My Korean Kitchen Japchae Food

JAPCHAE

Steps:

• For the beef: Cut the beef against the grain into slices about 1/4-inch thick and 2 inches long. Place in a medium bowl with the soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, sugar and a few turns of freshly ground pepper. Mix until the meat is completely coated and set aside.
• For the onions: Heat the vegetable oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring constantly, until just tender with a little bite, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and set aside; reserve the skillet.
• For the bell peppers: Wipe the skillet clean, add the vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and cook, stirring constantly, until just tender and beginning to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and set aside; reserve the skillet.
• For the carrots: Wipe the skillet clean, add the vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and cook, stirring constantly, until just tender, but not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and set aside; reserve the skillet.
• For the eggs: Whisk together the eggs and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl until incorporated. Wipe the skillet clean. Add the vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Pour in the eggs and and swirl the pan until the mixture covers the entire surface area. Cook until the eggs are set on the bottom, about 1 minute. Flip carefully to keep the egg crepe in one piece and cook 1 minute more. Slide onto a plate or cutting board to cool, then cut the crepe into 4 equal strips horizontally. Layer all the strips together and cut into 1/4-inch strips, then set aside; reserve the skillet.
• For the mushrooms: Wipe the skillet clean, add the vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned, 6 to 7 minutes, stirring halfway through. Transfer the mushrooms to a medium bowl. Add the soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil, mix well and set aside; reserve the skillet.
• For the spinach: Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium-high heat and prepare an ice water bath. Add the spinach to the boiling water and blanch until it turns bright green, about 30 seconds. Remove the spinach with tongs or hand-held strainer and transfer to the ice bath immediately; reserve the pot and water. Once the spinach is completely cooled, remove it and squeeze dry. Cut the spinach into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the sesame oil, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well and set aside.
• For the japchae: Bring the pot of water back to the boil. Add the noodles and cook, stirring constantly to ensure the noodles don't stick on bottom of the pot, until noodles become mostly clear but are still opaque in the center and bend over the handle of a large wooden spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. (At this point, the noodles aren't cooked through all the way.)
• Drain in a strainer and rinse under cold running water, rubbing the noodles between your fingers and gently massaging them in the water. Drain and then rinse again, repeating 2 more times to remove any excess starch. Set aside in the strainer and allow to drain well.
• Wipe the skillet clean. Add the 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the marinated beef and cook, stirring often, until browned (being careful not to burn the garlic), 5 to 6 minutes. Set aside; reserve the skillet.
• Wipe the skillet clean. Add the 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the drained noodles and cook, stirring and mixing constantly with tongs, until there is a slight cooked smell of starch, the noodles are completely coated in oil and any moisture is cooked off, 6 to 7 minutes. (You'll hear a lot of sizzling sounds starting around the 2 minute mark; that's fine.)
• Add the soy sauce, reduce the heat to low, and loosen the noodles back up again for 1 to 2 minutes; they will turn golden brown from the soy sauce. Once all the soy sauce has absorbed, transfer the noodles to a large mixing bowl. Immediately add the sesame oil, sugar and rice syrup and toss until incorporated and the sugar has melted.
• Add the cooked onions, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, spinach and beef and toss until thoroughly mixed. Add the eggs and gently toss again (try to avoid breaking the strips). Transfer the japchae to a large serving bowl and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold (see Cook's Note).

JAPCHAE (SWEET POTATO STARCH NOODLES STIR FRIED WITH VEGETABLES)

Steps:

• Put the beef and shiitake mushrooms into a bowl and mix with 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil with a wooden spoon or by hand. Cover and keep it in the fridge.
• Crack the egg and separate the egg yolk from the egg white. Remove the white stringy stuff (chalaza) from the yolk. Beat in a pinch of salt with a fork.
• Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to a heated nonstick pan. Swirl the oil around so it covers the pan, and then wipe off the excess heated oil with a kitchen towel so only a thin layer remains on the pan. To keep the jidan as yellow as possible, turn off the heat and pour the egg yolk mixture into the pan. Tilt it around so the mixture spreads thinly. Let it cook using the remaining heat in the pan for about 1 minute. Flip it over and let it sit on the pan for 1 more minute. Let it cool and slice it into thin strips.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and blanch for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then take it out with a slotted spoon or strainer. Let the water keep boiling to cook the noodles.
• Rinse the spinach in cold water to stop it from cooking. Squeeze it with your hands to remove any excess water. Cut it a few times and put it into a bowl. Mix with 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil. Put it into a large mixing bowl.
• Put the noodles into the boiling water, cover and cook for 1 minute. Stir them with a wooden spoon so they don't stick together. Cover and keep cooking for another 7 minutes until the noodles are soft and chewy.
• Strain and cut them a few times with kitchen scissors. Put the noodles into the large bowl next to the spinach. Add 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix well by hand or a wooden spoon. This process will season the noodles and also keep the noodles from sticking to each other.
• Heat up a skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil with the onion, the green onion, and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry about 2 minutes until the onion looks a little translucent. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
• Heat up the skillet again and add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Add the white mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for 2 minutes until softened and a little juicy. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
• Heat up the skillet and add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Add the carrot and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add the red bell pepper strips and stir-fry another 20 seconds. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
• Heat up the skillet and add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Add the beef and mushroom mixture and stir fry for a few minutes until the beef is no longer pink and the mushrooms are softened and shiny. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
• Add 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil to the mixing bowl full of ingredients. Mix all together by hand.
• Add the egg garnish and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Mix it and transfer it to a large plate to serve.