Japchae
Glossy, bouncy sweet potato noodles tossed with beef, spinach, mushrooms and colorful vegetables in a sweet sesame-soy sauce, just as good at room temperature.
- 40 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $4.87 a serving
- 590 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 8 oz shaved steak
- 3 tbsp sesame oil, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
- 8 oz glass noodles, sweet potato noodles
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 package shiitake mushrooms, 3.5 oz, stems removed, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- 5 oz baby spinach
- 3 stalks green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
From your pantry
- ⅓ cup soy sauce, divided
- 3 tbsp brown sugar, divided
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 1 pinch salt
Each serving has about 590 calories, 17 g protein, 75 g carbs and 26 g fat, and costs about $4.87 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No shaved steak? Sirloin steak works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No shredded carrots? Carrots work.
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the beef with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil and a quarter of the garlic. Wash your hands.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling water 6 to 7 minutes, until soft and chewy. , under cold water, snip them a few times with scissors, and with 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
High heatTimer: 6 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: These noodles are very long. Two or three snips with kitchen scissors make them easy to toss and eat.Stir the rest of the soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and garlic with the pepper to make the sauce.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large over medium-high. the onion, carrot, mushrooms and pepper 4 minutes, until , and tip them into a big bowl.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Tender-crisp. Tender-crisp means vegetables cooked until just tender but still with a little snap. They keep their bright color and crunch instead of going soft and dull.
How you’ll know: A fork goes in with slight resistance, and the color is bright, not olive or gray.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min
Add the spinach and salt to the skillet and 1 minute, until just . Add it to the bowl.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Medium-high heatTimer: 1 min
Heat the last tablespoon of oil and the beef 2 to 3 minutes, until no pink remains.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
Turn the heat to medium, add the noodles, vegetables and sauce, and with tongs 2 minutes, until the noodles are glossy and hot. Toss in the green onions.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Dolly’s tip: Leftovers stiffen in the fridge. Microwave with a splash of water and they turn bouncy again.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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