My version of Korean japchae is a noodle-lover’s delight, and I’ve got just the techniques to take this dish off the scale, flavour-wise!
Korean Japchae Noodles
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
350g (12 oz) thinly sliced beef (use tender cuts such as rib eye, scotch fillet, tenderloin, striploin or sirloin)
1 bunch English spinach (about 200g/7 oz) trimmed, coarsely chopped
100g (3.5 oz) Korean sweet potato noodles or regular cellophane noodles
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, julienned
1 small red capsicum, deseeded, thinly sliced
5 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
sesame seeds, to sprinkle
- Combine the soy, sugar and sesame oil in a glass or ceramic bowl. Add the beef and mix until well combined. Set aside until required.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Cook the spinach for 3 minutes or until tender. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl of iced water. Cook the noodles in the boiling water until almost tender. They’ll need to cook longer when they’re stir-fried so don’t overcook them at this stage. Drain and plunge into the iced water. Then drain and set aside.
- Drain the beef from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Heat 1 tbsp of the peanut oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Stir-fry the beef until nearly cooked. Add the onion and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the mushrooms and stir-fry for half a minute. Add the capsicum and stir-fry for another half a minute. Toss through the carrot.
- Add the noodles and the spinach and the reserved marinade. Stir-fry until well combined.
- Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.
