Korean Stir Fried Noodles (Chapchae) Recipe
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8 oz mung bean or sweet potato noodles might be called cellophane or glass noodles or Chinese vermicelli; can be found at any Asian/Korean grocery store
- 1 sweet onion sliced into thin strips
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped (or crushed garlic)
- 1/2 pound baby spinach parboiled
- 2 carrots julienned
- Half yellow bell pepper chopped (more to add color to the dish)
- Half orange bell pepper chopped
- 3 scallions chopped
- 2 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 3-5 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt to taste
- Sesame seeds optional
- 6 oz. beef or pork optional**
- ** Thinly sliced brisket works well in this dish and Korean barbecued beef bulgogi is used often. In a pinch, chunks of rotisserie chicken, strips of egg, or fried tofu pieces are good protein additions.
Instructions
- If you have the time, marinate your beef in some soy sauce and sesame oil. I marinated the meat in the morning before I left for work so the meat was marinating all day. Marinating the meat just makes it taste so much better.
- Get all of your vegetables cut and ready to go
- Boil the spinach just for 2-3 minutes, rinse, chop up and set aside
- In a large pan or wok over medium heat, heat vegetable (or olive) oil and 1 Tbsp sesame oil.
- Add onion slices and garlic and sauté for about 1 minute.
- Add the rest of vegetables and cook for 4-6 minutes, until the vegetables are half-cooked and still a bit crispy.
- In a separate pan, cook the beef. I prefer to do this separately to ensure all the meat gets cooked evenly.
- Cook noodles according to package directions. (usually 4-5 minutes)
- Turn heat to low and add cooked noodles, meat (if using), soy sauce, sugar, and the remaining sesame oil. Mix to combine and cook for another 2-4 minutes.
- Add salt or more soy sauce if needed; you can also look at the color of the noodles to see if more soy sauce is needed. Taste. If using sesame seeds, sprinkle them on top, serve and enjoy!