Japchae is a Korean vegetable stir-fry dish with starch noodles or dangmyeon, normally made from sweet potato. No worries if you can’t find them: rice noodles will do. This version also adds beef strips for protein, although you can keep it vegetarian with tofu if you wish.
Ingredients:
1 packet starch noodles (or rice noodles)
250g beef strips (or tofu for vegetarians)
1 carrot
1 onion, diced
1 bunch of fresh spinach
4 button mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
5-6 spring onions
4-5 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp chili powder (or black pepper)
2 tsbp toasted sesame seeds
Rinse and clean all the vegetables. Quickly blanch the spinach and place it into a bowl. Chop the carrot and spring onion into small thin strips and add them to the spinach. Then take a tablespoon each of soy sauce and sesame oil and pour over the vegetables. Cut the mushrooms and onions and fry them in the pan until the onions are translucent, then add to the bowl of vegetables.
Heat a pot of water and add the noodles when it comes to a boil. When the noodles are somewhat soft and cooked, place them over the vegetables and use a pair of scissors to cut them in half. Pour another tablespoon of oil and soy sauce over the noodles.
Fry the beef strips (or tofu, cubed) in a pan with a bit of cooking oil. As it cooks, add the crushed garlic and stir until cooked and brown. Add the meat into the bowl with the noodles and vegetables, and pour over the remaining oil and soy sauce. Add sugar, and stir until the noodles are well coated. Finally, sprinkle on the sesame seeds and serve immediately!
Meredith Hicks is a freelance writer and blogger. Visit her website at meredithexpat.wordpress.com.
