Korean Chap Chae Vegetarian Recipes

VEGETARIAN KOREAN NOODLES (JAPCHAE)

Steps:

• For the sauce: Combine the sugar, tamari, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and ginger in a small bowl. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
• For the noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and stir to help submerge them. Cook until the noodles are just barely cooked, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Using kitchen shears or a clean pair of scissors, cut the noodles into approximately 8-inch lengths. Set aside.
• Heat the grapeseed oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the oyster and shiitake mushrooms and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are beginning to brown. Add the shallots and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until fragrant, another 2 minutes. Add the red pepper, garlic and scallions to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until the peppers are beginning to soften. Add the kale and the cooked noodles and saute another 3 minutes, stirring often to coat the noodles in the oil and to wilt the kale. Add the sauce and toss to coat. Top with sesame seeds if desired.

CHAP CHEE NOODLES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions, garlic, sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in sliced beef, and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.
• Heat wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, then drizzle with oil. Cook beef until evenly brown. Stir in carrots, bamboo shoots, napa cabbage, and spinach. Add cellophane noodles, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until heated through.

EASY JAPCHAE (KOREAN STIR-FRIED NOODLES AND VEGETABLES)

Steps:

• Combine your choice of meat, the soy sauce, brown (or white) sugar, and toasted sesame oil in a bowl. Mix well by hand until the sugar is well melted. Cover and let it sit for 5 minutes.
• Heat a skillet and cook the marinated meat, stirring with a wooden spoon for about 4 to 5 minutes until cooked thoroughly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Whisk the eggs and salt in a bowl, then strain into another bowl so it's totally smooth. Discard the stringy bits remaining in the strainer.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and swirl it around to evenly coat the skillet. Wipe off the excess oil with a paper towel. Turn down the heat to low and add the egg mixture to the skillet. Lift and tilt the skillet around so that the egg spreads into a large circle that covers the bottom of the skillet. Let it cook for a minute until the bottom of the egg pancake is lightly cooked but not brown. Flip the egg pancake and remove from the heat. Let it cook by the heat remaining in the skillet for a few minutes.
• Transfer to a cutting board. Let the pancake cool for a few minutes, then slice it into thin strips. Cover the strips with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.
• Combine the soy sauce, brown (or white) sugar, ground black pepper, and garlic in a bowl and mix well with a spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Cover and set aside.
• Drain the wood ear mushrooms and put them on your cutting board. Cut off the tough stems and discard them. Cut the caps into bite-size pieces and put them into the pot.
• Add the king oyster mushrooms, carrot, and onion to the pot. Add ¼ cup vegetable oil and ¼ cup water to the pot. Mix well everything in the pot with both hands so that all the vegetables and mushrooms are nicely coated with oil. This will not only prevent the ingredients from turning brown from the seasoning sauce, but will also keep them from burning when you cook. Spread the spinach over top in an even layer.
• Drain the noodles and cut them into 5- to 6-inch lengths with scissors. Place them on top of the spinach in the pot. Drizzle the seasoning sauce on top of the noodles.
• Cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.
• Open the lid and stir and gently toss all the ingredients with a wooden spoon and tongs for 1 to 2 minutes, until all the liquid has evaporated and the noodles are nicely cooked and shiny. Add the cooked meat (if using), 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Gently toss the mixture so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Transfer to a large platter.
• Garnish with the egg paper strips (if using) and sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, and serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. To reheat, stir-fry in a skillet with a few tablespoons water or vegetable oil.

