Japchae 잡채

Dangmyeon 당면 is Korean glass noodle, made from either yam or sweet potato starch. It is featured in a dish called Japchae 잡채, which is stir-fried dangmyeon in assorted vegetables and meats. Japchae is typically flavoured with sesame oil and soy sauce.

My cousin cooked Japchae last night. She bought the dangmyeon all the way from Kuala Lumpur. I certainly haven't seen dangmyeon on sale in supermarkets in Kuching. Uncooked, it is gray in colour, and very much thicker than the Chinese glass noodles.

She blanched the noodles in boiling water for a few minutes before draining them. She tossed the noodles in a little bit of sesame oil to prevent them from sticking together.

In a wok, she sauteed some garlic in sesame oil, and then added sliced shiitake, minced pork, julienned carrots and 菠菜 spinach. Once cooked, she turned off the flame and added in the noodles. She stirred to mix them well. Only some light soy sauce is used as flavouring.

She then garnished the noodles with julienned egg omelette and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. When cooked, the noodles turn transparent and have a chewy texture. The dangmyeon soaks up the flavours from the sesame oil and the combination of meat, mushroom and vegetables making it a very tasty dish.

Japchae can be served by itself as a main dish, or it can be eaten as a banchan반찬 .