Teriyaki Meatballs

A couple of nights ago, I was sitting wondering what to make for dinner. I didn't have much of an appetite that night because I wasn't feeling well. I just wanted to make something simple but not boring at the same time. I was browsing through all my bookmarked recipes and found this one. Luckily, I had some ground beef sitting in the freezer and I had all the other ingredients, too. This recipe comes from Melanie's blog, one of my favorites. The teriyaki sauce is thick and tasty, perfectly sweet. The meatballs were excellent with white rice.

Please click HERE to get the recipe.

Teriyaki Meatballs

A couple of nights ago, I was sitting wondering what to make for dinner. I didn't have much of an appetite that night because I wasn't feeling well. I just wanted to make something simple but not boring at the same time. I was browsing through all my bookmarked recipes and found this one. Luckily, I had some ground beef sitting in the freezer and I had all the other ingredients, too. This recipe comes from Melanie's blog, one of my favorites. The teriyaki sauce is thick and tasty, perfectly sweet. The meatballs were excellent with white rice.

Please click HERE to get the recipe.

Teriyaki Meatballs

A couple of nights ago, I was sitting wondering what to make for dinner. I didn't have much of an appetite that night because I wasn't feeling well. I just wanted to make something simple but not boring at the same time. I was browsing through all my bookmarked recipes and found this one. Luckily, I had some ground beef sitting in the freezer and I had all the other ingredients, too. This recipe comes from Melanie's blog, one of my favorites. The teriyaki sauce is thick and tasty, perfectly sweet. The meatballs were excellent with white rice.

Please click HERE to get the recipe.

Brazilian Grilled Flank Steak w/ Artichoke Salsa

Good evening! It's Friday night! We just came back from grocery shopping. We're going to my hubby's co-worker's house for dinner! They are from India and make excellent Indian food so I'm really, really excited to go and try their delicious Indian food! I will make sure to take pictures of all the food and maybe even get the recipes from them!

Well, tonight, we had this amazing Brazilian grilled flank steak with artichoke salsa. I found a recipe that is similar to this and then I decided to change it around a little and I was completely satisfied with the result!

So this salsa is amazing. I added a little bit of artichoke to freshly made salsa and it was wonderful! My husband was a little weirded out about the artichoke in the salsa at first but once he tried it, he was all over it! He even brought out more artichoke and mixed them up with his salsa. It was really fabulous. I marinated the flank steak overnight in garlic, jalepeno, and steak seasoning and grilled it the next day. The meat tasted perfect! You might be worried that the meat must be really spicy because of the jalepeno. But no, it's not too spicy. I didn't think it was spicy at all, actually. It just gave the meat such a nice flavor.

Brazilian Grilled Flank Steak w/ Artichoke Salsa

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Meat:
1 flank steak, thawed
2 tablespoons oil
6 garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and very finely chopped (I used my magic bullet)
Steak seasoning

Salsa:
4 fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup jarred artichoke hearts, diced
1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Rub the flank steak with olive oil front and back. Rub the steak with minced garlic and jalapeno and season it with your favorite steak seasoning. (*I used Monterial Steak Seasoning.) Place it in a ziplock or foil and seal it well. Refrigerate it overnight until ready to use.

Make Salsa: Place all salsa ingredients in a medium sized bowl and toss gently to mix well. Set aside.

On a hot grill, preferably outdoor grill (you can use indoor grill if that is more convenient for you), grill the flank steak until the meat is cooked the way you like it.

Slice the meat thinly to serve. Serve with salsa on the side or on top of the meat.

Enjoy!

Brazilian Grilled Flank Steak w/ Artichoke Salsa

Good evening! It's Friday night! We just came back from grocery shopping. We're going to my hubby's co-worker's house for dinner! They are from India and make excellent Indian food so I'm really, really excited to go and try their delicious Indian food! I will make sure to take pictures of all the food and maybe even get the recipes from them!