JAPCHAE (STIR-FRIED STARCH NOODLES WITH BEEF AND VEGETABLES)

Steps:

• Clean all the ingredients. Cut the carrot into matchsticks. Thinly slice the onion. Run the knife through the white parts of the scallions lengthwise, if thick, and then cut into about 2-inch long pieces. Remove the stems from the mushrooms, and slice into 1/4-inch thin strips. Cut the meat into thin 2-inch long strips.
• Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well until the sugar is dissolved.
• In a large non-stick pan (see note 2), bring about 5 cups of water to a boil, and cook the noodles until completely translucent and soft (6 to 8 minutes). Drain in a strainer and rinse under cold running water. Drain well. Roughly cut the noodles with a pair of kitchen shears or a knife into 6 -7 inch lengths. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Mix well with 3 tablespoons of the prepared sauce.
• Fill the same pan with 2 cups of water. When water boils, blanch the spinach only until wilted. Drain quickly and shock in cold water. Squeeze out water, run a knife through the squeezed spinach a couple of times, and lightly season with salt.
• Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil to the skillet, and stir fry the noodles over medium to medium high heat, stirring frequently, until translucent and a bit sticky (about 4 minutes). Transfer back to the mixing bowl.
• Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil to the pan, and stir fry the carrot over medium high heat, sprinkling with a pinch of salt. When the carrot sticks are half way cooked, about a minute, push them to one side of the pan to make room for the onion slices. Stir-fry the onion slices until translucent, sprinkling with a pinch of salt. Stir-in the scallion and cook briefly. Do not overcook. The vegetables should be crisp. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles.
• Add the beef and mushrooms along with 2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce and cook until the meat is cooked through, 2 - 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles.
• Add the spinach and the remaining sauce to the bowl with all other prepared ingredients. Toss well by hand. Adjust the seasoning to taste by adding a little more (start with 1/2 teaspoon) soy sauce and/or sugar as necessary.

KOREAN CHAP CHAE (VEGETARIAN)

Steps:

• Soak Chinese mushrooms in 1 cup hot water for 20 minutes.
• When they have softened, cut off the hard stems and slice the caps fine.
• Drop spinach into 10 cups of boiling water and boil rapidly for 2 minutes. Drain, run under cold water then squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
• Peel carrot, cut into 3 sections and then into fine julienne strips.
• Wipe off the fresh mushrooms and break off their stems. Cut the caps into very fine slices. Cut the nonwoody part of the stems into matchstick pieces.
• Cut away and discard the curly, tender part of the cabbage leaves. Save only the V-shaped core of the leaves and cut this into julienne strips.
• Cut the scallions into 2 1/2 inch sections and quarter the section with the bulb lengthwise.
• Combine the Chinese mushrooms, spinach, carrot, zucchini, mushrooms, cabbage, and scallions in a bowl. Mix well, separating all the spinach leaves.
• Heat the vegetable oil and the sesame oil in a wok over a medium-high flame. When hot, put in the garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds.
• Add all the vegetables in the bowl. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until the vegetables are tender-crisp.
• Turn the heat to low, and add the drained noodles, soy sauce, and salt. Stir well, distributing the noodles evenly, and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
• Season to taste.

KOREAN-STYLE NOODLES WITH VEGETABLES (CHAP CHAE)

Steps:

• Soak noodles in a bowl of warm water to cover until softened, about 10 minutes, then drain in a colander. Cook noodles in a 3- to 4-quart pot of boiling water until tender, about 2 minutes, then drain in a colander and rinse under cold water until cool.
• Blend tamari, sesame oil, sugar, and garlic in a blender until smooth.
• Heat safflower oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until it just begins to smoke, then stir-fry onion and carrots until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and stir-fry until softened, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and stir-fry 30 seconds, then add noodles and tamari mixture and toss to coat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a shallow serving dish and serve warm or at room temperature.
• Chap chae can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

KOREAN STIR-FRIED NOODLES (JAP CHAE OR CHAP CHAE)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large skillet or wok over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil until it shimmers.
• Add onion slices and garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add the spinach, carrots, scallions, napa cabbage, and mushrooms and sauté until half cooked and still a bit crunchy, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Turn the heat to low and add cooked noodles, soy sauce , sugar, and the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil.
• Sauté continuously until the mixture is well combined, about 2 minutes more.
• Adjust to taste with more salt or soy sauce, if needed.
• Garnish with the sesame seeds , if using, and serve immediately.