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How to Cook Chapagetti: The US Bag Is Cooked Differently

짜파게티jjapageti
Short answer
  • Stovetop, current US bag (no draining): Put 350 ml (about 1½ cups) of room-temperature water, the sauce mix, flakes, oil and noodles in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Don’t drain.
  • Microwave, current US bag: Put the sauce mix, flakes and oil in a microwave-safe bowl with the noodles on top, add 330 ml (about 1⅓ cups) of room-temperature water, microwave 8 minutes (5 if the water is hot), then mix well. We found this in one listing only.
  • Stovetop, Korean and UK/EU bags (drain): Boil the noodles and flakes 5 minutes in 600 ml of water, pour the water away leaving a few spoonfuls, then mix in the sauce powder and oil.

From the maker’s directions. Full steps and sources below.

Chapagetti (짜파게티), cooked and served
Chapagetti (짜파게티), cooked and served. Photo: Mobius6, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Chapagetti (짜파게티) is Nongshim’s instant jjajangmyeon: noodles in a black bean sauce, not a soup.[1][4] The bag holds the noodles, a sauce powder, vegetable flakes and a packet of oil.[2][5]

Check which bag you have before you start. The current US bag (127 g, 4.48 oz) goes into 350 ml of room-temperature water with everything at once, and it is not drained.[2][3] Korean and UK/EU bags (140 g) boil the noodles in 600 ml of water, then pour most of it away before the sauce goes in.[5][6][10]

How to cook it

Stovetop, current US bag (no draining) boil, then 5 min[2][3]

  1. In a saucepan about 8 inches across, combine 350 ml (about 1½ cups) of room-temperature water, the sauce mix, the flakes, the vegetable oil and the noodles.
  2. Bring to a boil, then keep cooking for 5 minutes, stirring often.
  3. Take it off the heat and serve. There’s no draining step: the water cooks down as you stir.[3]

The pan size and the room-temperature water come from Vitacost’s copy of the US pack text only.[2] The Korean news report confirms 350 ml, everything in at once and about 5 minutes of stirring.[3]

Microwave, current US bag 8 min (5 min with hot water)[2]

  1. Put the sauce mix, flakes and vegetable oil into a microwave-safe bowl, then put the noodles on top.
  2. Pour in 330 ml (about 1⅓ cups) of room-temperature water.
  3. Microwave for 8 minutes, or 5 minutes if you start with hot water. Times vary between microwaves.
  4. Mix well until the noodles are coated in sauce. Never microwave it without water, and take care: the bowl gets very hot.

We found the microwave directions in one place only, Vitacost’s copy of the US pack text, and it gives no wattage. Check your bag.

Stovetop, Korean and UK/EU bags (drain) 5 min[5][6][7][8][10]

  1. Bring 600 ml of water to a boil.
  2. Add the noodles and the flakes and cook for 5 minutes.
  3. Take it off the heat and pour the water away, keeping a little: about 4 tablespoons, says the UK/EU bag; about 8 spoonfuls, says the Korean bag.[5][7][10][12]
  4. Add the sauce powder and the oil, mix well and serve.

What the Korean bag says

The directions on the Korean bag (올리브 짜파게티) read:[10]

On the bagIn English
끓는 물 600ml에 면과 해물야채건더기를 넣고 5분간 끓입니다Put the noodles and the seafood-vegetable flakes in 600 ml of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.
물을 8스푼 정도만 남기고 따라버린 후 잘 비벼드세요.Pour the water off, leaving only about 8 spoonfuls, then mix well.

Why the US bag is different

Nongshim told the Korean news site Insight that it made the US directions simpler for American shoppers, who are less used to boiling noodles and pouring off the water.[3] Older US bags with a boil-and-drain method may still be around: 600 ml (about 2½ cups) of water, 5 minutes, then drain, leaving 4–5 tablespoons, before the sauce and oil go in.[4] We saw that older label at one store only.

