How To Make Jap Chae

Mula-mula, takmau cerita pasal Japchae lagi coz it's making me hungry. Ni baru lepas lari kat gym, kena allow 1 jam before boleh makan. Semalam the girls balik rumah from school, bagitau result exam. Iffah dapat no. 12 and Iman dapat no. 36. Erm.. patutkah aku menjadi mak harimau sekarang and be very strict with them when it comes to studying? Teringat masa kecik2 dulu, mok and abah tak penah paksa study but still kita orang semua doing ok.

But tengok parents sekarang yang tersangat la kiasu nya, rasa takut pulak. Takut that they wont be able to compete nanti kalau aku biar je dia org study sendiri or just study masa buat homework je. Should I also be a kiasu mom? Ada among my friends yg antar anak pegi tuition as early as 5 years old. Iman is going to be 11 soon, and Iffah is going to be 10 soon. So, Iman ada 2 tahun je lagi to play and be a kid. Bila dah masuk 13 tahun, orang akan expect dia to act macam orang dewasa.. *sigh*.. dilema sungguh..

Anyway, back to japchae. When my korean SIL first served me Japchae, I fall in love with it. Tapi tak penah buat sebab rasa macam susah je nak buat. Pastu bahan2 pun macam susah je nak cari. Ok, aku cakap "macam" ye. The truth is, it's so easy to make. Semalam, aku memberanikan diri untuk mencuba. Bear in mind, I've tasted it before, so it's easy for me to tweak the taste to rasa macam japchae yang penah aku makan. For those yg tak penah rasa, japchae ni rasa a bit sweet and salty. Sedap!!

 Sekali tengok, macam meehoon pun ada gak

Bila tengok dekat2, macam suun gemuk.

Japchae ni actually Korean glass noodles yang dibuat dari sweet potato. Aku beli the glass noodles from Jusco. Kat sana ada jual. But aku lupa la pulak nak ambik gambar. 

Gambar the noodles yang kering which I took from here.Thank you owner.

Yang ni pulak banyak jual kat korean mart. Mana2 pun sama, as long as it's glass noodles. 

Recipe for Japchae

Maangchi.com

Ingredients:

• Starch noodles (“dangmyun”)
• 150 grams of beef
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 1 medium size carrot
• 1 medium size onion
• mushrooms (5 dried shiitake and 1 package of white mushrooms)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 7-8 green onions
• soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and sesame seeds (I ran out of light soy sauce, aku guna kicap manis je)

Makes 4 servings.
How to prepare your ingredients before stir frying:

1. Soak 5 dried shitake mushrooms in warm water for a few hours until they become soft. Squeeze the water out of them and slice thinly.
2. Slice a package of white mushrooms (2 cups’ worth).
3. Cut a carrot into thin matchstick-shaped pieces 5 cm long.
4. Cut 7 -8 green onions into 7 cm long pieces.
5. Slice one onion thinly.
6. Slice 150 grams of beef into thin strips.

Now let’s start!

1. Boil 2 bunches of noodles in boiling water in a big pot for about 3 minutes. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.
2. Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside.
   *tip: Take one sample and taste it to see whether or not it’s cooked properly. If it feels soft, it’s finished.
3. In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Remove any grit or dead leaves thoroughly while rinsing. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into 5 cm pieces.
4. Add ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil and mix it and place it onto the large bowl.
   *tip: When you drain the hot water from the pot, don’t discard the hot water. Put it back into the pot so you can cook your spinach quickly.
5. On a heated pan, put a few drops of olive oil and your carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl (don’t burn it!).
6. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your sliced onion. Stir it until the onion looks translucent. Put it into the large bowl with your carrots.
7. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add the sliced white mushrooms. Stir it for a bit and then put it in the large bowl.
8. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.
9. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your beef strips and your sliced shitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.
10. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.
11. Serve with rice and Kimchi, or as a side dish.

The video

Those who wanna cook this but tak tau mana nak cari the noodles, boleh email aku. Nanti aku tolong belikan :D