Making Easy Japchae: A Simplified Recipe for Stir-Fried Vegetables and Meat Starch Noodles

As we begin our cooking journey today, I want to introduce you to one of my favorite Korean dishes – easy japchae. Japchae is a classic stir-fry dish that consists of vegetables, meat, and starch noodles. Although it may seem intimidating at first, this recipe is surprisingly easy to make and perfect for those looking to try something new.

To start, let's talk about the meat. For this recipe, I'm using pork belly, which can be substituted with beef or other protein sources if you prefer a vegetarian version. The pork belly is marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and salt before being cut into thin strips. This step is crucial in adding flavor to the dish, so take your time to mix the ingredients thoroughly.

Now that we have our meat ready, let's move on to the egg strips. We'll be making gyeran-jidan, a Korean-style omelette that adds a delightful texture to the dish. Simply beat an egg with a pinch of salt and pour it into a strainer to create a smooth mixture. This step is essential in achieving the perfect consistency for our japchae.

With our ingredients ready, let's turn on the heat and cook the egg strips in a pan coated with cooking oil. We'll reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until the bottom is set. Flipping the egg strips over will help them cook evenly and prevent them from becoming too brown.

Next, we'll cook the marinated pork belly in a separate pan, heating it up over medium-high heat until it's cooked thoroughly. This step requires attention to detail, as we need to ensure that the pork is fully cooked without overcooking it.

Now, let's move on to the seasoning sauce, which is an essential component of any japchae dish. We'll mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and black pepper to create a sweet, salty, and garlicky flavor profile. This sauce will add depth and complexity to our dish, making it truly special.

With all our ingredients ready, let's begin assembling our japchae. In a large pot, we'll combine the cooked egg strips, marinated pork belly, wood ear mushrooms (which I always use in my recipes because of their crispy texture and distinctive flavor), and starch noodles. This is where the magic happens, as everything comes together to create a harmonious balance of flavors and textures.

