Japchae Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 T canola oil or vegetable oil
• 5-6 oz beef stew meat, cut into thin strips
• 1 large or 2 small carrot, julienned (approx 1 C)
• 1 onion, sliced thin
• 1 bunch spinach
• 10 oz Korean glass noodles/cellophane noodles (당면 Dangmyeon)
  • about 2/3 of a 500 g/17 oz package
• 1 C fresh or 1/2 dried wood ear mushroom (목이버섯 mokibeoseot)
  • substitution/addition – dried shitake or oyster mushrooms

Beef marinade

• 2 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 ~ 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp rice cooking wine
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or 1/4 tsp fresh chopped garlic)

Seasoning for the Dangmyeon  (Glass Noodles) – for 8 C cooked

• 4 T soy sauce
• 2 T sugar
• 3 T sesame oil 
• 1. Cut beef into thin strips, against the grain. If you want an easy way out, you can also use bulgogi meat cut into smaller pieces.
  2. Mix the beef marinade in a bowl big enough to hold the beef. Add the beef, massage it with your hands and let it sit for a few minutes while you prepare the vegetables. I used garlic powder here because the garlic flavor doesn’t need to be very strong in this dish but you can certainly use fresh garlic if you prefer.
  3. Boil 8-10 C of water in a pot and cook the dangmyeonaccording to package instructions(e.g.6 min) or until the noodles become clear and is soft all the way to the center of the noodle. More water is better than too little since the glass noodles soak quite a bit of water.
  4. Once the noodles are cooked, rinse in cold water and drain. While noodles are still warm, season them with soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Cut the noodles with scissors a few times so they are easier to eat. Coating the noodles with oil will keep the noodles from sticking together.
  5.Wash the spinach. Boil another pot of salted water (6 C or so + 1 tsp salt) and quickly blanch them. Do not cook the spinach more than 1 minute. Spinach should be still a bit chewy and not too mushy. Shock the cooked spinach in cold or ice water to stop the cooking process.
  Drain the water and squeeze out any excess water from the spinach by squeezing them gently in your hand.
  6. Season the blanched spinach with some salt (1 tsp) and sesame oil (1 tsp). Set aside.
  7. If using dried mushrooms: soak them in some warm water for 10 min or so until they are fully hydrated.
  8. Clean the fresh or rehydrated mushrooms by rubbing each mushroom under cold running water. Sometimes dirt/sand are buried in the mushroom (especially the part that’s a bit bumpy like a towel) so make sure all the dirt is washed off. You can also cut off the ends that has the dirt.
  Cut mushrooms into 1/3 to 1/2 in wide strips. If using shitake mushrooms, slice them into 1/4 in thick slices. Set aside.
  9. Julienne carrots and onions and set aside.
  
  
  10. Saute each of the ingredients separately and let them cool. You can save yourself the trouble of washing more pans by using one frying pan and sauteing ingredients one by one in the following order: onions -> carrots -> mushrooms -> beef. Just wipe off any excess oil and crumbs with a paper towel after cooking each ingredient and you should be good to go!
  10.1  Add 1 T oil in frying pan on medium heat. Add onions and sprinkle a pinch of salt. Saute until onions become transparent but not brown.
  10.2 Add 1 T oil in frying pan on medium heat. Add carrots and a pinch of salt. Saute carrots until they are soft and tender.
  10.3 Add 1 T oil in frying pan on medium heat. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Saute for 3 mins or so and the mushrooms should be done.
  10.4 Add 1/2 T oil in frying pan on medium-high heat. Saute the beef until they are fully cooked. If there are any extra juices in the pan, cook a little more until it’s evaporated.
  11. Transfer each of the onions, carrots, mushrooms and beef to a plate and let them cool
  12. It’s time to put everything together! Add all the cooked vegetables and beef to the noodles and mix them altogether. Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds. Taste some noodles with the vegetables and the beef. Adjust the seasoning with more soy sauce and sugar as needed. Unless you like things less salty and sweet, it will taste better if you add more soy sauce, (2 tsp ~ 1 T),  sugar (2 tsp ~ 1 T)  and a dash of sesame oil and black pepper as the final finishing touch.