Japchae Mixed Noodle Recipe

JAPCHAE. ADMIRE THE JAPCHAE. It's so beautiful you could set that as the wallpaper for your computer/phone, yo

Looks like we've got a bull market going on here in the bustling kitchen.. And this bull market hasn't shown any signs of phasing out yet..

Guys, I've seriously been on a beef kick lately. Soooo in love with beef this season. 

Despite that you can't ever go wrong with steak, sometimes you just want your beef in a more subtle format. In this case, we've found a nice delicate way to weave beef into our dish of the day. Sweet potato noodles are first boiled and set aside. Next, your favorite bulgogi recipe and individual vegetables are sautéed separately. Lastly, all of the ingredients are combined with a cocktail of soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar for a sweet and deeply savory noodle dish.

First, boil the sweet potato noodles for 7 minutes

Now, we're going to have some bulgogi action going on up in here

Saute each of your vegetables individually. Too much water will be released from your vegetables if you try to just put them all in the same pan. Plus, each of your vegetables are like students in a class- they will need some individual attention to develop to their full potential. Enoki is one of my favorite mushrooms for this dish.

Mix the bulgogi into the noodles first so that the noodles will start to absorb the juices from the cooked meat

Next, alternate between vegetables and spoonfuls of the japchae sauce. We're almost ready here

Plate and serve. YUM

The Recipe

Bulgogi <- please click on that for recipe. You will use it ALL

1 pound sweet potato noodles

One bunch enoki

10 fresh shiitake mushrooms

1 cup bean sprouts

1 red pepper

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons sesame oil

1/2 cup sugar

1. Start off by preparing the bulgogi. It will need to marinate for one hour before cooking.

2. Next, boil the one pound of sweet potato noodles in water for 7 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

3. Slice each vegetable. The world is your oyster when it comes to your vegetable selection for this dish. The ones I included in the ingredients list are the ones I use most often. Make sure to saute each vegetable in oil and a sprinkle of salt. Make sure not to throw all the vegetables into the pan and saute like a chop suey. This will cause your vegetables not to caramelize and possibly release water. That's not going to be delicious.

4. Cook the bulgogi in small batches, making sure to let each batch caramelize. You want those brown bits!

5. Prepare the sauce: combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup soy sauce and cook on low heat until the sugar has melted. Do not let it boil! Then, pour into a measuring cup and add the 3 tablespoons of sesame oil.

6. Start combining the ingredients- bulgogi first. You're going to need to use your bare hands for this! 

7. Alternate between spoonfuls of sauce and ingredients. When the noodles have taken on the color of the sauce (it's going to be light brown and no longer gray like when the noodles were naked), it's ready. 

8. Plate, serve, and eat!

Tips:

- These noodles will be quite long, so trimming them at random with kitchen shears will make the mixing easier

- If you do not like enoki (don't you hate it when it gets stuck in your teeth?) or shiitakes, you can substitute with lots of different vegetables. Heck, you can omit the red pepper if you'd like! I always like to keep the onion in there though. Additional vegetable suggestions: carrots (chopped matchstick style), spinach, oyster mushrooms, and chrysanthemum greens.

Merry Christmas and happy feasting!

XOXO,

The Bustling Cook