Japchae Glass Noodles with Vegetables

• 200 g dangmyeon (sweet potato glass noodles)
• 3 Tbsp dark soy sauce in 1 litre of noodle water (about half is absorbed)
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar in the noodle water (about half is absorbed)
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in the noodle water (about half is absorbed)
• 3 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 stalk green onion, cut into 5 cm lengths
• 100 g carrot, thinly julienned
• 100 g rib eye beef, thinly julienned
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• capsicum (½ yellow and ½ red), thinly julienned
• 2 Tbsp dark soy sauce (a little for the marinade, the rest to season)
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil (1 for the noodles, 1 for the marinade and seasoning)
• about ½ tsp oil for each stir-fry batch (about 2½ tsp in total)
• 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds, to garnish
• a pinch of salt for each vegetable, plus up to 1 tsp to taste

Method

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1. Thinly slice the onion, julienne the carrot and capsicums, cut the green onion into 5 cm lengths, slice the shiitake and mince the garlic. Freeze the beef for 30–60 minutes so you can cut it into fine strips. 0:41
2. Toss the beef and shiitake with the garlic, a little of the soy sauce and sugar, some pepper and a splash of sesame oil; marinate about 10 minutes. 2:38
3. Heat a pan over medium-high. With about ½ tsp oil and a pinch of salt each time, stir-fry the onion (1–2 minutes, still crunchy), the green onion, the carrot and the capsicum separately, spreading each on a tray to cool. 3:19
4. Stir-fry the marinated beef and mushrooms in about 1 tsp oil until the beef is cooked, and spread out with the vegetables. 4:17
5. Bring 1 litre of water to the boil with 3 Tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 Tbsp brown sugar and 1 Tbsp oil. Cook the noodles in it until fully soft (not al dente), then drain. 4:46
6. Toss the noodles with 1 Tbsp sesame oil and let them cool to warm. Add all the cooked ingredients, the remaining soy sauce, sugar and pepper and toss by hand. Taste, add salt only if needed, and finish with sesame seeds. 5:35

Tip. Serves 8–10 as a side, or about 4 as a main. Time excludes 30–60 min freezing the beef to slice it (skip with pre-sliced beef). Keeps 3 days in the fridge; reheat in a pan with a teaspoon of oil or briefly in the microwave.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.