Hello again....after 2+ years away!
After my last post I got lazy for a while and then Naver Kitchen, the source for my recipes, was discontinued in December 2013 so I used that as an excuse to not continue with the blog, though I did continue to use Naver blogs as a primary source for my recipes... I've come across a few good ones lately so I figured I'd share them with you all :)
The recipe below I tried out as part of my Christmas day Korean feast (this will be a multi-part series) and it was delicious! I've tried making japchae before and always felt like the noodles didn't absorb much flavor, or the mixings all ended up at the bottom of the bowl so it wasn't a high priority to make again. However, when made well, I knew it was a crowd-pleaser so I figured I'd give it another shot.
I used the recipe featured on the blog below and added and removed veggies based on my personal taste. The items on the blog that I did not use will be marked with a (B), and the things that were not on the blog but that I did use will be marked with a (K). Feel free to add both, neither, or add your own favorite veggies!
Korean Sweet Potato Noodles with Veggies and Beef (잡채) serves 4-5 with some leftovers
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
Sweet Potato Noodles ("Dangmyun", 당면)- 250 g
Beef Tenderloin - 1/2 lb, cut into small, thin, matchstick-size strips about 2in long (I used a filet mignon)
1 Shiitake mushroom (B)
1/4 of a carrot (about 1/2 cup)
2 Korean Oyster mushrooms (saesongi mushroom) (B)
1 bunch of Korean chives (buchu 부추); you can substitute green onions if needed
1 lg onion
1 yellow bell pepper (K- blog calls out only for 1/2 pepper)
1 red bell pepper (K)
2 cups fresh spinach (K)
Beef Marinade
1 TBS Soy Sauce
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS sesame oil
1 TBS Mirim (or soju or other white cooking wine)
Dash of black pepper
Sweet Potato Noodle Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup corn syrup (I know this is a lot...I started with 1/4 cup and kept adding til it tasted right, which ended up being almost the full 1/2 cup the blog called for)
2 TBS vegetable oil (the blog calls for 5 TBS)
1/2 TBS minced garlic
Vegetable Mix Sauce
3 TBS sesame oil
2 TBS sesame seeds
Directions
1. Slice all veggies (except spinach) into uniform matchstick size strips.
2. Boil a pot of slightly salted water and dump in spinach and korean chives, boil for ~10 secs, and then drain and rinse with cool water.
3. Slice the beef into matchstick-size bites and mix with the marinade and place in fridge (this can be done in advance).
4. Heat 2 TBS vegetable oil over medium heat and add the matchstick veggies, gently stirfrying until the vegetables are tender.
5. Put the stir-fried veggies and blanched spinach/chives into a mixing bowl, add the Vegetable Mix Sauce, and stir to combine.
6. In the same pan you used in step 4, gently cook the marinated beef over med-low to medium heat and then add the meat to the bowl of vegetables.
7. Boil a large pot of water and prepare sweet potato noodles according to directions on packaging (the blog says to boil for 11 minutes, the noodles I bought said 5-6 mins and that seemed to be plenty). Once noodles are cooked, drain in a colander and thoroughly rinse under cool water. **I used scissors to cut the noodles 3-4 times so that they were easier to eat later on**
8. Mix together the Sweet Potato Noodle Sauce in a pan/pot over medium-high heat and stir in the noodles. Continue stirring over med-high heat for 5 minutes, then lower the head to med-low and continue to stir for 3 minutes. When this is done, the sauce should be almost fully absorbed/evaporated- you may need to lengthen or shorten the cooking time to achieve this.
9. Now, mix the veggies/meat into the noodles and mix well to combine. Place in serving dish and sprinkle with sesame seeds, and now its ready to eat! :)
Link to original blog post (with pictures): http://m.blog.naver.com/tokkiaka/220563822316
Enjoy!
-ChefK
After my last post I got lazy for a while and then Naver Kitchen, the source for my recipes, was discontinued in December 2013 so I used that as an excuse to not continue with the blog, though I did continue to use Naver blogs as a primary source for my recipes... I've come across a few good ones lately so I figured I'd share them with you all :)
The recipe below I tried out as part of my Christmas day Korean feast (this will be a multi-part series) and it was delicious! I've tried making japchae before and always felt like the noodles didn't absorb much flavor, or the mixings all ended up at the bottom of the bowl so it wasn't a high priority to make again. However, when made well, I knew it was a crowd-pleaser so I figured I'd give it another shot.
I used the recipe featured on the blog below and added and removed veggies based on my personal taste. The items on the blog that I did not use will be marked with a (B), and the things that were not on the blog but that I did use will be marked with a (K). Feel free to add both, neither, or add your own favorite veggies!
Korean Sweet Potato Noodles with Veggies and Beef (잡채) serves 4-5 with some leftovers
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
Sweet Potato Noodles ("Dangmyun", 당면)- 250 g
Beef Tenderloin - 1/2 lb, cut into small, thin, matchstick-size strips about 2in long (I used a filet mignon)
1 Shiitake mushroom (B)
1/4 of a carrot (about 1/2 cup)
2 Korean Oyster mushrooms (saesongi mushroom) (B)
1 bunch of Korean chives (buchu 부추); you can substitute green onions if needed
1 lg onion
1 yellow bell pepper (K- blog calls out only for 1/2 pepper)
1 red bell pepper (K)
2 cups fresh spinach (K)
Beef Marinade
1 TBS Soy Sauce
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS sesame oil
1 TBS Mirim (or soju or other white cooking wine)
Dash of black pepper
Sweet Potato Noodle Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup corn syrup (I know this is a lot...I started with 1/4 cup and kept adding til it tasted right, which ended up being almost the full 1/2 cup the blog called for)
2 TBS vegetable oil (the blog calls for 5 TBS)
1/2 TBS minced garlic
Vegetable Mix Sauce
3 TBS sesame oil
2 TBS sesame seeds
Directions
1. Slice all veggies (except spinach) into uniform matchstick size strips.
2. Boil a pot of slightly salted water and dump in spinach and korean chives, boil for ~10 secs, and then drain and rinse with cool water.
3. Slice the beef into matchstick-size bites and mix with the marinade and place in fridge (this can be done in advance).
4. Heat 2 TBS vegetable oil over medium heat and add the matchstick veggies, gently stirfrying until the vegetables are tender.
5. Put the stir-fried veggies and blanched spinach/chives into a mixing bowl, add the Vegetable Mix Sauce, and stir to combine.
6. In the same pan you used in step 4, gently cook the marinated beef over med-low to medium heat and then add the meat to the bowl of vegetables.
7. Boil a large pot of water and prepare sweet potato noodles according to directions on packaging (the blog says to boil for 11 minutes, the noodles I bought said 5-6 mins and that seemed to be plenty). Once noodles are cooked, drain in a colander and thoroughly rinse under cool water. **I used scissors to cut the noodles 3-4 times so that they were easier to eat later on**
8. Mix together the Sweet Potato Noodle Sauce in a pan/pot over medium-high heat and stir in the noodles. Continue stirring over med-high heat for 5 minutes, then lower the head to med-low and continue to stir for 3 minutes. When this is done, the sauce should be almost fully absorbed/evaporated- you may need to lengthen or shorten the cooking time to achieve this.
9. Now, mix the veggies/meat into the noodles and mix well to combine. Place in serving dish and sprinkle with sesame seeds, and now its ready to eat! :)
Link to original blog post (with pictures): http://m.blog.naver.com/tokkiaka/220563822316
Enjoy!
-ChefK