Well, tonight, we had this amazing Brazilian grilled flank steak with artichoke salsa. I found a recipe that is similar to this and then I decided to change it around a little and I was completely satisfied with the result!

So this salsa is amazing. I added a little bit of artichoke to freshly made salsa and it was wonderful! My husband was a little weirded out about the artichoke in the salsa at first but once he tried it, he was all over it! He even brought out more artichoke and mixed them up with his salsa. It was really fabulous. I marinated the flank steak overnight in garlic, jalepeno, and steak seasoning and grilled it the next day. The meat tasted perfect! You might be worried that the meat must be really spicy because of the jalepeno. But no, it's not too spicy. I didn't think it was spicy at all, actually. It just gave the meat such a nice flavor.

Brazilian Grilled Flank Steak w/ Artichoke Salsa

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Meat:
1 flank steak, thawed
2 tablespoons oil
6 garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and very finely chopped (I used my magic bullet)
Steak seasoning

Salsa:
4 fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup jarred artichoke hearts, diced
1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Rub the flank steak with olive oil front and back. Rub the steak with minced garlic and jalapeno and season it with your favorite steak seasoning. (*I used Monterial Steak Seasoning.) Place it in a ziplock or foil and seal it well. Refrigerate it overnight until ready to use.

Make Salsa: Place all salsa ingredients in a medium sized bowl and toss gently to mix well. Set aside.

On a hot grill, preferably outdoor grill (you can use indoor grill if that is more convenient for you), grill the flank steak until the meat is cooked the way you like it.

Slice the meat thinly to serve. Serve with salsa on the side or on top of the meat.

Enjoy!

Brazilian Grilled Flank Steak w/ Artichoke Salsa

Good evening! It's Friday night! We just came back from grocery shopping. We're going to my hubby's co-worker's house for dinner! They are from India and make excellent Indian food so I'm really, really excited to go and try their delicious Indian food! I will make sure to take pictures of all the food and maybe even get the recipes from them!

Well, tonight, we had this amazing Brazilian grilled flank steak with artichoke salsa. I found a recipe that is similar to this and then I decided to change it around a little and I was completely satisfied with the result!

So this salsa is amazing. I added a little bit of artichoke to freshly made salsa and it was wonderful! My husband was a little weirded out about the artichoke in the salsa at first but once he tried it, he was all over it! He even brought out more artichoke and mixed them up with his salsa. It was really fabulous. I marinated the flank steak overnight in garlic, jalepeno, and steak seasoning and grilled it the next day. The meat tasted perfect! You might be worried that the meat must be really spicy because of the jalepeno. But no, it's not too spicy. I didn't think it was spicy at all, actually. It just gave the meat such a nice flavor.

Brazilian Grilled Flank Steak w/ Artichoke Salsa

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Meat:
1 flank steak, thawed
2 tablespoons oil
6 garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and very finely chopped (I used my magic bullet)
Steak seasoning

Salsa:
4 fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup jarred artichoke hearts, diced
1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Rub the flank steak with olive oil front and back. Rub the steak with minced garlic and jalapeno and season it with your favorite steak seasoning. (*I used Monterial Steak Seasoning.) Place it in a ziplock or foil and seal it well. Refrigerate it overnight until ready to use.

Make Salsa: Place all salsa ingredients in a medium sized bowl and toss gently to mix well. Set aside.

On a hot grill, preferably outdoor grill (you can use indoor grill if that is more convenient for you), grill the flank steak until the meat is cooked the way you like it.

Slice the meat thinly to serve. Serve with salsa on the side or on top of the meat.

Enjoy!

