Japchae (potato starch noodles stir-fried with vegetables)

Japchae (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Japchae is a dish of potato starch noodles mixed with various stir-fried vegetables. Japchae is served without fail on holidays and traditional ceremonial days. The name japchae, or sundried vegetables, came about because it is mixed with various vegetables.

Ingredients
● 50g beef (top round), 10g (2 sheets) brown oak mushrooms, 3g Jew’s ear mushrooms

● Seasoning sauce ①: 1.2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp minced green onion, 1/4 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp sesame salt, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 0.1 g ground black pepper

● 1/3 ea cucumber, 1/2 tsp salt, 30 g carrot, 1/8 tsp salt

● 30 g skinned bellflower roots, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 onion

● 30 g mung bean sprouts, 2 cups water, 1/4 tsp salt

● Mung bean sprout seasoning : 0.5 g (1/8 tsp) salt, 2 g (½ tsp) sesame oil

● 60 g (1 ea) egg, 0.5 g (1/8 tsp) salt

● 60 g potato starch noodles, 400 g (2 cups) boiling water

● seasoning sauce ②: 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, 1/4 tsp salt

● 2 tbsp edible oil

Clean blood off the beef, shred the meat into 6 cm-long, 0.3 cm-wide and thick (45g) portions, then season them with half of the seasoning sauce ①.

Soak the mushrooms in water for about 1 hour, remove stems of brown oak mushrooms and shred it into pieces 0.3 cm wide and thick (28g). Separate Jew’s ear mushrooms by sheet (18g), season them with the remaining half of the seasoning sauce ①.

Wash the cucumber, cut 5~6 cm long and 0.3 cm-thick around, shred 0.3 cm wide (23g). Wash the carrots and skin. Cut and slice them 5~6 cm long and 0.3 cm wide and thick (20g), marinate with salt for 5 min. and dry.

Cut the bellflower roots into the same size as the cucumber (26g), wash it with salt by fumbling for 1 min. to draw out bitter taste. Skin and wash the onion, and shred it to the same size as the cucumber (100g). Remove the heads and tails of mung bean sprouts (26g).

Panfry egg as yellow/white garnish, cut it into 4 cm long and 0.3 cm wide/thick.

Preheat the frying pan and oil. Stir-fry the beef, brown oak mushrooms and Jew’s ear mushrooms for about 2 min. on medium heat.

Preheat the frying pan and oil. Stir-fry the cucumber and carrot respectively for 30 sec. on high heat. Stir-fry the bellflower roots and onion for 2 min. on medium heat.

Pour water in the pot, heat it up for 2 min. on high heat. When it boils, scald mung bean sprouts with salt for 2 min., drain water through a strainer (24g), mix it with mung bean sprout seasoning.

Pour water in the pot and heat it up for 2 min. on high heat. When it boils, add potato starch noodles and boil it for 8 min. Take out the noodles and drain water, cut strands into 20 cm long and mix with seasoning sauce ②.

Preheat the frying pan and oil. Stir-fry the noodles for 2 min. on medium heat.

Mix everything together and top with yellow/white garnish.

Tips
● To get the better quality and better color, all ingredients for this dish should be fried quickly on high heat.

● Pork, spinach and oyster mushrooms may be used as substitute ingredients for this dish.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)