Article by Gil "hannaone"
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Image by hannaone: Japchae

잡채

Japchae is easily one of the most well known Korean stir fry dishes. The combination of sweet potato starch noodles, mushrooms, meat, and vegetables is great as a main dish, side dish, or stand alone meal.

Servings: 4
Recipe Type: Noodle, stir fry

Ingredients
1 12 ounce package Korean Starch Noodle (Korean vermicelli, sweet potato starch)
4 ounces of Beef, thinly sliced (lean)
2 medium white mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch fresh Spinach (approximately 3 ounces)
2 Green or Spring onion, cut into 1 inch sections
1/2 medium white or yellow onion, sliced
1 small Carrot, grated
1 teaspoon roasted Sesame seed
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons blended sesame oil
1 teaspoon Soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sugar
Pepper
Salt
Marinade:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon pure sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
pepper
salt

Directions
Preparation
Prepare the starch noodle:
Soak in cool water for about one hour. Pour off excess water then rinse in cold water. Drain thoroughly. Cut noodle into 3 inch lengths.
Alternate Method: In a soup pot, bring 1 quart of water to a full boil. Add noodles and boil until soft. Remove from heat and rinse in cold water. Drain thoroughly. Cut noodle into 3 inch lengths.

Make the Marinade:
In a medium mixing bowl add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon sugar, crushed garlic, and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Mix well.

Prepare the beef:
Cut the beef into approximately 1/2 inch by 2 inch strips. Place beef in marinade and roll or mix until beef is completely covered. Let stand at least 15 minutes.
Prepare spinach:
In a soup pot, bring 3 cups of water to full boil. Wash spinach in cold water, then completely immerse it in the boiling water. Remove from heat after 30 seconds and rinse immediately in cold water. Squeeze excess water from spinach.

Cooking:
Spread 2 tablespoon sesame oil in a stir fry pan and place over medium heat.
Add beef mixture to hot pan and brown.
Quickly add mushrooms, onion, green onion, and carrot. Stir fry approximately 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
Add water, noodles, spinach, sesame seed, sugar, and soy sauce.
Stir constantly until liquid is gone.

Final
Remove from heat and serve with an array of Korean banchan dishes and steamed rice.