Best Meatball Sub

These meatballs? I dare say these are the best meatballs I've tasted in my life! It's very flavorful and delicious! I made meatball subs for dinner one night and it was a huge hit! My husband ate it for lunch the next day... and the next day... and asked for it again for today's lunch. I told him we need to eat variety of food, not just one thing everyday. :) We toasted the sandwich bread and melted some provolone cheese, too. I don't normally order meatball subs at any restaurants because most of them aren't very tasty. But these ones.... I say if I ever open a restaurant, it's going on the menu. :)

Meatball Sub

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

Adapted from Kirkland recipe

1 cup plain brad crumbs

1/2 pounds hot pork sausage

2 1/2 pounds Kirkland Signature ground beef or regular ground beef

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat broiler to high.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

For into 1- to 2-inch balls and line up on a broiler pan. Broil until brownd on top. Turn the meatballs over and brown on the other side.

Simmer in your favorite spaghetti sauce. (I usually make the sauce at home. Even just a little bit of tomato sauce with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese makes a great sauce for meatball subs!)

To make a sandwich, you'll need sandwich bread cut in half lengthwise. Butter both sides of the bread and sprinkle garlic powder or salt. Bake or broil the bread until it is crispy. Place provolone cheese and meatballs and bake again about 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Sook the Cook

Best Meatball Sub

These meatballs? I dare say these are the best meatballs I've tasted in my life! It's very flavorful and delicious! I made meatball subs for dinner one night and it was a huge hit! My husband ate it for lunch the next day... and the next day... and asked for it again for today's lunch. I told him we need to eat variety of food, not just one thing everyday. :) We toasted the sandwich bread and melted some provolone cheese, too. I don't normally order meatball subs at any restaurants because most of them aren't very tasty. But these ones.... I say if I ever open a restaurant, it's going on the menu. :)

Meatball Sub

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

Adapted from Kirkland recipe

1 cup plain brad crumbs

1/2 pounds hot pork sausage

2 1/2 pounds Kirkland Signature ground beef or regular ground beef

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat broiler to high.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

For into 1- to 2-inch balls and line up on a broiler pan. Broil until brownd on top. Turn the meatballs over and brown on the other side.

Simmer in your favorite spaghetti sauce. (I usually make the sauce at home. Even just a little bit of tomato sauce with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese makes a great sauce for meatball subs!)

To make a sandwich, you'll need sandwich bread cut in half lengthwise. Butter both sides of the bread and sprinkle garlic powder or salt. Bake or broil the bread until it is crispy. Place provolone cheese and meatballs and bake again about 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Sook the Cook

Best Meatball Sub

These meatballs? I dare say these are the best meatballs I've tasted in my life! It's very flavorful and delicious! I made meatball subs for dinner one night and it was a huge hit! My husband ate it for lunch the next day... and the next day... and asked for it again for today's lunch. I told him we need to eat variety of food, not just one thing everyday. :) We toasted the sandwich bread and melted some provolone cheese, too. I don't normally order meatball subs at any restaurants because most of them aren't very tasty. But these ones.... I say if I ever open a restaurant, it's going on the menu. :)

Meatball Sub

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

Adapted from Kirkland recipe

1 cup plain brad crumbs

1/2 pounds hot pork sausage

2 1/2 pounds Kirkland Signature ground beef or regular ground beef

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat broiler to high.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

For into 1- to 2-inch balls and line up on a broiler pan. Broil until brownd on top. Turn the meatballs over and brown on the other side.

Simmer in your favorite spaghetti sauce. (I usually make the sauce at home. Even just a little bit of tomato sauce with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese makes a great sauce for meatball subs!)

To make a sandwich, you'll need sandwich bread cut in half lengthwise. Butter both sides of the bread and sprinkle garlic powder or salt. Bake or broil the bread until it is crispy. Place provolone cheese and meatballs and bake again about 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Sook the Cook

Quick and Basic Marinara Sauce

Homemade marinara sauce is wonderful because then you can put only the ingredients that you love - for example, my husband does not like onions and most store bought marinara sauces contain lots of onions. That is when I started making our own marinara sauce - without onions (sad!!) but it still tastes great and to be honest, I am getting used to not having much onions in my food. If you're a fan of onions, however, you'd better chop off some onions and put it in your marinara sauce! :)

This recipe is pretty basic. But I do add some extra stuff, such as dry Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and a lot of garlic! So here's the recipe for my quick and basic marinara sauce. Enjoy!

