'm using ribeye in the recipe, since it's more easily found in grocery stores around the US. While it's not super cheap, it's also not nearly as expensive as Japanese Wagyu beef.

Sesame oil – cooking the beef in sesame oil adds such a nice, nutty flavor to the whole dish.

Salt & black pepper – season the steak with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Then once the dish is cooked, season to taste, as needed. You will likely find that you don't need much salt and pepper, if any at all, thanks to the seasoning.

✅ Step-by-step instructions

Exact measurements of ingredients and instructions are in the printable recipe card toward the bottom of this post. Here are some helpful tips to guide you as you make this recipe.

1. Pat the steak dry, then cut into thin slices. Season with salt and pepper.

2. In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil over medium high heat, then sauté the steak until simply cooked, about 2 to 4 minutes.

3. In a large stockpot, boil 4 cups of water. Add both instant noodle packages and the dried vegetable packet; set aside the spice and seasoning packets for later. The noodles cook up quickly, usually in simply about 3 to 4 minutes.

4. When the noodles are cooked, drain most of the water leaving about a half cup of water in the pot. Return the cooked noodles to the pot.

5. Add the whole Chapagetti spice packet, and then as much or as little of the Neoguri spice packet as you want, depending on the spice level. Leave out the Neoguri spice packet contents completely if you want the noodles to be mild.

6. Use chopsticks to mix the seasonings in and coat the noodles.

7. Return the steak slices to the pot and mix into the noodles.

8. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.

⭐️ Ram-Don recipe FAQs

How spicy is Jjapaguri?

It can be as spicy or as mild as you like! The family prefers mild dishes, so We usually only sprinkle in a teeny tiny amount of the Neoguri noodle spice packet. You can even leave it completely out if you want this dish to be mild and not at all spicy.

Prefer spicy dishes? Add the entire Neoguri seasoning packet.

What can We add to these Korean noodles?

You can add sesame seeds and sliced green onions, as We did in some of the photos in this post. You can also add typical ramen noodle add-ons, such as sliced hard-boiled egg, julienned carrots, edamame, or broccoli.

What's the best way to store leftovers?

Store leftover noodles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

⏲ Kitchen tools and equipment

For this recipe, you simply need a few basic kitchen tools:

Pot – You will need a large stockpot to boil the water and cook the noodles.

Skillet or Dutch oven – Use a large skillet to cook the beef. We like to use the cast iron skillet to get a beautiful sear on the beef.

Strainer – You'll need a strainer to drain out most of the water from the noodles.

Chopsticks – We use chopsticks to mix all of the seasonings into the noodles.

🍽 Serving ideas

These Korean noodles are a comfort food treasure all on their own.

That said, you could serve them with an appetizer like Air Fryer Crab Rangoon. Or, try some tasty fruits and vegetable side dishes to complete your meal:

🍷 Best wine pairings for Jjapaguri noodles

We like to enjoy a dry Riesling, Semillon, or Sauvignon Blanc with Korean noodles. These are excellent wine pairing options especially if you choose to make the noodles on the spicy side.

More noodle recipes

Craving noodles? Here are more noodle recipes to try:

Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you truly loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!

Ram-Don recipe (Jjapaguri Noodles)

By Marlynn Schotland Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 20 mins Servings: 2 people This popular Korean comfort food combines two kinds of noodles and was featured in the Oscar-winning movie, Parasite.

Ingredients

8 ounces steak
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1 package Chapagetti noodles
1 package Neoguri noodles
2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional, for serving)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional, for serving)

Instructions

Slice the steak into thin slices then season with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil over medium high heat, then sauté the steak until simply cooked, about 2 to 4 minutes.
In a large stockpot, boil 4 cups of water. Add both packages of noodles and the dried vegetable packet; set aside the spice/seasoning packets for later. The noodles cook up quickly, usually in simply about 3 to 4 minutes.
When the noodles are cooked, drain most of the water leaving about a half cup of water in the pot. Return the noodles to the pot.
Add the whole Chapagetti spice packet, and then as much or as little of the Neoguri spice packet as you want, depending on the spice level. Leave out the Neoguri spice packet contents completely if you want the noodles to be mild. Use chopsticks to mix the seasonings in and coat the noodles.
Return the steak slices to the pot and mix into the noodles. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.

Notes

Spice level: this dish can be as spicy or as mild as you like! The family prefers mild dishes, so We usually only sprinkle in a teeny tiny amount of the Neoguri noodle spice packet. You can even leave it completely out if you want this dish to be not spicy. Prefer spicy dishes? Add the entire Neoguri seasoning packet.

Nutrition

Calories: 373 kcal, Carbohydrates: 2 g, Protein: 23 g, Fat: 31 g, Saturated Fat: 9 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13 g, Cholesterol: 69 mg, Sodium: 645 mg, Potassium: 345 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 1 g, Vitamin A: 138 IU, Vitamin C: 2 mg, Calcium: 28 mg, Iron: 2 mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.