michelle picker cooks

Japchae is amongst the most popular dishes in Korea. It’s a stir-fry of noodles, vegetables and, in my case prawns and squid. The transparent noodles are made of sweet potato starch and have a lovely chewy texture.

Soak 6 – 8 whole dried shiitake mushrooms in boiling water for a few hours before you start the rest of the meal. When the mushrooms are soft, slice them and put them in a bowl with 8-10 prawns and an equal amount of sliced squid. Add 2 minced cloves of garlic, 2 teaspoons of sugar, ½ a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Mix and set aside to marinate. Whisk an egg with a pinch of salt and fry it in some oil in a very thin layer. When the egg is just cooked and not browned, remove it to a plate, cut into thin slices and set aside. Prepare the sweet potato noodles according to the packet instructions. When they are cooked add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix well and set aside. Now cut 1 medium carrot  into matchsticks, 1 red pepper into thin strips, 1 onion into thin wedges, 2 to 3 green onions crosswise into similar lengths and thinly slice 6-8 fresh mushrooms. Cut the stems from Chinese broccoli into thin strips and set aside. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and blanch the leaves until just cooked then squeeze dry and slice. Heat a wok over medium high heat, add a little vegetable oil and fry the onion and green onion with a pinch of salt until the onion is a little translucent. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat this step with the mushrooms and then with the carrot, red pepper and broccoli stems. Finally, add some more oil and fry the seafood and mushroom mixture until the prawns are just becoming opaque. Add the noodles, the fried vegetables, the broccoli leaves, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 2-3 teaspoons of sugar, ½ a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. Toss everything together to heat through. Garnish with the strips of egg and toasted sesame seeds. Serve with kimchi.

*adapted from this recipe