Quick and Basic Marinara Sauce 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (optional)

2 (28-oz) cans whole tomatoes in juice

1 bunch of fresh basil, stemmed

1/2 cup extr-virgin olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped (optional for my family though :)

4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup black olives, sliced 

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup dried Parmesan cheeese

Salt and pepper to taste

Direction:

Brown ground meat in a large pan over high heat. Drain and set aside.

Okay, this is what I do with the tomatoes. You might want to do it in a different way but I really like it this way -

In a blender, puree one can of the tomatoes with its juice and the basil until almost smooth. Set the tomato puree aside. (You may puree both cans tomatoes but I like my marinara sauce a little chunky. So I dice the tomatoes a little bit smaller and set it aside.)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until very tender, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree and the chunky tomatoes in juice, olives, Italian seasoning, oregano, sugar and Parmesan cheese. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

I freeze my leftover marinara sauce.

Sook the Cook

Quick and Basic Marinara Sauce

Homemade marinara sauce is wonderful because then you can put only the ingredients that you love - for example, my husband does not like onions and most store bought marinara sauces contain lots of onions. That is when I started making our own marinara sauce - without onions (sad!!) but it still tastes great and to be honest, I am getting used to not having much onions in my food. If you're a fan of onions, however, you'd better chop off some onions and put it in your marinara sauce! :)

This recipe is pretty basic. But I do add some extra stuff, such as dry Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and a lot of garlic! So here's the recipe for my quick and basic marinara sauce. Enjoy!

Quick and Basic Marinara Sauce 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (optional)

2 (28-oz) cans whole tomatoes in juice

1 bunch of fresh basil, stemmed

1/2 cup extr-virgin olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped (optional for my family though :)

4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup black olives, sliced 

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup dried Parmesan cheeese

Salt and pepper to taste

Direction:

Brown ground meat in a large pan over high heat. Drain and set aside.

Okay, this is what I do with the tomatoes. You might want to do it in a different way but I really like it this way -

In a blender, puree one can of the tomatoes with its juice and the basil until almost smooth. Set the tomato puree aside. (You may puree both cans tomatoes but I like my marinara sauce a little chunky. So I dice the tomatoes a little bit smaller and set it aside.)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until very tender, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree and the chunky tomatoes in juice, olives, Italian seasoning, oregano, sugar and Parmesan cheese. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

I freeze my leftover marinara sauce.

Sook the Cook

Quick and Basic Marinara Sauce

Homemade marinara sauce is wonderful because then you can put only the ingredients that you love - for example, my husband does not like onions and most store bought marinara sauces contain lots of onions. That is when I started making our own marinara sauce - without onions (sad!!) but it still tastes great and to be honest, I am getting used to not having much onions in my food. If you're a fan of onions, however, you'd better chop off some onions and put it in your marinara sauce! :)

This recipe is pretty basic. But I do add some extra stuff, such as dry Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and a lot of garlic! So here's the recipe for my quick and basic marinara sauce. Enjoy!

Quick and Basic Marinara Sauce 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (optional)

2 (28-oz) cans whole tomatoes in juice

1 bunch of fresh basil, stemmed

1/2 cup extr-virgin olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped (optional for my family though :)

4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup black olives, sliced 

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup dried Parmesan cheeese

Salt and pepper to taste

Direction:

Brown ground meat in a large pan over high heat. Drain and set aside.

