Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Jap-Chae #2


Happy Wednesday guys!  I can't believe the awesome weather we're having!  It's been in the 60's all week and it's supposed to continue to be that way throughout the rest of the week.  Definitely going to try to get outside sometime this weekend!


I'm pretty excited because I'm getting ready to order my seeds for this year's garden.  I've got a couple new tactics to get rid of some of the "pests" without using anything harmful.  So hopefully we'll have a bigger and more successful bounty than last year!

Alright.  Jap-Chae.  It's a Korean noodle dish, that I find really resembles the Filipino Pancit.  Of course, being Filipino, I'm a little partial to pancit, but Jap-Chae is pretty delicious too.  And hell... it's just fun to say.  This is my second attempt at Jap-Chae (the first you can find here) and I think this was a little bit more successful... and prettier, of course.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Tastespotting The Blog's recipe


8 oz. vermicelli rice noodles
2 cups spinach, washed
1 onion, sliced thinly
2 large carrots, peeled and julienned
3 scallions, green parts only, sliced
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
1/8 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup
soy sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon sugar
black and white sesame seeds,  optional


Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook rice noodles until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.  Set noodles aside in a large bowl.

Using same pot as noodles, fill back up with water and bring to a boil.  Toss in spinach and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute.  Drain and squeeze out any liquid.  Place spinach on paper-towel lined bowl to soak up any excess liquid. 

Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook until just soft, about 5 minutes.  Add carrots, scallions and mushrooms to pan.  Cook until everything is soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Add cooked spinach, onions, carrots, scallions and mushrooms to the large bowl with the vermicelli noodles.  Drizzle sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, and salt over noodles.  Toss everything in the bowl together with tongs or you can get primal with it and use your hands.


Sprinkle with white and black sesame seeds to garnish.


This was a pretty tasty meal and a better version than my first, that's for sure!  It's perfect because it can be served at room temperature or cold, so leftovers are definitely ideal!  And hey, we didn't even miss the meat!





And by the way, Nutella Cupcakes won last Friday's poll so be on the lookout for those to come up soon!  Enjoy your Wednesday guys!

26 comments:

  1. Love all the fresh seasonal veggies in this - carrots, spinach, mushrooms! I know my family would enjoy this - looks like a perfect dinner!

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  2. That looks delicious! I've never heard of either dish, but I'm sure I'd like both.

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  3. I love my garden but those bugs drive me bananas.
    Lovely vermicelli rice noodles recipe, the other day I cooked Singapore noodles and it was absolutely delicious ♥

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  4. That looks delicious and fresh--all of my favorite ingredients. Definitely going to try--thanks!

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  5. One of my favorites - and super perfect for 60 degree days!

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  6. Vermicelli noodles rock my world!! This looks amazing!

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  7. Vermicelli noodles looks delicious. Love it.

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  8. Oooh, this really looks delicious. I know my family would love this!

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  9. delicious combination looks wonderful

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  10. Your photos are ridiculously good! Seriously, I am so impressed every time I read your posts :)

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  11. I love jap chae. I've tried making it before, but the taste just wasn't right. I'm going to have to try your combination for the sauce next time.

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  12. Looking lovely... never tried vermicelli this way..looks so tempting.

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  13. Love these noodles, I used to be addicted to Singapore Noodles when I was at uni years ago.

    The best part of your recipe is how simple the ingredientsa are, I bet this tasted great :)

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  14. I love a good noodle dish and this one definitely speaks to my soul.

    I'm super jealous of your future garden! Someday I'll have a yard. With a picket fence. And hopefully many tomato plants.

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  15. Looks really good. I'll put in on my to-do list :-)

    My best,
    Birthe

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  16. This looks just like our kind of dish; saving this one to surprise my husband.
    Rita

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  17. All these beautiful vegetables you put in these noodles makes the irresistible. I have to start planning for my garden too!

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  18. i have never heard of either of these! they both look gorgeous... did you get a new camera?!

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  19. love your picture! and the bowl you serve it in. i happen to have some spinach so I'm going to try it tomorrow! pondering if i should add some seaweed. rice vermicelli is my love. i also love the vietnamese way to prepare it in a salad!

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  20. I love everything about this dish!! Bookmarking this one, too!

    The weather here has been cold!! We had a warm spell a week or so ago. Weird indeed!

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  21. this is not jap chae or the right noodles.

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  22. thanks for the great comments guys!

    and this may not be the "exact" japchae... but that's also why it's called an "adaptation" =)

    as cooks, we have creative freedom, and that also means we can adapt for what we have on hand!

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  23. love the fresh veggies you combined with the rice noodles. the presentation is 5*
    thanks for sharing, hope you'll have a wonderful Monday

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