Japchae

 Japchae is a Korean dish made with cellophane noodles (also called dangmyeon, glass noodles or sweet potato noodles).It's generally stir fried in sesame seed oil with various vegetables. For the carnivores flank steak can be cooked seperately and added in later. The key ingredients in this recipe are the dangmyeon and sesame seed oil. If you have an Asian grocery store nearby you should have no trouble finding them there, if not, they are sometimes carried in some of the larger chains.

Prep. Time: 15-20 mins.
Cooking Time: 45 mins.

Ingredients:
1 lb Dangmyeon
1 lb. Flank Steak (optional)
8-12 oz. Spinach
1 Large Carrot (cut julienne)
1 Medium Onion
1 Cup Chopped Cabbage
5 Shitake Mushrooms
8 oz. White Mushrooms
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Bunch of Green Onions
2 1/2 tbs Sesame Oil
2 tsp Vegetable Oil
3 tbs Soy Sauce
2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tbs Sesame Seeds


Directions:

Chop the Cabbage, Green Onions, Mushrooms and Carrots

Boil the dangmyeon for 10 mins. 

Once the noodles are done, drain them and place them back in the pot. Run a knife through the pot 4-5 times to cut the noodles up somewhat.

In a separate larger pot saute the onions and garlic with 2 tsp vegetable oil and 2 tsp sesame oil until the onions become transparent.

Add the Cabbage, Green Onions and Carrots along with 1 Tbs of Soy Sauce. Saute this mixture for 5-10 mins. on med. heat.

Add the noodles and 1 Tbs of Sesame Oil into the pot with the vegetables and cook for another 5-10 mins. on med. heat.

Add the spinach and mushrooms, along with 1 tsp of black pepper, 2 Tbs Soy Sauce. 2 tsp Sugar, 2 Tbs sesame oil and mix well.

Cook this mixture over medium heat until the spinach and mushrooms are done (about 10 minutes).

Add 1 Tbs of sesame seeds.


Cooking the Flank Steak:

If you're adding flank steak, simply cook this in a separate frying pan. Add about 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Cook until the steak is no longer pink and serve with the noodles.