Korean food designed to share
Beef Japchae an iconic dish often cooked for family celebrations
FOR LOVERS OF ALL things Korean comes the ideal step-by-step entry point to recreating your favourite dishes at home. Welcome to Korean Home Cooking, where the food isn’t complicated but there is an art and tradition in its arrangement.
Start with tradition, simple and tasty family recipes and enjoy this rich resource of authentic family recipes by Jina Jung.
Jung was born in Seoul, Korea, and developed her cooking skills with her grandmother and mother . . . and then through experiences as a cook and caterer in both Korea and France.
Respect for authentic flavours and conviviality of sharing meals are the core of Jung’s food . . . and that’s what sets this book apart.
BEEF JAPCHAE
This generous beef and vermicelli recipe is an iconic dish in Korea, and is often cooked for family celebrations. Serves 4; Preparation 25 minutes; Resting 2 hours; Cooking 40 minutes
Ingredients
200g sweet potato vermicelli 300g thick beef steak
6 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp sugar
1 1⁄2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper 1 red capsicum
1 carrot
1⁄2 courgette
4 pyogo mushrooms (shiitake) or oyster mushrooms
1⁄2 onion
3cm leek (white part)
1 egg
100ml water
4 Tbsp sesame oil
1⁄2 Tbsp sesame seeds
5 garlic chives
Neutral vegetable oil
Salt
Method
Immerse the sweet potato vermicelli in cold water and leave to soak for 2 hours, then drain.
Cut the meat into thin strips. Marinate with 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, 1⁄2 teaspoon of the garlic powder and 1⁄2 teaspoon of the pepper while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Cut the capsicum, carrot and zucchini into matchsticks. Thinly slice the mushrooms and onion. Chop the leek. Beat the egg with a good pinch of salt. Cook a thin omelette in a hot oiled frying pan. Allow to cool, roll it up gently and cut into thin strips.
Heat more vegetable oil in the frying pan over a high heat. Stir-fry the carrot and zucchini, seasoning them with a pinch of salt. When the vegetables have softened slightly, set them aside in a bowl. Do the same with the capsicum, then the mushrooms, then the onion. Stir-fry the marinated meat for 5 minutes. Set everything aside in the same bowl.
Prepare the sauce. Combine the water, 4 tablespoons of the soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder and 1⁄2 teaspoon of the pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil and the chopped leek in a large pan over a medium heat. When the leek becomes aromatic, add the vermicelli and sauce. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Pour the hot vermicelli into the bowl of vegetables. Cut the vermicelli with scissors, in one direction then in the other. Add the sesame seeds and 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil and mix gently with your hands when the vermicelli have cooled slightly. Arrange the japchae on plates. Top the japchae off with the omelette strips and garnish with chopped garlic chives.