Japchae (stir fried glass noodles with vegetables)

Japchae, Chapchae, or Jabchae, is a very popular korean dish made from cellophane noodles called dangmyeon  (the type of noodle used is made from sweet potato starch and becomes transluscent when cooked, hence it is sometimes called glass noodles), stir fried in sesame oil and a lot of vegetables such as carrots, mushrooms, bell pepper, and spinach and flavoured with soy sauce and sugar. This dish is very versatile that it can be served as a meal by itself or it can be served as a side dish or a snack.  It can also be served either hot or slightly chilled.

This is my simple cook-it-yourself japchae.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound dried Korean sweet potato noodles
2 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
1 tablespoon cooking oil
3/4 cup thinly sliced onions
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 stalks green onions, cut into 1″ lengths
1/2 cup shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 lb spinach, washed well and drained
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Procedure:

Fill a large pot with water and boil.

When water is boiling, add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes.

Immediately drain and rinse with cold water.

Drain again and toss with only 1 tsp of the sesame oil.

Use kitchen shears to cut noodles into shorter pieces, about 6-8 inches in length.

Set aside.

In bowl, mix soy sauce and sugar together.

Add the cooking oil in a wok or large saute pan on high heat and swirl to coat.

When the cooking oil is hot but not smoking, stir fry onions and carrots, until just softened, about 1 minute.

Add the garlic, green onions and mushrooms, stir fry for about 30 seconds.

Then add the spinach, soy sauce, sugar and the noodles.

Saute for 2-3 minutes until the noodles are cooked through.

Turn off heat, toss with sesame seeds and the remaining 1 1/2 tsp of sesame oil.

Prepare a platter lined with banana leaves before pouring your japchae.  Just for presentation purposes.  That's how i usually serve my japchae.

You may also add beef strips if you so desire. Just saute it until tender and then stir in the other ingredients.  But i prefer my japchae meat free.

Just like cooking your ordinary stir fried noodles.

Korean Food 101

I always consider eating in a Korean restaurant a gastronomic delight. You leave the restaurant very much satisfied although your wallet becomes a bit lighter. But choosing what to eat is quite a challenge if you are not familiar with the menu. So, from my regular dining at a Korean restaurant, here’s my beginners guide to Korean cuisine.

Most if not all Korean restaurants serve panchan, a variety of side dishes which comes in small, white-colored plates. The panchan can be anywhere from 2 to 12 varieties (my favorite Korean restaurant usually serves 6 but can go up to 10 depending on the number of people in the group). The most common panchan is kimchi, a fermented vegetable dish. The most popular variety is cabbage kimchi, but they say that there are more than 160 kimchi varieties. Kimchi is also the most popular food identified/associated with Korea. Other side dishes which I usually find in a Korean restaurant are fried zucchini; potato salad; steamed egg or rolled egg omellete, pickled radish, sweetened young potato; sweetened anchovies, and a lot more. Koreans actually make so many side dishes from almost everything.

For meat lovers, barbequed beef or bulgogi is highly recommended. Bulgogi literally means “fire beef” but is generally called “Korean barbeque”. Thin, tender strips of tenderloin or sirloin are marinated in a sauce (usually with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and garlic) and cooked over hot charcoal grill or a portable gas grill.

Galbi is marinated beef ribs. Like bulgogi, it is also grilled. Galbi could either be pork ribs (dwaeji galbi) or beef ribs (sogalbi or just galbi).

Samgyeopsal is not a beef dish but a pork dish. It is thick, fatty slices of pork belly which is not seasoned nor marinated, cooked in a grill right at the table on the diner’s table. It is then consumed by dipping it in a sauce consisting of sesame oil, black pepper, and salt. It can also be eaten by placing a slice of meat inside a lettuce or any other green leaf with some cooked rice and a paste made up of chili paste and soy bean paste.

For chicken fanatics, you can try samgyetang, which literally means “ginseng chicken soup”, whole chicken stuffed with glutinous rice and boiled in a broth of Korean ginseng, dried jujube fruits, garlic and ginger.

Dak galbi or spicy chicken dish is made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken in gochujang (chilly pepper paste) and sliced vegetables together on a hot plate.

For stews ( jjiggae) you might want to try Kimchi jjiggae, a soup made with mainly kimchi, pork and tofu.

Doenjang jjiggae or soy bean paste stew, is made with fermented soybean paste and tofu.

Yukkae jang kuk, or beef stew.

Other food that you might want to try:

Japchae, one of the most popular Korean noodle dish, made from glass noodles stir fried in sesame oil with various vegetables, such as thinly-sliced carrots, onions, spinach, and mushrooms, served with beef, and flavorued with soy sauce and sweetened sugar.

Mandu, or dumplings.

Gimbap, steamed rice with various ingredients rolled in sheets of dried seaweed, similar to sushi.

Bibimbap, rice with mixed vegetables

I guess that’s about it. HAPPY EATING!!!