Okay, this is what I do with the tomatoes. You might want to do it in a different way but I really like it this way -

In a blender, puree one can of the tomatoes with its juice and the basil until almost smooth. Set the tomato puree aside. (You may puree both cans tomatoes but I like my marinara sauce a little chunky. So I dice the tomatoes a little bit smaller and set it aside.)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until very tender, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree and the chunky tomatoes in juice, olives, Italian seasoning, oregano, sugar and Parmesan cheese. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

I freeze my leftover marinara sauce.

Sook the Cook

Korean Recipe: Jap-chae (잡채) Korean Stirfried Noodles

If you're into Korean food, you've probably tried this delicious noodle dish at a Korean restaurant or even at home. Jap-Chae, Korean stirfried noodles, is known as a "party food" in Korea. At every wedding or at baby's first birthday party, you will find tons of these. It's got a lot of ingredients - mostly vegetables and one kind of meat - either pork or beef - with cellophane (yam) noodles. The taste of these noodles are very unique and flavorful. It is a little different from normal glass noodles. They're a lot darker than the white glass noodles. You will find these noodles at any Asian stores. If you don't have an Asian store nearby, I found out that you can order these online as well.

The origin of jap-chae goes way back. Jap-chae was a very special dish that many kings and royalty of old Korea enjoyed at special events. There's really not any "set" ingredients for this recipe, either. However, spinach, carrots, and the noodles are a must, other than that, you can just toss in your favorite vegetables. I've seen many people use bean sprouts, zucchini, shitake mushrooms, etc. So don't be discouraged if you don't have one or two of the ingredients I used. No big deal.

I used to have jap-chae on New Year's and Thanksgiving when we gave thanks to our ancestors. In Korea, they prepare traditional and special Korean dishes for our ancestors and care to their spirit (Koreans adopted the Confusionism and believe that the living should care to their dead ancestors' spirits with proper greeting and food 2-3 times a year, on special occasions such as New Year's, Thanksgiving (Chu-seok), the day the ancestors passed away, etc. They make many dishes and my mom would always make jap-chae with leftover vegetables afterward. It was always amazing!

So this was my first experience making jap-chae in America. And it turned out just like the ones that my mom used to make back in the days. I hope you all like the recipe, too!

Jap-chae (잡채) Korean Stirfried Noodles

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

24 oz Cellophane (yam) glass noodles (or 1 package)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 yellow onion, sliced in strips

1 portebella mushroom, sliced thinly (or 4-5 shitake mushrooms)

(optional) O-deng (fishcake), sliced very thinly

1 carrot, sliced very thinly

3 handfuls spinach

1 cup beef for stirfry (you can find beef that are ready for stirfry in thin strips), cut in small pieces

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

sesame seeds

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon sugar

Noodle marinade:

Olive oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Beef marinade:

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

pinch of salt, pepper, and sugar

1 teaspoon rice wine

Direction:

Okay, don't panic! Just because there is a lot of ingredients and many steps to take to make jap-chae doesn't mean it is hard. It's not, really! I promise. Just throw in all the ingredients and you'll be done in 30-40 minutes.

1. Bring water to boil. Add the noodles and let it boil about 6 minutes. Drain water and squeeze the water out of the noodles. In large bowl, drizzle olive oil over noodles and stir constantly with chopsticks to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Add the noodle marinade and set aside.

2. Marinade the beef; in small bowl, stir the beef in the beef marinade. Set aside and let it marinade about 20 minutes.

3. In large pan or wok, add the sesame oil over high heat. Add the onion, mushroom, fishcake, and carrot and stir about 3-4 minutes. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, and apple cider vinegar. Add the spinach and stir until it is cooked and softened. Add the salt and pepper to taste or add more soy sauce if it needs it.

4. Add the beef and stir frequently until the beef is cooked. Remove from heat.

5. Pour the beaten eggs onto a griddle or a flat pan over medium heat. (You will want to cook the eggs slowly rather than fast. The texture will be better if it is cooked over medium heat.) When the eggs are cooked, remove from heat and slice it into 1/2-inch strips.

