Having seen “Parasite” three times now, one of my biggest curiosities was how to make a vegetarian version of the signature dish in the movie, ram-don, which is also known as jjapaguri.

My version is actually vegan, making 4 “servings.” I did my best to make it gluten-free as well, but I couldn’t find vegan steak and gochujang that don’t contain gluten. (Know a vegan, gluten-free steak or gochujang? Please share it in the comments.)

Ingredients
1 3.5-ounce package glass noodles, cooked
1 2.5-ounce unseasoned ramen noodle brick, cooked
4 servings vegan steak, cubed
3 ounces black bean paste
0.25 cups gochujang (fermented chile paste)
fresh or dried chives or green onions to garnish (optional)

Instructions
Prepare the glass noodles and ramen noodles according to their packaging. We used gluten-free Korean sweet potato glass noodles that required six minutes of cooking in boiling water.

Two minutes into cooking the glass noodles, we added our gluten-free millet and brown rice ramen brick, which needed four minutes of cooking time.

As the noodles are wrapping up, sear your cubed vegan steak in a wok.

Stir in the cooked noodles, black bean paste and gochujang, coating the noodles and steak with the sauce mixture.

Serve and sit down to watch “Parasite.”

The Easy Route
You could find precooked glass noodles and ramen, but I think that finding a restaurant that makes vegan ram-don for takeout or delivery will be pretty difficult for most of us.

The Pairing
“Parasite” is one of the best of movies of the last few years, and as I wrote above, I knew I would want to pair it with ram-don.

The dish represents the film’s theme of the clash of the classes. The base of the ram-don is made with basic, easily accessible food that typically comes in cheap packets. The rich wife and mother in the movie likes to “class it up” by adding the finest steak.

For us, the result of making the dish is similar to the feeling you get when you are watching the movie: you are totally enthralled and can’t get enough of the various aspects that pull the ram-don and “Parasite” together.

The film centers on the Kim family, a couple (Song Kang-ho and Jang Hye-jin) and their two adult children (Choi Woo-sik and Park So-dam), who find their way up from their dingy basement apartment to jobs working for the rich Park family in a house designed by a renowned architect.

It starts when the Kims’ son, Ki-woo, becomes an English tutor for the teenage Park girl, Da-hye (Jung Ji-so). Soon, he cons the family into hiring his three kin as an art teacher for the young Park boy (Jung Hyun-jun), a driver and a housekeeper.

The Kims act as though they’re not related, using fake names and fake credentials to gain employment.

Things take a turn when they let loose in the fancy house while their employers are out of town and the former housekeeper (Lee Jeong-eun), who they conned out of her job, shows up.

The twists and turns that ensue in the film’s second half are just as engaging as watching this family slowly work their way into a better life, just like the title suggests.

The performances by this ensemble cast are just outstanding, from Cho Yeo-jeong as the gullible Park matriarch, Yeon-kyo, to Park So-dam as the conniving Kim daughter, Ki-jung, to Lee Sun-kyun as the arrogant Park patriarch, Dong-ik.

But the real heart of this movie belongs to the performances of Choi Woo-sik and Song Kang-ho as his character’s father, Ki-taek.

“Parasite” was directed and co-written by Bong Joon-ho, who is best known for this movie along with “Okja” (the subject of a future pairing), “Snowpiercer” and “The Host.”

I absolutely love “Parasite” and “Okja,” so I can’t wait to see what’s next from him, including “Mickey 17” next year. But back to this movie.

“Parasite” does a masterful job of depicting the class divide, both literally and in some outstanding uses of metaphor.

Yes, the movie is a drama, but it also tells the story of these two intersecting families with a bit of humor and also some terror mixed into the plot.

This superb storytelling is a credit not only to the filmmaker and actors, but everyone involved in the film, from set design and makeup to cinematography and editing.

When “Parasite” won Best Picture at the Oscars a few years ago, I was overjoyed. It honestly has stayed with me for more than three years, and it’s a movie I will always recommend watching.

If you decide to make vegan ram-don and/or watch “Parasite,” let us know! Tag us in your Instagram posts & stories, tweets or TikTok videos: @veg_out_recipes