Japchae

Last night’s dinner was another Korean dish I recently encountered while doing some research. I have enjoyed this wonderful dish at my Korean friends’ parties and honestly, I just had to pare and simplify this recipe down for one. Or two, depending on how hungry you are. From the recipe I used as a base, I had to find a way to make this easier so I broke out the components of this dish. Marinated stir fried beef. That is easy enough, I have done that several times in the past. Stir fried vegetables. Same. Korean glass noodles. Well, that is a new one for me. I have read several ways to prepare these sweet potato starch noodles – from what I can tell one method is to cook them twice until they turn translucent and absorb the flavors of the sauce – which is a simple soy, ginger, garlic, sugar, and sesame concoction. The other method simply uses them as a base without frying. Guess which method I used? Well, I will let you read below to find out. For now I am hungry after writing about this Korean staple so let’s get cooking!

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Japchae

Prep time: 45 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 1

Ingredients

3 oz Korean glass noodles (thin sweet potato starch noodles)
5 oz lean beef, cut into ¼ to ½ inch strips
2 oz carrots, julienned
2 oz onion, thinly sliced radially
2 oz asparagus, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
¼ cup dried shitake or maitake mushrooms
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp mushroom flavored soy sauce
½ tbsp sesame oil plus 1 tsp
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp peanut or canola oil, divided
¼ to ½ sheet nori, cut into strips
1 scallion, sliced thinly diagonally

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, ginger and black pepper.
Add the beef and toss to coat.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.
While the beef marinates, re-hydrate the mushrooms.
Just before the marinade time is complete, prepare the noodles, drain and rinse in cold water.
Toss the noodles with the remaining sesame oil to prevent sticking.
Drain the mushrooms, reserving the steeping liquid.
In a large skillet or wok over High/Medium-High heat, heat half the peanut or canola oil until shimmering.
Heat the remaining peanut or canola oil and when shimmering, add the asparagus.
Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes before removing to a clean bowl.
Adding the carrot, red pepper, onions, and drained mushrooms to the hot pan.
Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes until the vegetables are tender crisp.
Remove to the bowl with the asparagus.
Add the beef and stir fry until the edges brown and it is no longer pink, approximately 5 minutes.
Remove to a clean bowl.
If desired, add the noodles and stir fry in the remaining oil and a splash of the mushroom steep until translucent and slightly crisp on the edges, approximately 1 to 2 minutes.
Serve with the noodles piled to one side of a bowl, vegetables on the other side and the beef spread across the top.
Garnish with sliced scallions and nori.

Notes

This recipe is adapted from Samin Nosrat's NY Times recipe.

In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, ginger and black pepper. Add the beef and toss to coat.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. While the beef marinates, re-hydrate the mushrooms. Just before the marinade time is complete, prepare the noodles, drain and rinse in cold water.

Toss the noodles with the remaining sesame oil to prevent sticking. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the steeping liquid. In a large skillet or wok over High/Medium-High heat, heat half the peanut or canola oil until shimmering. Heat the remaining peanut or canola oil and when shimmering, add the asparagus.Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes before removing to a clean bowl. Adding the carrot, red pepper, onions, and drained mushrooms to the hot pan. Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes until the vegetables are tender crisp. Remove to the bowl with the asparagus. Add the beef and stir fry until the edges brown and it is no longer pink, approximately 5 minutes. Remove to a clean bowl. If desired, add the noodles and stir fry in the remaining oil and a splash of the mushroom steep until translucent and slightly crisp on the edges, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with the noodles piled to one side of a bowl, vegetables on the other side and the beef spread across the top. Garnish with sliced scallions and nori.