As we cook our vegetables and mushrooms, they'll absorb the savory flavors from the pork belly and seasoning sauce. The wood ear mushrooms will add a delightful crunch to the dish, while the starch noodles provide a comforting texture that complements the vegetables perfectly. When everything is cooked through, we'll remove it from the heat and let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Throughout this recipe, I've emphasized the importance of using high-quality ingredients and taking your time to cook each component thoroughly. By following these steps and adding your own personal touch, you'll be able to create an easy and delicious japchae dish that's sure to impress even the most discerning palates. So go ahead, give it a try, and enjoy this tasty Korean staple!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(upbeat music)- Hi, everybody.Today, I'm going to show youhow to make easy japchae.You know japchae, the word?Of course, japchaeis stir-fried vegetablesand meat and starch noodles.You guys have been makingjapchae for a long time.I've already posted this recipe.But this easy japchae recipe is one of mynew cookbook recipes.Why do I call this easy japchae?Because it's easy, easyand simple to make.You can see how easy it is.First, meat.So this meat, I'm usingpork belly, 8 ounces,but you guys can also use beef.Or, if you are a vegetarian,skip this part, right?Then you can make avegetarian-version japchae today.I will just cut like this.This is 8 ounces pork belly.Let's marinate this.Soy sauce.It's around two teaspoons.And brown sugar, around two teaspoons.Sesame oil, one teaspoon.Mix by hand until allthe sugar is well-melted.Then cover this and set aside.Next one is egg strips.I'll make some gyeran-jidan.A pinch of salt.And mix.All this goes through thisstrainer,so that we'll have an even mixture.Look at that.Isn't it nice?Let's turn on the heat.My pan is heated, and add aroundone teaspoon cooking oil,and swirl to coat evenly.And then wipe off.Then I will just turn down the heat to very low.And....Like this.So it's very low heat.I can cook this until the bottom is set.Now, I'm going to flip it over.Like this.And turn off.Let it sit here.So with the remaining heat,it's going to be cooked slowly.Next, I'm going to cook my marinated pork.I heat it up over medium-high heat.This pan is heated.I'm going to cook this.Instead of keep stirring, justlet it cook for 1 minute,and then later you can stir this.I have to use my cutting boardbecause I need to cut all the mushroomsand vegetables.(sizzling)Wow, looks yummy!This is pork, so you needto cook it really thoroughly,around 4 or 5 minutes.It smells so good!(sizzling)Well done!I'm going to turn off.And now we're gonna make seasoning sauce.1/4 cup soy sauce calledjin-Ganjang.Brown sugar, 3 tablespoons.Two, three.And then, this is groundblack pepper, 1/2 teaspoon.Five large garlic cloves.Let's mince!Mix well until sugar is well-dissolved.We are making sweet, salty, and garlicky seasoning sauce.This seasoning mixture,I made this, I will just set it aside.We need a really largeand heavy pot, that's all.In 1 pot, everything is happening.So that's why it's easy.Vegetables and mushroomsare going to the bottom.These are my wood ear mushrooms.Whenever I make japchae,I always use wood ear mushroombecause it's very crispy,and when you add this,this black color is also pretty.I love that.1 bag of wood ear mushrooms,in Korean, mogi-beoseot.If you buy this, you can use it for a long time.Mogi-beoseot is wood ear mushroom.30 minutes after in coldwater, they look like this.Take out of the water.See this, there is a stem.Sometimes the stem has dust or sand,so you need to remove it.Here.It looks like this.This part is the stem.You will see it, it's kind of a hard part.And cut off.And cut it into bite-size pieces.I will put this in my pot.Probably you'll be wondering,\"where are the noodles?\"These noodles!You remember?These are sweet potato starch noodles.I all the time use this.And these are not rice noodles.These are starch noodles,sweet potato starch noodles.It looks clear, so when it's cooked,it's a little translucent.It has a really nice texture.In my original recipe,I just boil them several minutesuntil all cooked,but for my new recipe,I just soak them in cold water for 40 minutes.I soaked this 40 minutes ago.Can you see that?Japchae is very colorful.Vegetables should be colorful.So I use carrot, one largecarrot, and this is mushroom.You can use any kinds of mushroom,shiitake mushrooms or white mushrooms,any kinds of mushroom.I chose king oystermushrooms, 8 ounces mushrooms.And onion.We need 8 ounces.So 8 ounces is goingto be about this amount.And also spinach.This spinach is bunch spinach.You know the bunch spinach?It has long, long leaves.I washed these all nicely.You gotta use 8 ouncesof bunch spinach.I washed them andthey look really big.But when it's cooked,it'll be really collapsing.First, king oyster mushrooms.And onion.In case of carrot, youdon't have to slice itinto really thin matchsticks,because we are going tocook this in only one pot,so it has to be a little thicker,thicker is better.Carrot, onion, mushroom go all together.Look at that!We use lots of vegetables and mushrooms.That's why japchae is very nutritious.Everybody loves japchae.Vegetable, mushroom are juston the bottom like this.Next, we need to add vegetable oil.Vegetable oil, 1/4 cup.I just did a lot of experimentsto make this recipe.This oil is going to coatall these vegetables,so that when I add the seasoning sauce later,even though the seasoning sauce is goingdown, dripping down,the color is not going to be ruined.And then I will add 1/4 cup water.Then mix it by hand, like this.Next, on top, I will add my spinach.But this spinach is too long,so I'm going to cut justroughly, like this.Wow, nice, beautiful.Next, noodles!These dangmyeon noodles, look at that!Really flexible now.Even I didn't cook them.I just soaked them in cold water.These are too long, look at that.Too long.I'm going to cut a couple of times.Like this.Put the noodles on top.Wow, nice!And then, drizzle this seasoning.Let's cook!And cook over medium-high heat.for 10 minutes.How easy it is!Ever since I developed this recipe,I never go back to my traditional way.But if you make japchae for20 people or 10 people,you have to follow the traditional way.Take care of each ingredient,and then later, you putall the ingredients in a large basinand just mix them together.That's the way you can feed like20, 50 people!This way is very easyfor a usual family,for just 4 to 6 servings,it's perfect.So I'm going to slice this egg.Usually, when I make an egg garnish,I use only egg yolk tomake it really yellow,but today I'll use all the eggs.Usually, for homecooking,what are you going to dowith leftover egg whites?So I used whole eggs, not bad.Beautiful yellow, isn't it?And this is my bonus.I can eat it.(laughs)Wow, this is all cookingnow, so it's steamy.(bell ringing)Yay! 10 minutes!Turn off.Okay, wow, it's really going down, right?And then we're gonna mix this.Nice, huh?We added only 1/4 cup of water.But look at this, on the bottom there is stilla little bit of water.So I'm going to evaporate the waterand turn on the heat.Medium-high heat.Can you see?This color is not brownish at all.Very pretty color.The spinach is stillgreen and sturdy looking.And add sesame oil, 1 tablespoon.Sesame seeds, about 1 tablespoon.Meat.Oh my! It's so delicious looking.And now, turn off.I'll put this here.So good!Wow, smells very good.So this egg.And more sesame seeds.That's it!Look at that.How big it is.Okay, let me taste.Mm, mm.Noodles are chewy and kindof really elastic,and also, all these vegetableshave different textures.It's all great together.This is my new cookbookrecipe, and page 323.All these, look at this!Just a couple of days ago, one of my readers,one of you guys, she tweeted,\"I made this following youreasy japchae recipe.\"\"I cannot believe this isfinished in 10 minutes.\"I thought, \"oh my god, that's so cool!!\"Today, we made super easy japchae.Japchae is juststir-fried starch noodleswith meat and vegetablesand mushrooms!Enjoy my recipe.See you next time!Bye!(upbeat music)\n"