Challenge 3- rice/noodles

For this challenge I used the cookbook -Korean Home Cooking by Soon Young Chung

Japchae is a Korean dish made from cellophane noodles (called dangmyeon), stir fried in sesame oil with various vegetables (typically thinly-sliced carrots, onion, spinach, and mushrooms), sometimes served with beef, and flavoured with soy sauce, and sweetened with sugar. It is usually served garnished with sesame seeds and slivers of chili. It may be served either hot or cold.

This dish is served at Korean parties and special occasions, with seasonal vegetables added. Japchae is most commonly served as a side dish, though it may be a main dish. The name, japchae, comprises the two hanja words; jap meaning "mixed and stirred") and chae (meaning "vegetables"). Therefore, japchae literally means "a mixture of vegetables."

An interesting bit of history with this dish.
Japchae was first made in the early 17th century, when the Joseon Dynasty was reigning in the Korean peninsula. When King Gwanghaegun hosted a big party at his palace, one of his lieges, Yi Chung, created this dish to please the king’s palate. The king liked this dish so much that he rewarded his liege by promoting him to the position of hojo panseo (equivalent to the Secretary of the Treasury). At the time, japchae was made with vegetables and mushrooms, such as sliced cucumber, shredded daikon, and pyogo (shiitake) mushroom. Although dangmyeon (cellophane noodles made from sweet potato starch) was only added in the 20th century, dangmyeon is now an integral and primary ingredient of this variety of japchae.

Japchae

Serves 6

Preparation time 2hrs

Cooking time 15mins

Ingredients

4 dried chinese mushrooms, soaked for 30mins in several changes of water

125g beef tenderloin or scotch fillet, cut into thin strips about 4cm long

Vegetable or sunflower oil for frying

125g spinach, blanched in hot water and excess water squeezed out

125g carrot, peeled cut into thin 4cm long strips

1 egg separated

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 brown onion

60g sweet potato starched noodles

1 teaspoon pine nuts for garnish

Pan toasted sesame seeds

Beef and mushroom marinade

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

4 teaspoons finely chopped shallots

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

2 teaspoons sesame oil

For spinach marinade

2 teaspoon finely chopped shallots

1 teaspoon of crushed garlic

2 teaspoon of sesame oil

2 teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds

Freshly ground pepper to taste

For noodle seasoning

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Method

Squeeze excess water from mushrooms then remove and discard stems. Cut into thin slices.

To make the beef and mushroom marinade, combine beef and mushroom marinade ingredients in a bowl.

Add beef and mushroom slices and marinate for about 20minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Add beef and mushroom slices and stir fry until well cooked, 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan set aside on paper towels.

Wash spinach, remove and discard roots, reserving leaves and stems. (If spinach stems are too long, cut them into 2 sections) Immerse reserved spinach briefly in rapidly boiling salted water. Quickly remove from water and drain. Squeeze out excess water.

To prepare and use spinach marinade. In a bowl combine spinach marinade ingredients add spinach and set aside.

Clean frying pan. Soak 2 paper towels in a small amount of oil and use them to wipe frying pan. Heat frying pan and stir-fry carrot, in another frying pan, fry egg white and yolk and slice thinly to make egg gidan (thinly fried egg used for garnish). Remove from pan and cut into thin slices. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add noodles and cook until soft about 5 minutes. Remove from water and rinse in several changes of cold water until water is clear. Drain noodles and cut into 10cm lengths to make them easier to eat.

To make noodle seasoning. In a bowl combine noodle seasoning.

Add noodles to seasoning and mix well to coat. Add beef and mushrooms, spinach, carrots and onions and mix well. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts and ground sesame seeds and topped with egg gidan.