Japchae

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Adele! To know Adele, is to love Adele. And to love Adele is to be loved by Adele. Adele is my next door neighbor and my Italian Mamma. I am often referred to by Adele as her second daughter, and on great days even as her “favorite daughter.” This makes me feel pretty special because despite the great length of the list of people who Adele loves, the list of those who love her is even longer.

Adele spends her weekdays cooking for various clients who have become family, and then focuses her weekends on menu planning and shopping. This 80-year young dynamo will hit Giant, Costco and Lotte all in one day, skillfully maneuvering amongst the Saturday crowds. Adele is adventurous in the kitchen, as well. Having spent much of her life as an Italian home cook, over the years she has branched off into every cuisine imaginable and is always on the hunt for new recipes that meet the various dietary needs of “her people.”

It is over this shared love of recipe searching and experimental cooking that the bond between Adele and I began and over the years the number of recipes that have bounced between our in-boxes is immeasurable. We share tastes, as well. Little bowls and bites of things that we are working on. “Does this need more of anything?” is a common refrain. Just last week, Adele forwarded this recipe for Japchae from Rasa Malasia with a short note of instructions and ending with “Love you, Baby!!!” Of course, I had to give it a try.

Japchae is a popular Korean noodle dish made with sweet potato (or “glass”) noodles. That was the only ingredient that you might not already have in your pantry (I didn’t) so the first order of business was seeking them out. Adele bought hers at the Asian market but I was lazy and managed to find mine at Balducci’s. I think that Whole Foods, a natural foods store, or even a well stocked supermarket might have them, as they happen to be very healthy–no fat, no sodium, low in calories and sugar. Note that these noodles are not spiraled sweet potato but rather made from sweet potato starch and they are somewhat translucent when cooked, hence the nickname, glass noodles.

Beyond the noodles, there’s nothing complicated about this recipe. You’ll notice that there is a decent amount of sugar in the sauce. This is a traditional recipe so I kept the sugar as was directed and thought it was delicious. If you have issues with sugar, you can certainly play around with that. Per Adele’s suggestion, I added a bit more sesame oil (noted in recipe below) and served the noodles with some Asian chili sauce for heat.

Finally, you can add any protein that you like to these noodles, or none at all. I decided to add egg ribbons at the suggestion from another recipe for Japchae. I think that they were a great addition and of course their inclusion elicited this supportive response from Adele, “HOW DID YOU DO THOSE EGGS!!! Those eggs look AMAZING!!  Delicious!  They look like they would be time consuming? But – they are PERFECT for this dish!  What a great idea!   I happen to love eggs!” I mean, need I say more? Enjoy!

Japchae
Print Recipe

Japchae

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 1/2 c soy sauce
  • 5 Tbls sugar

Stir Fry

  • 16 oz sweet potato noodles
  • 8 oz spinach
  • 3 Tbls neutral oil plus 4 tsp more for eggs
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion (thinly sliced)
  • 6-8 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 carrot (peeled into thin strips)
  • 1 red bell pepper, very thinly sliced
  • 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
  • 1 Tbls toasted sesame oil plus a little extra if desired
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Eggs (optional)

  • 2 large egg whites, whisked with a pinch of salt
  • 3 large egg yolks, whisked with a pinch of salt
  • Asian chili sauce for serving (optional)

Instructions

Sauce

  • Combine the sauce ingredients, soy sauce and sugar, and whisk until sugar disolves. Set aside.

Stir Fry

  • Cook the sweet potato noodles in a large pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain the water and rinse the noodles under cold running water. Set aside.
  • Steam the spinach in the microwave, until wilted, about 2 minutes.
  • Heat up the oil in a skillet or wok and add the garlic, onion, mushroom, carrot and red pepper and cook for about two minutes.
  • Add the scallion and stir-fry for another minute. 
  • Turn the heat to low and add the noodles and spinach into the skillet or wok, followed by the sesame oil and the sauce. Stir to combine well.

Egg Ribbons (optional)

  • Heat 2 tsp of oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the egg whites and tilt and swirl the pan so they cover the bottom in an even layer. Turn the heat to low and cook until the whites set, for 2 minutes. Flip and cook for 30 seconds on the other side. Remove to a cutting board. Add the remaining 2 tsp oil to the pan and put over medium-high heat. Add the egg yolks and tilt and swirl the pan so they cover the bottom in an even layer. Cook until the yolks are set, for 2 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 minute on the other side. Remove to a cutting board. Fold each egg pancake into thirds and slice into very thin strips.
  • Dish out, sprinkle with the sesame seeds, egg ribbons (if using) and serve at room temperature with Asian chili sauce on the side, if desired.
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