[Korea Traditional Food] Gungjung Japchae(궁중잡채)

Main Ingredients :

(Serves 2)
Main Ingredients: 150 g potato starch noodles, 50 g beef, 300 g cucumber, 30 g carrot, 30 g Jew’s ear mushrooms, 2 eggs

Spices :
Spices for Seasoning Beef: 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, Seasoning Sauce for the Noodles: 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, 1 1/2 cups water, 4 tbsp cooking oil, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp ground sesame mixed with salt

Food Story :
Japchae literally means to mix various vegetables. In the past the delicacy was served in the palace. It began to include Chinese-style potato starch noodles about a century ago and the dish emerged as the japchae we enjoy today. Above all, the dish brims with a cook’s sincerity as the ingredients - vegetables, beef, and noodles – are cooked separately and mixed later. The long noodles symbolize longevity; therefore, the dish is cooked for special occasions including birthday parties.

Directions :
1. Bring slightly salted water to boil. Simmer the potato starch noodles for about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Separate the egg white and the yolk; pan-fry them separately and cut into 5 cm-long strips to prepare hwangbaekjidan, or yellow and white garnish.

3. Cut a cucumber into 5 cm-long pieces and peel the flesh thin while turning and cutting into thin strips. Likewise, cut the carrot into same length and julienne like cucumber strips. Soak the Jew’s ear mushrooms, remove the hard part, and slice them up. Preheat the frying pan and stir-fry each ingredient separately. But use sesame oil to quickly stir-fry the mushrooms.

4. Cut the beef into thin strips as well and season them with spices before cooking.

5. Mix all the seasoning spices for the noodles and bring to boil. Then add the drained noodles and stir-fry them until the noodles are well-seasoned. Set aside on a plate to cool.

6. Mix the cooled noodles and other separately prepared ingredients. Then add sesame oil, ground sesame mixed with salt, and the egg garnish and mix well. Twirl the japchae into bite-sized pieces and place them on a plate.

Tip:

☑ When boiling noodles, add salt for seasoning and to keep them from sticking.

☑ Since vegetables and seasoned beef will be mixed with seasoned noodles, make sure to quickly stir-fry the vegetables. Do not add salt.

☑ The key to brownish japchae is the brown sugar. Use yellow sugar if you can’t get hold of brown sugar.

☑ Jew’s ear mushrooms can be replaced with other mushrooms such as brown oak mushrooms.

☑ Bring the seasoning sauce to boil before stir-frying the noodles. If not, the noodles will be overdone and become unsavory without any glaze.

☑ Mix separately cooked ingredients with cooled noodles and other spices so that the dish won’t go bad easily.