Korean Chap Chae Vegetarian Food

VEGETARIAN JAPCHAE (KOREAN GLASS NOODLES)

Steps:

• Place the noodles in a large bowl (I use a large pot) and cover with cold water. You may need to weigh the noodles down with a lid. Let stand for 40 minutes.
• In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and pepper.
• In a large, wide heavy pot or sauté pan (I use my 5-qt Le Creuset braiser for this), combine the mushrooms, onion, carrot, and scallions. Season with a good pinch of kosher salt. Add the olive oil and 1/4 cup water, and toss with your hands to combine. Pile the spinach on top.
• Drain the noodles and, using scissors, cut them into 5- to 6-inch lengths. Place the noodles over the spinach. Give the sauce a stir and drizzle evenly over top.
• Cover the pan and set it on the stovetop. Turn heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover and give everything a stir.
• Add the sesame seeds and sesame oil and stir to combine. Serve immediately with hot sauce on the side if you wish.

VEGAN JAPCHAE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook sweet potato noodles following the directions on the package. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Add 1 tsp of sesame oil to coat the noodles, and then use scissors to cut the noodles (around 3-4 times). In the same pot, add in the spinach and blanch for 30 seconds. Rinse with cold water and squeeze the excess liquid out using a towel. Chop the bundled up spinach in half.
• Slice all the vegetables into match stick sized pieces. They should all be relatively the same size. Cut the tofu into thin rectangles.
• Put all the sauce ingredients into a small bowl and stir.
• In a large wok, over medium high heat fry the smoked tofu with a little bit of sesame oil just until lightly browned on each side. Transfer into another bowl and set aside.
• In the same wok, fry onions and garlic for 1 minute. Then add in the shiitake mushrooms and carrot and fry for another minute. Add in the zucchini and scallions and fry for one more minute. Slightly turn down the heat and add in the noodles, spinach tofu and sauce. Toss and cook until all the sauce is all soaked up.
• Serve and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

KOREAN CHAP CHAE (VEGETARIAN)

Steps:

• Soak Chinese mushrooms in 1 cup hot water for 20 minutes.
• When they have softened, cut off the hard stems and slice the caps fine.
• Drop spinach into 10 cups of boiling water and boil rapidly for 2 minutes. Drain, run under cold water then squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
• Peel carrot, cut into 3 sections and then into fine julienne strips.
• Wipe off the fresh mushrooms and break off their stems. Cut the caps into very fine slices. Cut the nonwoody part of the stems into matchstick pieces.
• Cut away and discard the curly, tender part of the cabbage leaves. Save only the V-shaped core of the leaves and cut this into julienne strips.
• Cut the scallions into 2 1/2 inch sections and quarter the section with the bulb lengthwise.
• Combine the Chinese mushrooms, spinach, carrot, zucchini, mushrooms, cabbage, and scallions in a bowl. Mix well, separating all the spinach leaves.
• Heat the vegetable oil and the sesame oil in a wok over a medium-high flame. When hot, put in the garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds.
• Add all the vegetables in the bowl. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until the vegetables are tender-crisp.
• Turn the heat to low, and add the drained noodles, soy sauce, and salt. Stir well, distributing the noodles evenly, and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
• Season to taste.

VEGETARIAN KOREAN NOODLES (JAPCHAE)

Steps:

• For the sauce: Combine the sugar, tamari, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and ginger in a small bowl. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
• For the noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and stir to help submerge them. Cook until the noodles are just barely cooked, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Using kitchen shears or a clean pair of scissors, cut the noodles into approximately 8-inch lengths. Set aside.
• Heat the grapeseed oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the oyster and shiitake mushrooms and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are beginning to brown. Add the shallots and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until fragrant, another 2 minutes. Add the red pepper, garlic and scallions to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until the peppers are beginning to soften. Add the kale and the cooked noodles and saute another 3 minutes, stirring often to coat the noodles in the oil and to wilt the kale. Add the sauce and toss to coat. Top with sesame seeds if desired.

CHAP CHEE NOODLES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions, garlic, sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in sliced beef, and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.
• Heat wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, then drizzle with oil. Cook beef until evenly brown. Stir in carrots, bamboo shoots, napa cabbage, and spinach. Add cellophane noodles, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until heated through.

CHOP CHAE (KOREAN MIXED VEGETABLES WITH BEEF AND NOODLES)

Steps:

• Soak mushrooms in cold water for 20 minutes. Drain and cut into thin strips.
• Cook noodles in boiling water for 10 minutes.
• Drain and rinse in cold water, then cut into 4-5" length.
• Mix sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, 2 teaspoons, sesame seeds, rice wine, garlic, and pepper in a bowl.
• Add half of mixture to sirloin in another bowl; mix and set aside.
• Reserve other half of sauce.
• Heat 1 teaspoon canola oil in skillet or wok over medium-high heat and saute cabbage, onion, carrot, and onions stirring frequently for about 10 minutes.
• Add spinach and saute for 1 additional minute.
• Add mushrooms and noodles and remove from heat.
• Mix well and put in serving bowl; set aside.
• Heat remaining canola oil in skillet, add sirloin and cook until done.
• Add to vegetables and noodles.
• Add reserved sauce and mix well.
• Serve.

SPRING VEGETABLE JAPCHAE (KOREAN GLASS NOODLES)

Steps:

• Make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, garlic, sugar, sesame oil and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles until tender and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl. Add half of the sauce (about 3 tablespoons) and toss to evenly coat.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons safflower oil over medium. Add onion and carrots, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.
• Add mushrooms and half the remaining sauce (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the noodles.
• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon safflower oil and the bell pepper to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add snap peas and asparagus, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach to the skillet and stir until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture into the bowl with the noodles. Add the remaining sauce and toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide japchae among bowls and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve warm or at room temperature.