Japchae with Beef and Vegetables
By Andrew Zimmern
Korean food is bound to the earth. Their culture understands wellness, health, and diet are indispensably tied together. I love cooking Korean food, especially dishes like japchae, made with sweet potato starch noodles and a dozen vegetables, some meat if you care to, and a simple seasoning blend of soy sauce, sugar, and toasted sesame oil. The dish is delicious, but like much of Korean food, it’s the attention to detail that goes into a specific preparation that I enjoy. It’s like a moving meditation, I get to take my time and be as precise as I can be. My family and friends can taste all the love I put into the noodle dish when we eat, communally as we connect. This dish can be served on its own, with a fleet of banchan to accompany it, or as one part of a multi-dish menu. The chewy sweet potato glass noodles are called dangmyeon — I have a cold dish that I make all summer long with them — but in winter it’s japchae that I use to empty the vegetable crisper and make a simple dish that everyone craves.
Japchae with Beef and Vegetables
Ingredients
- 14 ounces thinly sliced beef skirt, flank, strip or ribeye
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or white sugar if you don’t have any brown sugar handy
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice wine (sake, or if you have it, soju made from rice which is tricky to find)
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 2 cloves garlic passed through a Microplane
- Combine and let sit at room temperature for a half hour while you prep the other ingredients.
The Cooking Sauce
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 2 whole dried hot chiles, chopped
- 1/4 cup brown sugar or white sugar if you don’t have any brown sugar handy
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup rice wine (sake, or if you have it, soju made from rice which is tricky to find)
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 cloves garlic passed through a Microplane
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
The Vegetables, etc.
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 bunch scallions, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, stems and seeds removed, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 8 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, julienned
- 2 big handfuls fresh spinach
- 4 cups thinly sliced savoy or Napa cabbage
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil for the noodles
- 1/3 cup toasted canola oil or plain canola oil for sauteeing the vegetables
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- Korean style sweet potato noodles (like these)
Instructions
Combine brown sugar, sesame oil, rice wine, mirin, and garlic and pour onto steak. Let sit at room temperature for a half hour while you prep the other ingredients.
Get a large pot of salted water going for cooking the noodles.
In a large skillet, add a smidge of toasted canola oil and cook a flat omelet. Season and set aside to cool.
In the same pan, working one by one, hard sear each ingredient until just cooked through, using the rest of the canola oil. Make sure to season each time as you cook the carrots, onions, mushrooms, spinach, cabbage, peppers, and scallions.
Cook the noodles, then drain and toss in 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil.
Preheat the same oversized skillet–you need a big one–over high heat and sear the beef, adding the vegetables one type at a time. Toss to combine, finishing with the sesame seeds, egg, and finally the noodles. When all is combined, and thermal momentum has returned to the pan (it’s sizzling) add the sauce mixture and cook for a few more minutes, tossing while it cooks. Serve immediately.
