Beef Japchae
May 26, 2021 | By Jeremy Scheck | 1 Comment
Beef Japchae
Ingredients
To be used to taste throughout the recipe:
- Sesame oil, soy sauce, and a few pinches of sugar.
Other ingredients (it's okay to mix up the veggies based on what you have at home):
- 1 8oz filet mignon, thinly sliced into strips (easier to slice when half frozen)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb Korean glass noodles (aka, Korean Vermicelli, Dangmyun, 당면)
- 5 oz baby spinach
- Neutral cooking oil to taste (to sauté the veggies and egg)
- 3 eggs
- 1 white onion, julienned
- 3 green onions, julienned
- 6-8 shiitake mushrooms
- 1-2 carrots, julienned
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- Salt and pepper, to taste.
- Abundant toasted sesame seeds, to taste
Instructions
Place the filet and minced garlic in a small bowl, season with equal parts sesame oil and soy sauce. Sprinkle with a teaspoon or so of sugar, to taste. Cover, and place in the fridge to marinate.
Read the instructions on the package for how to prepare the glass noodles, but cook the spinach using the same boiling water first. An easy way to cook the spinach so that you can reuse the boiling water is to put it in a fine mesh sieve set over the boiling water. You can steam the spinach (it's okay if part is submerged, but it makes it easier to get the cooked spinach out.
Once the spinach is wilted and tender, drain and let cool briefly before squeezing the excess moisture out with a paper towel. Give it a rough chop and set aside.
Cook the glass noodles and run under cold water when they are tender and bouncy (but not mushy. Drain completely and add to a big bowl, add the spinach on top.
Dress the noodles to taste with soy sauce, sesame oil, and a pinch of sugar. Use a fork to cut them up a little, so they are easier to eat, and mix well with a clean hand.
Scramble the eggs really well with a fork before adding to a pre-heated, lightly oiled non-stick skillet. Let cook on medium low until it cooks through (with very little browning) on the first side, flip, and roll it up with a spatula. Cut it into thin strips and add to the bowl with the noodles.
Individually sauté each vegetable (from lighest to darkest) with a bit of neutral cooking oil as needed and light salt. Add each to the bowl with the noodles when they are lightly tender but still crisp.
In the same pan, cook the beef over medium-high heat (with the marinade and all) until it's totally cooked through.
Mix the bowl with the veggies, noodles, and beef all together. Taste for seasoning, and add more soy sauce, sesame oil, or sugar if needed. Add a touch of black pepper.
Top with sesame seeds and enjoy!
Jeremy Scheck spent high school perfecting his signature cupcakes, making quiches and coffee cake by the dozen at a local bakery, and teaching cooking demonstrations at Williams-Sonoma. As a 10th grader in 2016, he began documenting his favorite recipes on a blog called The After School Bakery. In college, Jeremy learned to make 50 gallons of ice cream in the food science lab, how to prune grape vines in the teaching vineyard, the best way to milk a cow in Northern Italy, and why film photography is an art worth saving. As a sophomore in 2020, he traded blog photos for video and became a TikTok culinary sensation. Jeremy has been featured on the Today show, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC Radio, People, and Access Hollywood, among others. Jeremy is a graduate of Cornell University with a double major in Spanish and Italian, and significant coursework in food science. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Jeremy.
I just made this and it was soo good!! I’m in no way an expert but it tasted just like japchae i’ve tried at korean restaurants. I used tofu instead of beef but used all the same ingredients otherwise and it came out perfect. Would definitely recommend this recipe if you’re looking for something fun and different to try!