Hello Riverdale, 

I, personally, have never used a recipe to cook Korean food because, as my mother would say, you put in enough of each ingredient until it tastes good. In that fashion, here is a loose recipe for Japchae.

Japchae is a very simple Korean dish that can be both vegan and gluten free. Japchae consists of sweet potato starch noodles tossed with various stir fried ingredients. It is totally customizable; you can throw in as many vegetables or meats in any ratio you want. The only required portion is the noodles which you can grab at any Korean grocery store such as H Mart. 

Serves 4-6

Noodles/Seasoning Ingredients

• 16 ounces Korean glass noodles (sweet potato starch noodles, dangmyeon)

• ⅓ cup soy sauce

• ⅓ sugar/honey

• 3 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

• 1 tbsp black pepper

Common Add-ins 

• ½ large carrots, julienned

• 16 oz spinach 

• ½  medium onion, sliced thinly like a julienne

• 1 large green onion, julienned

• 1 red bell pepper, julienned

• 2 eggs, beaten

Seasoned Add-Ins

• 6-8 shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dried), stems removed, cut into ¼ wide strips

OR

• ½ lb beef (sirloin, chuck, short rib, brisket, honestly any cut will do), cut into ¼ inch wide strips 

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• ¼ the volume of the garlic of ginger, minced (optional)

• ½ tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp mirin (optional)

Instructions

1. Marinate the beef or mushrooms in a small bowl with the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and mirin. Set aside for 20 minutes. If using dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrate in warm water for 2-3 hours before cutting and marinating.

2. In a medium pot, boil enough water to cook the spinach. After boiling, blanch spinach for 30 seconds and then rinse under cold water. Squeeze the spinach to remove as much water as possible. Place in a large mixing bowl that will be used for all the add-ins. Season with 1 tsp of soy sauce and 1 tsp of sesame oil.

3. Start boiling enough water in a large pot to submerge the glass noodles in.

4. In a frying pan coated in a little bit of cooking oil, fry either the carrots, bell peppers, onions, green onions, or any other vegetables of choice cut into strips. Saute for 1-2 minutes and season with salt to taste. Remove from the pan and place into large mixing bowl for your add-ins and repeat with the next vegetable. 

5. In a lightly oiled large nonstick pan, pour the beaten eggs. Make sure that the layer of egg is thin and spread out. Cook on a low heat till firmly set but not browned. Flip as necessary and season with salt. Remove egg omelet and cut into ¼ inch wide strips. Place in the bowl for add-ins.

6. Fry the marinated shiitake or beef until cooked. Remove and place in the bowl for add-ins.

7. Boil the glass noodles for about 8 minutes, or according to package instructions.

8. Meanwhile, make the seasoning for the noodles by combining soy sauce, sugar/honey, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and black pepper in a measuring cup or something to pour in.

9. Drain the noodles and place into a large bowl. Pour ½ the sauce and toss the noodles until the sauce is absorbed. Toss the add-ins and the rest of the sauce. Mix and enjoy!