Chap Chae is a very popular Korean noodle dish. The good chap chae has the bouncy texture of the noodle and not soggy. It's not a difficult dish to fail. I like to make it with just vegetables and tons of mushrooms.
Ingredients (for 2 main servings or 4 appetizers)
200g (about 6.5oz) bean thread noodles (glass noodles)
1.5 tbsps. sesame oil
3-4 ea. shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 ea. medium-size king oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 ea. small carrot, peeled and julienned
1/2 ea. medium-size red bell pepper, julienned
1 small bunch yellow or green nira (Chinese chives), cut into 2-3" length
1 small bunch yellow or green nira (Chinese chives), cut into 2-3" length
1.5 cup soy bean sprouts
2 tbsps mirin
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
salt and pepper
la-yu (hot chili sesame oil)
Procedure
Cook the bean thread noodles in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse, and cut into bite-size lengths with scissors. Set aside. In a cup, combine the mirin, soy sauce, sake and rice vinegar and set aside.
In a wok, heat the sesame oil and saute the mushrooms, carrot, and bell pepper at medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the nira and soy bean sprouts and cook for another minute.
Add the sauce mixture to deglaze the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked bean thread noodles and toss all the ingredients for 1-2 minutes.
Serve in a plate and drizzle la-yu and garnish with dried chili threads, scallion, and cilantro (garnish is optional).