6. Mix all the prepared ingredients: Add the vegetable and meat mixture into the noodle mixture. Stir them together with chopsticks. Sprinkle sesame seeds and garnish with the eggs (or mix the eggs with the other ingredients).

Sook the Cook

Korean Recipe: Jap-chae (잡채) Korean Stirfried Noodles

If you're into Korean food, you've probably tried this delicious noodle dish at a Korean restaurant or even at home. Jap-Chae, Korean stirfried noodles, is known as a "party food" in Korea. At every wedding or at baby's first birthday party, you will find tons of these. It's got a lot of ingredients - mostly vegetables and one kind of meat - either pork or beef - with cellophane (yam) noodles. The taste of these noodles are very unique and flavorful. It is a little different from normal glass noodles. They're a lot darker than the white glass noodles. You will find these noodles at any Asian stores. If you don't have an Asian store nearby, I found out that you can order these online as well.

The origin of jap-chae goes way back. Jap-chae was a very special dish that many kings and royalty of old Korea enjoyed at special events. There's really not any "set" ingredients for this recipe, either. However, spinach, carrots, and the noodles are a must, other than that, you can just toss in your favorite vegetables. I've seen many people use bean sprouts, zucchini, shitake mushrooms, etc. So don't be discouraged if you don't have one or two of the ingredients I used. No big deal.

I used to have jap-chae on New Year's and Thanksgiving when we gave thanks to our ancestors. In Korea, they prepare traditional and special Korean dishes for our ancestors and care to their spirit (Koreans adopted the Confusionism and believe that the living should care to their dead ancestors' spirits with proper greeting and food 2-3 times a year, on special occasions such as New Year's, Thanksgiving (Chu-seok), the day the ancestors passed away, etc. They make many dishes and my mom would always make jap-chae with leftover vegetables afterward. It was always amazing!

So this was my first experience making jap-chae in America. And it turned out just like the ones that my mom used to make back in the days. I hope you all like the recipe, too!

Jap-chae (잡채) Korean Stirfried Noodles

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

24 oz Cellophane (yam) glass noodles (or 1 package)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 yellow onion, sliced in strips

1 portebella mushroom, sliced thinly (or 4-5 shitake mushrooms)

(optional) O-deng (fishcake), sliced very thinly

1 carrot, sliced very thinly

3 handfuls spinach

1 cup beef for stirfry (you can find beef that are ready for stirfry in thin strips), cut in small pieces

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

sesame seeds

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon sugar

Noodle marinade:

Olive oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Beef marinade:

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

pinch of salt, pepper, and sugar

1 teaspoon rice wine

Direction:

Okay, don't panic! Just because there is a lot of ingredients and many steps to take to make jap-chae doesn't mean it is hard. It's not, really! I promise. Just throw in all the ingredients and you'll be done in 30-40 minutes.

1. Bring water to boil. Add the noodles and let it boil about 6 minutes. Drain water and squeeze the water out of the noodles. In large bowl, drizzle olive oil over noodles and stir constantly with chopsticks to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Add the noodle marinade and set aside.

2. Marinade the beef; in small bowl, stir the beef in the beef marinade. Set aside and let it marinade about 20 minutes.

3. In large pan or wok, add the sesame oil over high heat. Add the onion, mushroom, fishcake, and carrot and stir about 3-4 minutes. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, and apple cider vinegar. Add the spinach and stir until it is cooked and softened. Add the salt and pepper to taste or add more soy sauce if it needs it.

4. Add the beef and stir frequently until the beef is cooked. Remove from heat.

5. Pour the beaten eggs onto a griddle or a flat pan over medium heat. (You will want to cook the eggs slowly rather than fast. The texture will be better if it is cooked over medium heat.) When the eggs are cooked, remove from heat and slice it into 1/2-inch strips.

6. Mix all the prepared ingredients: Add the vegetable and meat mixture into the noodle mixture. Stir them together with chopsticks. Sprinkle sesame seeds and garnish with the eggs (or mix the eggs with the other ingredients).

