Japchae

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Description

Japchae is a traditional Korean dish made with colorful sweet potato glass noodles, marinated beef strips, and veggies in a delicious sesame sauce.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
8 ounces sweet potato noodles
4 ounces lean beef, cut into 2-inch long strips
6 ounces fresh spinach
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
4 mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks

Directions

1 Gather all ingredients.
2 To make the sauce: Whisk soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and garlic in a bowl until sugar is dissolved; set aside.
3 Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook sweet potato noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 6 to 7 minutes.
4 Rinse noodles under cold water and drain. Transfer noodles to a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of prepared sauce, and toss to coat.
5 Squeeze beef under running water until juices run clear. Mix beef and 1 tablespoon prepared sauce together in a bowl; set aside to marinate.
6 Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook spinach in the boiling water until just wilted, about 1 minute. Drain quickly and transfer spinach to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Squeeze excess water from spinach, place spinach in a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper.
7 Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; cook onion until fragrant but crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer onion to the bowl with spinach.
8 Heat another 1 teaspoon oil in the same skillet. Cook mushrooms in the hot oil until lightly browned but still firm, 1 to 2 minutes; add to onion mixture.
9 Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the same skillet. Cook carrot in the hot oil until lightly browned but still crisp, 1 to 2 minutes; add to onion mixture.
10 Cook and stir beef strips with marinade in the same skillet until browned, 1 to 2 minutes; add to onion mixture.
11 Cook and stir noodles in the same skillet until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes; add to beef-onion mixture. Add remaining sauce to beef-noodles mixture and toss to coat using your hands.