Spring Vegetable Japchae Korean Glass Noodles 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.

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.

JAPCHAE (KOREAN GLASS NOODLES)

Steps:

• Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Cut the beef into 1/2-inch strips. Place in a medium bowl, and add sugar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, smashed garlic, ginger and black pepper. Toss well to combine. Set aside for 30 minutes.
• If making pickled lotus root, slice roots into 1/8-inch-thick discs, and place in a medium bowl filled with cold water. Set aside. Place a colander in the sink. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a medium sauce pot. Blanch lotus-root slices for 1 minute, then drain.
• In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup water, 6 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar and 3 tablespoons sugar. Set over medium heat, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to ensure sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature, then pour over cooled lotus root. Set aside.
• Place noodles in a large bowl. Cover with warm tap water, and set aside to soak for 30 minutes.
• Fill a medium pot with 3 quarts water, and bring to a boil. Season with 1 tablespoon salt. Add spinach, and blanch for 10 seconds, then use a spider or tongs to remove to a parchment-lined tray. Spread out into a single layer, and allow to cool, then squeeze out any excess water and chop roughly.
• Fill a large pot with 6 quarts of water, cover, and set over high heat to come to a boil.
• Set a large sauté pan over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. When it shimmers, add scallions and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 2 minutes until they are tender but not completely soft. Transfer to a baking sheet, and spread into a shallow pile to cool quickly.
• Return pan to high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. When it shimmers, add carrots and a pinch of salt. Sauté for about 6 minutes until tender but not completely soft. Transfer to sheet with scallions, and spread into another shallow pile to cool quickly. Repeat with bell peppers.
• Return pan to high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. When it shimmers, add shiitakes, and cook until lightly caramelized, about 3 minutes. Move mushrooms to the edges of the pan, add 1 teaspoon oil to the center of the pan and add garlic. Turn off heat and allow garlic to gently sizzle for about 10 seconds, then stir garlic into mushrooms to prevent it from taking on any color. Transfer to second parchment-lined baking sheet and allow to cool, then squeeze out any extra water.
• Return pan to high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. When it shimmers, add onions and a pinch of salt. Sauté for about 8 minutes until lightly caramelized and translucent, but still a little crunchy within. Transfer to sheet with mushrooms and spread into another shallow pile to cool quickly.
• Return pan to high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. When it shimmers, add beef and sauté for about 3 minutes, until meat is tender and barely cooked through and just starting to caramelize. Transfer to sheet with onions, and spread out to cool quickly.
• Set a colander in the sink. Add 3 tablespoons soy sauce to large pot of boiling water. Add noodles and cook for 4 minutes until tender, then drain into colander, rinsing with cold water. When noodles are warm but not hot, drain and transfer to a large bowl. If noodles are unmanageably long, use kitchen shears to shorten them. Add 3 tablespoons soy sauce, ¾ teaspoon toasted sesame oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss to coat evenly.
• Add all the vegetables and beef to the noodles. Toss thoroughly with hands to ensure everything is evenly distributed. Taste and adjust seasoning with soy sauce, sesame oil and salt as needed. Transfer to serving dish.
• Set a large nonstick pan over medium heat, and add 1 teaspoon oil. Add eggs and reduce heat to low. Cook into a thin omelet, flipping before it takes on any color. Turn omelet out onto a cutting board, and julienne into thin strips.
• Garnish noodles with egg and nori strips and lotus root, if using. Serve at room temperature.

JAPCHAE (STIR-FRIED STARCH NOODLES WITH BEEF AND VEGETABLES)

Steps:

