Japchae (Korean Stir-Fried Starch Noodles with Vegetables)

Korean potato starch noodles (dangmyeon)

I found a wonderful food blog, Eating and Living, written by a Korean-American mom. She shares many authentic Korean and Korean-Chinese recipes. I have used her kalbi recipe on numerous occasions and is now my go-to recipe for Korean BBQ. After my 3 year-old sampled and loved the Japchae at the Korean market, I knew I would have to make it for him at home. It has been years since I have made Japchae. It is one of my favorite Korean dishes, but I have never been able to get the seasoning just right. This was by far my best attempt to date - evidence of a well-written and tested recipe. The only change I made was to season the cooked spinach with sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds (in addition to the salt and pepper). My little munchkin gobbled up his noodles and didn't even complain about the carrots or spinach!

Dried Shitake Mushrooms, Scallions, Onions, Red Pepper, Spinach and Carrots

Soy Sauce, Sugar, Seasame Oil, Garlic (add roasted sesame seeds)

Japchae

Japchae (Korean Stir-Fried Starch Noodles with Vegetables)
Recipe as printed on the blog Eating and Living

4 Servings

Ingredients

6 oz Korean potato starch noodles (dangmyeon)

5 dried shiitake mushrooms* (soaked until plump)

1 bunch (6 oz) fresh spinach

1 small carrot

1 small sweet onion

1/2 red bell pepper

2 scallions

(4 oz lean beef like sirloin or rib eye - optional)

oil to stir fry vegetables

salt and pepper

* Dried shiitake is ideal for its concentrated flavor and meatier texture, but you can use any kind of fresh/dried mushrooms such as oyster or button mushrooms.

Sauce*

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds

(*Does not include marinade for the optional beef.)

Combine all sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Cook noodles according to the package instructions. Rinse in cold water and drain. Cut the noodles with kitchen shears into 6 -7 inch lengths. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce and set aside.

(If using beef, cut into thin 2-inch long strips. Mix in 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 clove garlic minced, and a pinch of pepper. Marinate while preparing the other ingredients.)

Blanch the spinach in boiling water only until the spinach is wilted. Drain quickly and shock in cold water. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Cut into 3-inch lengths (unless using baby spinach leaves). Lightly season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cut stems off the mushrooms and slice into 1/4-inch thin strips. Season with 1 tablespoon of the prepared sauce. Set aside.

Julienne the carrot and red bell pepper into 2 - 3 inch long strips and onions lengthwise. Slice scallions into the same lengths.

In a lightly oiled non-stick skillet, sauté each vegetable (except the spinach which is blanched) separately over high heat, sprinkling salt and pepper to season. (Do not overcook. Vegetables should be crisp.) If adding beef to the dish, sauté the beef now. Cool sautéed ingredients.

Sauté the noodles, stirring frequently, until translucent and sticky (about 5 minutes) and cool in a large bowl.

Combine all ingredients and the remaining sauce with the noodles. Add additional soy sauce or sugar as necessary.

Tips: The real secret to successfully create the authentic flavors of this dish is to find the right balance between soy sauce and sugar. You might think the amount of sugar this recipe calls for is a lot, but it is needed to balance the flavors. It does not make the dish too sweet. Also, leftover japchae should be kept refrigerated. Japchae reheats well in the microwave. The noodles will get soft and chewy again.