Japchae 잡채, Korean Mixed Vegetables And Sweet Potato Noodles

Whenever I make bibimbap  I will end up making japchae as well, as the ingredients used in both dishes are fairly similar and tonight there is no exception. There was a piece of steak left over from our bbq a few nights ago and I can't think of a better way to use it up. Japchae (雜菜 in hanja) means mixed vegetables in Korean but the star of the dish is actually the sweet potato noodles. Serve this as a meal on its own or as a banchan. Of course you may also use it as a topping for rice which will make it japchaebap.

Substitute the beef with any kind of meat you want or make it vegetarian by omitting meat altogether, it will still be delicious. As with a lot of other Asian noodles, this one is well loved for its wonderful mouthfeel (this is a rather chewy and slippery one) so never ever overcook it!! Use any vegetable your heart desires as long as the dish looks colourful.

It has been really wonderful talking to my friend K's mother about Korean cooking; she's so passionate about food and more importantly extremely generous when it comes to sharing everything she knows about cooking. For that I feel really honoured and privileged!!  So, armed with the new found knowledge after yet another phone call to her I created my best Japchae to date. Thank you P!!

P.S Unfortunately due to the escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsular, our culinary tour of Korea has to be cut short prematurely til further notice!! I'll be focusing on the food I  know best, Malaysian cuisine for a little bit, so stay tuned.

serves 2 as a one dish meal or 4 as japchaebap (topping for rice)

you'll need or rather I used;

100g of dangmyeon , soaked in water for 10 minutes, drained.

1 carrot, peeled and shredded

1 small zuchinni, shredded

50g of soya bean sprouts, cooked for 15 minutes and drained

2 Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water, drained and shredded

2 eggs or 1 duck egg, separate yolks from white, made into 2 different colour omelet

1 200g scotch fillet, grilled to your liking, sliced

2 spring onions, cut into 6cm length and shredded lengthwise

1tbs each of white and black sesame seeds

Saute carrot, mushrooms and zucchini with a little oil separately, mix with a little garlic, salt and dash of sesame oil.

Marinate soya bean sprouts with a little salt, a little garlic and dash of sesame oil

Boil noodles for a minute or two, drain well and mix it with a dash of sesame oil

for the dressing;

4 tbs of Korean soy

1.5  tbs of castor sugar

1.5  tbs of sesame oil

1.5  tbs of minced garlic

Ready to assemble.

Place dangmyeon in a large plate (oh I forgot to mention, cut the noodles with a pair of scissors after draining)

place everything on top of the noodles, or chuck them on if you wished.

Drizzle with sesame seeds and pour the dressing over.

Now mix everything well and those Korean gloves will come in very handy!! Serve whichever way you like :)