Black Day

Today is Black Day, the South Korean holiday that serves as an anti-Valentine's Day - on this day, singles who have not found love wear black clothes and eat black food, traditionally the jajangmyeong noodles with a thick black bean paste.

In South Korea, customarily it's women who give chocolates and romantic gifts to men on Valentine's Day, and on White Day on March 14 is when men give gifts to women. But a month later, on Black Day, those who received no gifts of affection on the preceding holidays take the day to mourn, wallowing in their loneliness, or celebrate their singledom proudly.

To celebrate Black Day here in the States, if you don't have access to Korean food near you, you can make the traditional jajangmyeong yourself:

1) Start with wheat noodles - go for the thicker ones similar to fettucine or linguine - and black soybean paste, which you can find in the Asian food section of your grocery store or local Asian market if possible. *Note it may be marked as "chunjang" sauce.

2) This dish originates from Chinese cooking, so stir fry some vegetables and meat in a wok - onions, mushrooms and your preference of beef, pork, or shrimp - and dilute the bean paste in a pot of simmering stock or water to reduce the saltiness.

3) Cook the noodles al dente, then toss in with the cooked stir-fry and stir the sauce in to coat the noodles. Top with fresh cucumber and chopped scallion.

4) Then eat your noodles and cry - be sure to wear black.