Label facts

Chapagetti, current US bag영양정보·표시사항
Bag
US: 127 g (4.48 oz). Korean and UK/EU bags: 140 g. [1][2][10][7]
Serving (US)
1 bag [1][2]
Calories (US)
570 per bag [1][2]
Sodium (US)
1,100 mg (48% DV) per bag [1][2]
Contains (US)
Wheat, soy, shrimp, sesame [1][2]
Same facility (US)
Also processes fish, eggs, tree nuts and milk. Nongshim’s page adds peanuts; Vitacost’s copy of the label doesn’t. [1][2]
Oil packet
A blend that includes olive oil (US: canola, corn and olive oil, plus sesame and mustard oil). In Korea the bag is sold as 올리브 짜파게티, “Olive Chapagetti”. [1][6][10][11]
UK/EU bag
Per 100 g: 430 kcal, 2 g salt. Contains wheat (gluten), soy, shrimp, sesame, mustard. May contain barley, eggs, fish, peanuts, milk, celery, molluscs. Made in South Korea. [7][5][9][6]
Korean bag
Contains wheat, egg, milk, soybean, pork, shrimp, beef. Costco Korea lists 610 kcal and 1,100 mg sodium per bag. [11][10]
Storage
UK/EU bag: store dry. Costco Korea’s copy of the Korean bag: away from direct sunlight, in a cool, dry place. [5][7][10]

Every Chapagetti bag we checked contains shrimp, so it isn’t vegetarian.[1][7][11] Peanut statements differ between labels: an older US label lists peanut as an allergen, and one EU import label lists peanut oil in the oil packet.[4][13] If you have a peanut allergy, read your own bag. The US ingredient list includes mustard oil, but mustard isn’t one of the nine allergens US labels must name, so the Contains line leaves it out.[1]

Korean words on a Chapagetti bag

Tap the speaker to hear each word. More in the label words list.

  • 짜장jjajangblack bean sauce
  • 끓는 물kkeulleun mulboiling water
  • 면myeonnoodles
  • 해물야채건더기haemul yachae geondeogiseafood and vegetable flakes
  • 스푼seupunspoon(ful)
  • 남기고namgigoleaving (some behind)
  • 따라 버리고ttara beorigopour off (the water), then …
  • 비벼bibyeomix together (toss, as in bibim)
  • 과립스프gwarip seupeugranulated seasoning packet
  • 조미유jomiyuseasoning oil (the oil packet)
  • 새우saeushrimp
  • 돼지고기dwaejigogipork
  • 쇠고기soegogibeef

Ways to serve it

  • Top it with sliced cucumber or a fried egg.
  • Serve it with kimchi or yellow pickled radish (danmuji) on the side.

These are serving ideas, not part of the pack’s directions.

Sources

  1. Nongshim USA: Chapagetti: label and ingredients
  2. Vitacost (US): Nongshim Chapagetti, 4 bags × 4.48 oz (127 g) (pack text and label)
  3. Insight (in Korean): why Chapagetti’s US directions are different
  4. Yami (US): Nongshim Chapagetti, 4 × 4.48 oz (older US label)
  5. McGrocer (UK): Nongshim Chapagetti Chajangmyun, 140 g (pack text and label)
  6. PS in foodservice (Netherlands): Nongshim Instant Noodles Chapagetti, 140 g (pack text and ingredients)
  7. Albert Heijn (Belgium, in Dutch): Nongshim Chapagetti, 140 g
  8. Piccantino (UK): Nongshim Instant Noodles Chapaghetti, 140 g
  9. Gurkerl (Austria): Nongshim Chapagetti, 140 g (label)
  10. Costco Korea (in Korean): 농심 올리브 짜파게티 140 g × 20 (pack text and label)
  11. Kurly (in Korean): 농심 올리브 짜파게티 5입 (label)
  12. Insight (in Korean): how much cooking water to keep for Chapagetti
  13. Nikan Kitchen (EU): Nongshim Chapagetti, 5 × 140 g (a different EU import label)

Checked October 26, 2026. If your pack differs, follow your pack, and tell us so we can update this page.

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