Japchae

I've been feeling kinda run down recently. The combination of the heat, my allergies and heavy-duty antihistamines make me feel so bleary all day. It's not so bad, it just means I have to work that much harder to be present and not just look longingly at the weather forecast in San Francisco. This is a reminder to take care of yourself when you need to. I would rather be happy than sad, love than hate, laugh than cry. Although this seems obvious, it isn't. It's a choice, a decision that you have to keep making over and over again. However, while this mindset is great most of the time, occasionally you just need to acknowledge that you feel crap. And then take a time out. 

How do you unwind? When I’m not with friends, I keep it really simple and just take a little more time with everyday tasks. On cooler days, I like the process of making tea or coffee on the hob; as the minutes stretch out, all I do is watch the liquid heat and bubble until it rises like a cake in the oven. When I'm hot and tired, sometimes all I want to do is lie on my bed and pretend that it is an island in the middle of a cool blue sea. Today, I cooked.

I’ve been watching this very chilled out Korean cooking show called Youn’s Kitchen. It’s set in this beautiful place called Garachico in Spain and it’s a lovely bunch of Korean actors who try to run a restaurant for a week and completely charm the locals. The cooking is experimental and there aren’t any exact recipes, but everything looks delicious: japchae, bibimbap, Korean fried chicken, galbi and httoteok. I wanted to try cooking with the same vibe.

Here is the difference between weekday and weekend cooking for me: on weekdays after work, I just want to throw things together in about five minutes but on weekends, I like to take my time. I am no whiz with a knife (I wish) but there is something so satisfying, even therapeutic, about the process of mise en place, or putting your ingredients in place before you cook. This is especially true of a dish like japchae, which simply means ‘mixed vegetables’ but has so many beautiful colours to lift up tired senses. I like to lay all the veggies out on a board as I go, thin lines of red pepper, slivered moons of onion, roughly spiralised courgette, the green parts of five spring onions cut into four, a carrot I learned to julienne thinly with this video, finely chopped garlic and finally the sirloin steak that I cut into very thin strips before marinating. As everything is cooked separately for a short time over high heat, use a sharp knife for thin slices. Japchae isn't a quick recipe but it's a labour of love. 

A key ingredient for japchae is the only component that might be tricky to source. Dangmyeon is a type of clear noodle made out of sweet potato starch that becomes beautifully glossy and somewhat chewy once cooked. You’ll find this in any Korean or larger Asian grocery shop. You could substitute rice vermicelli or glass noodles and, even though it would be a completely different dish, I think this would be equally yummy with soba noodles. Still, try to get dangmyeon if you can. 

If you're vegetarian, don't worry, you can easily sub sliced shitake mushrooms for the beef. The flavour of the marinade is such a revelation, it tastes so much like galbi. Japchae usually has mushrooms marinated together with the beef. I love mushrooms but a lot of my family and friends don’t so I wanted to try making it without. As the mushrooms usually bulk out a smaller quantity of beef, I’ve upped the latter instead. Can I just say how incredibly tender and flavourful the beef is? If you’re too lazy for everything else, make this. It’s the toasted sesame oil that really gives it that wonderfully unique Korean taste.

It’s not traditional to have the courgette in this particular dish but I like it so much in other Korean recipes, I couldn’t resist. I used a handheld spiraliser (the kind that looks like a giant sharpener) and then lay the courgette strands on a paper towel before lightly salting, to draw out any excess liquid. Alternatively, you could julienne, cut into thin coins or leave out altogether. Whatever gives you peace. Make japchae your way. I like more of that sharp garlic flavour and far less sweetness from sugar so that’s what I’ve done but you could do the opposite. This is a very mild, family-friendly dish but sometimes  I like to add a dollop of gochujang (Korean chilli paste) for its delicious heat.

The best part of this dish is that you can absolutely make it in advance. Time in the fridge allows the flavours to meld, just let it come to room temperature before serving. Masikke deuseyo!

Japchae

Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS

• 150g dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles)
• 1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 medium carrot, julienned or cut into matchsticks
• 1 courgette, spiralised or julienned (optional)
• the green section of 5 spring onions, cut into quarters
• 3 big handfuls baby spinach
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped (about 3 teaspoons)
• 230g beef (sirloin or rib-eye)
• vegetable or groundnut oil for stir frying

For the beef marinade:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tsp chopped garlic (from the original 5 cloves)

For the sauce:

• 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar

METHOD

In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the beef marinade and set aside. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

After preparing all your vegetables for cooking, thinly slice the beef into long strips similar in size to your bell pepper. Add to the bowl containing the marinade and toss well to combine. 

Bring a large pan of water to boil and then add the dangmyeon noodles. Cook for 7 minutes over medium heat. Drain into a colander and quickly rinse with cold water to keep the noodles chewy. Toss with a little sesame oil to prevent the noodles sticking together. The noodles are too long so use a pair of kitchen scissors and cut them three or four times.

While the noodles are cooking, place another large pan over medium high heat and have a large mixing bowl ready by the side of the hob to store all the vegetables after they’re done cooking. 

Glaze the pan with a little vegetable oil and sauté the onions, spring onions, half a teaspoon of garlic and a pinch of salt for about two minutes or until they’re soft but not browned. Pour into the mixing bowl and set the pan back on the heat.

Glaze the pan with a little more oil. Add the red bell pepper to one half of the pan and the carrots to the other. Add a pinch of salt to both and 1/2 teaspoon garlic to just the peppers, stirring well but not mixing the carrots and peppers together. If you’ve julienned the carrots thinly, they only need about 20-30 seconds before you add them to the mixing bowl.

Leave the peppers cooking in the pan and add the courgette strands, if using, to the other half with a little salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon garlic. Cook the courgette for another 30 seconds and then add to the mixing bowl along with the bell pepper. 

Glaze the pan with a little more oil and add the spinach with a pinch of salt and the leftover garlic. Stir quickly until it wilts and then add to the mixing bowl.  

Finally, glaze the pan one last time and then add the marinated beef strips. Break up the strips and spread out evenly, cooking just until the strips are no longer pink on either side. Add to the mixing bowl, along with any juices left in the pan. 

To the bowl, add the drained noodles and the prepared sauce. Toss everything together for a few minutes until well combined, seasoning with more salt, soy sauce or sesame oil as needed. Serve at room temperature. 

Notes: When I say glaze the pan, I mean very lightly with oil. You don’t need much at all so please don’t drown your veggies. The same goes for the salt, you just need a pinch each time. 

Cooking the vegetables separately is traditionally how japchae is made. The rationale is that cooking them together is likely to make the japchae soggy and I do like that all the veggies retain a little bite this way. However, if this just seems too long for life, go ahead and cook them together. Start with the onions, spring onions and all the garlic for two minutes, then add and sauté the red peppers for another minute before quickly stirring through the carrot, courgette and spinach for another 30 seconds. Quickly season with salt and black pepper before removing everything to the mixing bowl.