I first enjoyed Jap Chae at
Sujeo, in Madison, last winter. It's a Korean dish also known by other similar one- and two-word names like Chap Chae, Chopchae, and Japchae. Recently,
Peter Meehan posted a Jap Chae recipe on his website,
Lucky Peach. Lucky Peach publishes a wide range of recipes and articles about food and the world of cooking. It is there that you may find a ranking of Trader Joe's snack foods by both taste and ability to be consumed in large portions, a recipe for Momofuku's pork buns, and an article about professional kitchen culture by Wylie Dufresne. It is also there that I feel like I really fall victim to the celebrity culture of the food world, salivating over the dishes, personalities, relationships, and lives of the people who grace the pages of Lucky Peach. I want to know them, I want to be them, and I want to cook and eat their food. They are also the ones who seem to frequent the wonderful
Mind of a Chef, often in combinations with each other: Christina Tosi, Alex Stupak, Rene Redzepi, etc.
Anyway, Meehan concedes that Jap Chae doesn't sound like much on paper, but once you taste it you will understand. I
had tasted and I
did understand. I needed no convincing and this recipe didn't disappoint. Relying heavily on umami for its flavor (shiitakes and soy sauce), as well as sweetness (mirin, sugar, bell peppers) and saltiness (mirin and soy sauce) in balance, it hits everywhere you want it to hit. Jap chae traditionally uses the totally fascinating sweet potato noodles, which I had to track down at my local
temple of all things Asian food. All the other ingredients are pretty run-of-the-mill. The sweet potato noodles are clear with a grayish tinge and remain chewy in a very nice way when properly cooked. Copious amounts of onions, red peppers, and mushrooms came together with the noodles, mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds (plenty). The dish was easy, fast, and brought the flavors of a Korean restaurant right into our home. As a bonus I got to enjoy the noodle packaging with its little "Batata" mascot.
Jap Chae
Adapted very slightly from Peter Meehan of Lucky Peach
Ingredients
- 10 oz cellophane or sweet potato noodles
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 cups thinly sliced red onion (1 large or 2 small)
- 3 cups thinly sliced bell pepper (2 peppers)
- 1 cup julienned carrot (or a little more)
- 4 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 8 ounces)
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced (about 4 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1/2 cup mirin (see mine above)
- 1/3 cup soy sauce (see mine above and note I decreased the amount slightly from the original recipe, bearing in mind the salt in the mirin)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- Crushed red pepper to taste
Directions
- Cook the noodles: Set up a large bowl of ice water. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles for about 5 minutes, or according to package directions. They will be chewy. Drain the noodles, plunge them into the ice water, and drain them again. Cut the noodles in a few places to break them up.
- Heat the oil in a large skilled over medium to medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and saute a few minutes.
- Add the bell pepper and saute a few minutes. Both the onions and peppers should retain some crunch.
- Add the carrots, then mushrooms, then scallions, then garlic, allowing the pan to heat up before each addition.
- Cook until the vegetables are a somewhat caramelized mass, about 10 minutes longer.
- Deglaze the pan with the mirin, scraping up any stuck pieces.
- Add the vegetables to the noodles. Stir in the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds and toss to combine. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
