Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Chapchae (Noodles with Beef and Mixed Veggies)

I had beef in the fridge and wanted to make a stir fry. I came across this recipe on the Cooking Light website. I had all the ingredients at home so I thought I'd give it a try. According to Cooking Light, Chapchae is the most popular noodle dish in Korea. I am not sure how authentic this recipe really is, but it tasted pretty delicious! I took some liberties with the vegetables and used fresh mushrooms, onions, baby corn, bamboo shoots and water chesnuts. But I am sure the original recipe with spinach added would have been just as good.


from Cooking Light

Beef:
1 teaspoon cornstarch
8 ounces eye of round steak, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sambal oelek or Thai chile paste
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
Cooking spray

1 (3.75-ounce) package uncooked bean threads (cellophane noodles)
Vegetables:
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 6 ounces mushrooms)
1 cup (2-inch) diagonally sliced green onions
1 cup (2-inch) julienne-cut carrot
1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach

Remaining ingredients:
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
To prepare beef, sprinkle cornstarch over beef; toss to combine. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and next 4 ingredients (1 tablespoon soy sauce through 3 garlic cloves); toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add beef mixture; stir-fry 3 minutes or until done. Remove mixture from pan. Cover and keep warm.
To prepare noodles, pour boiling water over noodles; let stand 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain. Snip noodles several times with kitchen shears.
To prepare vegetables, wipe skillet or wok clean with paper towels. Heat 1 teaspoon sesame oil and vegetable oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add red pepper and 5 garlic cloves; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add mushrooms, onions, and carrot; stir-fry 3 minutes. Add half of spinach; stir-fry 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Add remaining spinach; stir-fry 2 minutes or until spinach wilts.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add beef mixture and noodles to pan, stirring well to combine. Combine 1/3 cup soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon sesame oil, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over noodle mixture; stir well to combine. Cook over medium-low heat 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

4 comments:

What's Cookin Chicago said...

This is one of my fave Korean dishes!!

weezermonkey said...

I looooove chapchae!

Thanks for visiting! I'm thrilled that somebody else knows who President Camacho is. ;)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Another very flavourful dish from Cooking Light. Who says good for you food has to be boring:D

Ashley said...

This looks great! I love Cooking Light's recipes and I'm surprised I missed this one!