• Clean all the ingredients. Cut the carrot into matchsticks. Thinly slice the onion. Run the knife through the white parts of the scallions lengthwise, if thick, and then cut into about 2-inch long pieces. Remove the stems from the mushrooms, and slice into 1/4-inch thin strips. Cut the meat into thin 2-inch long strips.
• Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well until the sugar is dissolved.
• In a large non-stick pan (see note 2), bring about 5 cups of water to a boil, and cook the noodles until completely translucent and soft (6 to 8 minutes). Drain in a strainer and rinse under cold running water. Drain well. Roughly cut the noodles with a pair of kitchen shears or a knife into 6 -7 inch lengths. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Mix well with 3 tablespoons of the prepared sauce.
• Fill the same pan with 2 cups of water. When water boils, blanch the spinach only until wilted. Drain quickly and shock in cold water. Squeeze out water, run a knife through the squeezed spinach a couple of times, and lightly season with salt.
• Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil to the skillet, and stir fry the noodles over medium to medium high heat, stirring frequently, until translucent and a bit sticky (about 4 minutes). Transfer back to the mixing bowl.
• Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil to the pan, and stir fry the carrot over medium high heat, sprinkling with a pinch of salt. When the carrot sticks are half way cooked, about a minute, push them to one side of the pan to make room for the onion slices. Stir-fry the onion slices until translucent, sprinkling with a pinch of salt. Stir-in the scallion and cook briefly. Do not overcook. The vegetables should be crisp. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles.
• Add the beef and mushrooms along with 2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce and cook until the meat is cooked through, 2 - 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles.
• Add the spinach and the remaining sauce to the bowl with all other prepared ingredients. Toss well by hand. Adjust the seasoning to taste by adding a little more (start with 1/2 teaspoon) soy sauce and/or sugar as necessary.

VEGETARIAN JAP CHAE (KOREAN GLASS NOODLE STIR-FRY)

Steps:

• Boil one bundle of noodles for 5 minutes until softened and al dente in texture. Drain the noodles but do not rinse. Add noodles to a large bowl and cut them three times with kitchen scissors.
• Add 2 tablespoons EACH of soy sauce and sesame seed oil. Toss noodles until sauce is evenly distributed and set aside.
• Using the same pot as the noodles, add enough water to boil spinach for 1 minute. Remove spinach from water and allow to cool just enough to squeeze as much water out as possible. Cut spinach in thirds, and rub 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper into the spinach. Add spinach to the noodle filled bowl.
• Heat a wok or large frying pan on high. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and cook sliced onions for 2 minutes stirring them as they start to turn translucent. Season with a 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil and a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper.
• Add onions to the bowl of noodles. Repeat the same process as the onions except reduce cooking times to 30 seconds for the carrots, 2 minutes for the bell red pepper, 1 minute for the shiitake mushrooms, and 10 seconds for the green onions. Fry tofu squares for 1 minute per side; but do not add tofu to the large bowl of noodles.
• Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and ½ teaspoon of ground pepper to the noodle bowl and toss everything until well mixed.
• Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the hot wok or skillet and add minced garlic. Allow garlic to cook for a few seconds and add the entire bowl of mixed noodles and vegetables to the wok(or pan).
• Stir-fry everything for 2-3 minutes and turn off heat. Gently add tofu and transfer noodles to a large serving platter.
• Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top.
• Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!.

JAPCHAE KOREAN NOODLE WITH VEGETABLE

Steps:

• Note: Noodles should be (2) 3" bundles of Dangmyun, Korean potato starch noodle. This is the only noodle that should be used for the dish, they are translucent gray color and are hard.
• 1. Boil a large pot of water and drop the dangmyun in for 3-4 minutes (Test before removing; noodle should be soft but still chewy).
• 2. Strain noodles, reserving hot water to be put back in pot. Rinse noodles with cold water and put in large bowl #1. Cut noodles with scissors so they are more manageable. Add mixture of 1T sesame oil, 1T soy sauce and 1T corn syrup. Mix well. (I always just use my hands. Messy, but the noodles are slippery and it coats them the best).
• 3. Return water in pot to a boil. Drop in entire bag of spinach, boil for one minute only. Remove, strain and squeeze out all water with hands. Place spinach in large bowl #2 along with 1/2T sesame oil and 1/2T soy sauce.
• 4. Meanwhile in a pan, heat olive oil (not sesame oil!) and stirfry veggies one at a time in the following order: carrot, onion, mushroom, then green onion. Be sure to cook just to crisp tender and don't let them burn. After each is done, put them in bowl #2 with the spinach. Stir after each addition.
• 5. If you choose to add meat (traditionally beef), you should slice it very thinly and stir fry it with a little soy sauce, sugar, and garlic to taste. Add it to bowl #2.
• 6. Pour noodles into bowl #2 with the veggies and mix.
• 7. Make a mixture of 4T soy sauce, 4T sugar, 2T sesame oil, and 2t pepper. Stir well, and pour immediately over the noodles. Mix well with your hand or tongs until all the noodles take on a uniform color.
• 8. Make sure to taste along the way, and make adjustments accordingly. Hope you enjoy~!