This food was first made in the 17th century when the Korean Peninsula was ruled by the Joseon Dynasty. When King Gwanghaegun held a large party at the palace, one of the landlord’s nobles served japchae. King Gwanghaegun was so fond of the japchae flavor that the noble was raised to byeongjo panseo (finance minister). At that time, japchae was just vegetables and mushrooms, like cucumber slices, radishes, and shiitake mushrooms. Meanwhile, vermicelli (dang myeon) was added to japchae in the 20th century. Unlike Indonesian vermicelli made from sago starch or palm and midro starch, dang myeon is made from sweet potato flour.
Ingredients
- Glass Noodle (12 oz)
- Beef (4 oz)
- Shitake Mushrooms (5)
- Carrot (1)
- Onion (1)
- Egg (1)
- Spinach (1/3 lbs)
- Oil (5 tbs)
- Soy Sauce (2 tbs)
- Sugar (1 tbs)
- Salt
- Sesame Oil
- Sesame Seed (pinch)
- Minced Garlic (1 tbs)
- Chopped Green Onion (1 tbs)
- Black Pepper (pinch)
How to Cook
- Soak mushrooms in water for 15 minutes. Cut off stems. Cut mushrooms into thin strips.
- Cut beef into thin strips and marinate it with the mushrooms in a seasoning of : 2 tbs of soy sauce, 1tbps of sugar, 1 tbs of minced garlic, 1 tbs of sesame seed oil, 1 tbs of chopped green onions, and a pinch of ground pepper.
- Cut carrots and onion into thin strips.
- Cook spinach in boiling ater for about two minutes. Cool spinach in running water. Squeeze the water out of the spinach. Season the spinach slightly with salt and sesame seed oil.
- Fry the egg in a pan with a pinch of salt. Cut the egg into thin slices.
- Cook the noodles in boiling water for about 2-4 minutes or until soft (You may want to cut the noodles in half before hand if they are too long). Rinse in cold water and drain.
- Start cooking the beef and mushrooms with a bit of oil.
- When beef is cooked add carrot, onion, spinach, and noodles and stir-fry.
- When vegetables are cooked, add the sliced egg and use salt and soy sauce to season the dish to your taste.
- Put it all in a dish and sprinkle some sesame seeds for the final touch.
