Korean Sweet Potato Noodle Dish (Japchae)

1. 1

   Soak the mushrooms in warm water until completely hydrated. Squeeze out the water, then cut off and discard the stems. Thinly slice the caps and put the pieces in a small bowl. Thinly slice the beef and put it in a small bowl. Stir 30ml of soy sauce with five grams of sugar until the latter is dissolved. Mix in the garlic, spring onion, sesame oil, sesame seeds and ground white pepper. Divide the marinade evenly between the mushrooms and beef and mix thoroughly. Set aside to marinate while preparing the other ingredients.

2. 2

   Finely julienne the zucchini, put it in a bowl, sprinkle with about one teaspoon (the exact amount doesn't matter) of salt and mix well. Finely julienne the carrot, put it in a separate bowl, sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and mix well. Leave the vegetables for about 10 minutes, or until they soften. Rinse the zucchini and carrot together under cold, running water, pressing and massaging them to get rid of the excess salt. Drain the vegetables then lay them on a clean dish towel. Roll the towel around the vegetables to squeeze out as much water as possible. Halve the onion then slice it thinly.

3. 3

   Bring a large pot of water to the boil and stir in 15ml of cooking oil and 15ml soy sauce. Add the sweet potato noodles and cook until tender but not mushy. Drain the noodles then rinse with water and drain again. Drizzle 5ml of sesame oil over the noodles and mix well so they're lightly coated.

4. 4

   Heat about 10ml of cooking oil in a small skillet, add the onion and a light sprinkling of salt and cook over a medium flame until crisp-tender. Put the onion in a large bowl and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Heat about 5ml of cooking oil in the skillet, add the carrot, zucchini and minced garlic clove and saute briefly. Put the vegetables in the bowl with the onion, then again wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Heat about 5ml of oil in the skillet and add the mushroom and marinade. Cook over a medium-high flame until the mushroom absorbs the liquid. Put the mushroom in the bowl with the other ingredients. Heat 5ml of oil in the skillet, add the beef and marinade and cook over a medium-high flame until the beef is just cooked through. Add the beef to the bowl containing the other ingredients.

5. 5

   Whisk the egg thoroughly. Wash the skillet and dry it. Heat it over a medium flame, then brush it with cooking oil. Add about half the egg and swirl the pan so the egg makes a very thin layer. Leave it to cook until set, flip it over and briefly cook the other side. Slide the egg crepe out of the pan and repeat with the remaining egg. Stack the egg crepes and roll them into a cylinder. Finely julienne the egg crepes, then unroll the pieces and separate them.

6. 6

   Put the cooked noodles into the bowl containing all the other ingredients, add half the egg crepe and mix thoroughly. Dissolve 10 grams of sugar in 20ml of soy sauce, then mix in 20ml of sesame oil. Pour the mixture over the ingredients in the bowl and mix well. Put the ingredients on a serving dish and scatter the sliced spring onion over them. Top with the remaining egg crepe then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately, with banchan of your choice.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.