Sook the Cook

Korean Recipe: Jap-chae (잡채) Korean Stirfried Noodles

If you're into Korean food, you've probably tried this delicious noodle dish at a Korean restaurant or even at home. Jap-Chae, Korean stirfried noodles, is known as a "party food" in Korea. At every wedding or at baby's first birthday party, you will find tons of these. It's got a lot of ingredients - mostly vegetables and one kind of meat - either pork or beef - with cellophane (yam) noodles. The taste of these noodles are very unique and flavorful. It is a little different from normal glass noodles. They're a lot darker than the white glass noodles. You will find these noodles at any Asian stores. If you don't have an Asian store nearby, I found out that you can order these online as well.

The origin of jap-chae goes way back. Jap-chae was a very special dish that many kings and royalty of old Korea enjoyed at special events. There's really not any "set" ingredients for this recipe, either. However, spinach, carrots, and the noodles are a must, other than that, you can just toss in your favorite vegetables. I've seen many people use bean sprouts, zucchini, shitake mushrooms, etc. So don't be discouraged if you don't have one or two of the ingredients I used. No big deal.

I used to have jap-chae on New Year's and Thanksgiving when we gave thanks to our ancestors. In Korea, they prepare traditional and special Korean dishes for our ancestors and care to their spirit (Koreans adopted the Confusionism and believe that the living should care to their dead ancestors' spirits with proper greeting and food 2-3 times a year, on special occasions such as New Year's, Thanksgiving (Chu-seok), the day the ancestors passed away, etc. They make many dishes and my mom would always make jap-chae with leftover vegetables afterward. It was always amazing!

So this was my first experience making jap-chae in America. And it turned out just like the ones that my mom used to make back in the days. I hope you all like the recipe, too!

Jap-chae (잡채) Korean Stirfried Noodles

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

24 oz Cellophane (yam) glass noodles (or 1 package)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 yellow onion, sliced in strips

1 portebella mushroom, sliced thinly (or 4-5 shitake mushrooms)

(optional) O-deng (fishcake), sliced very thinly

1 carrot, sliced very thinly

3 handfuls spinach

1 cup beef for stirfry (you can find beef that are ready for stirfry in thin strips), cut in small pieces

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

sesame seeds

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon sugar

Noodle marinade:

Olive oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Beef marinade:

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

pinch of salt, pepper, and sugar

1 teaspoon rice wine

Direction:

Okay, don't panic! Just because there is a lot of ingredients and many steps to take to make jap-chae doesn't mean it is hard. It's not, really! I promise. Just throw in all the ingredients and you'll be done in 30-40 minutes.

1. Bring water to boil. Add the noodles and let it boil about 6 minutes. Drain water and squeeze the water out of the noodles. In large bowl, drizzle olive oil over noodles and stir constantly with chopsticks to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Add the noodle marinade and set aside.

2. Marinade the beef; in small bowl, stir the beef in the beef marinade. Set aside and let it marinade about 20 minutes.

3. In large pan or wok, add the sesame oil over high heat. Add the onion, mushroom, fishcake, and carrot and stir about 3-4 minutes. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, and apple cider vinegar. Add the spinach and stir until it is cooked and softened. Add the salt and pepper to taste or add more soy sauce if it needs it.

4. Add the beef and stir frequently until the beef is cooked. Remove from heat.

5. Pour the beaten eggs onto a griddle or a flat pan over medium heat. (You will want to cook the eggs slowly rather than fast. The texture will be better if it is cooked over medium heat.) When the eggs are cooked, remove from heat and slice it into 1/2-inch strips.

6. Mix all the prepared ingredients: Add the vegetable and meat mixture into the noodle mixture. Stir them together with chopsticks. Sprinkle sesame seeds and garnish with the eggs (or mix the eggs with the other ingredients).

Sook the Cook