Chapuche / japchae stir-fried vermicelli and vegetables

A tasty companion of assorted vegetables. Great for parties and potluck, too.

<Ingredients>

Small bundle (amount of pasta for single serving; approx 50 g) Korean sweet potato vermicelli
3 dried shiitake mushrooms
Handful assorted vegetables (5cm carrot, 10cm gobo burdock root, 5cm red pepper/paprika pepper in photo)
1/4-1/3 kamaboko fishcake (1 sasakama in photo)
Small handful kinsai Chinese celery
1 small clove garlic
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
Salt & pepper, to taste
Sesame oil (not in photo)

For kinshitamago julienned egg crepes (not in photo)
1 egg
1/2 tsp potato starch & 2 tsp sake


<Directions>
1.

Soak sweet potato vermicelli noodles and dried shiitake in water for 10-30 minutes.

When in hurry, skip soaking vermicelli, and microwave shiitake in water for 30-60 seconds.

2.

Julienne vegetables (other than kinsai), shiitake and kamaboko. (In photo, gobo is soaked in water after cutting to eliminate harsh taste and prevent discoloration.)

Cut Chinese celery into 4-5 cm length.
Grate garlic.

3.

Cook vermicelli.

First cut vermicelli 10 cm long.

Bring water to boil, add vermicelli and cook until transparent, for about 1-2 minutes. If not pre-soaked, follow instructions on package on how long to boil.

Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

4.

In the meantime, start cooking vegetables.

In a frying pan, heat sesame oil and put vegetables, starting with gobo (the firmest).

Saute gobo for a minute or two, add carrot, and saute for another minute.

Add red paprika pepper, shiitake and kamaboko, and saute until vegetables are tender.

Add garlic, and stir quickly. Lightly salt and pepper, and stir.

5.

  
Add vermicelli, stir quickly, add sugar and soy sauce, remove from heat, and mix well.

Add kinsai and toss.

6.

Make kinshitamago julienned egg crepes, add to vermicelli, and toss.

7.

Add 1/4-1/2 tsp sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds, and toss well.

<Notes>

• When vermicelli is soaked in water in advance, boiling time is much shorter than time specified on package.
• Rinsing boiled vermicelli with cold water makes vermicelli smooth and slippery (somewhat cleaner texture in the mouth) in the final dish.
• Korean sweet potato vermicelli does not get mushy over time or when preheated in microwave before serving, and this dish tastes good hot or at room temperature.
• Grated garlic would easily stick to the pan. After adding in Process 4, make sure to stir quickly so that grated garlic does not stay at the bottom.
• Any vegetable or meat (all julienned) works fine. Meat is usually seasoned with soy sauce and sugar (and grated garlic) before cooking. Fishcakes are already salty and sweet, and they do not need pre-seasoning.
• Julienned egg crepes are optional.
• If kinsai Chinese celery is not available, celery leaves, seri water dropwort, cilantro, green onion or nira chives would work (in all cases, these are optional).