Although I may not be an excellent cook yet, there are a couple Korean dishes I can surprise my 시댁 식구들 (si-daek-sik-goo-dle : family in laws) on holidays. 잡채 (Jap-Chae: a Korean noodle dish) is one of dishes I made my in laws absolutely happy with for one Christmas dinner. Instead of having a traditional Christmas dinner, I once made some Korean dishes for a little change. Ever since the savory Korean noodle dish was introduced, I often get calls for Korean foods for special occasions.

잡채 is a traditional Korean noodle dish, which is made of 당면 (dang-myeon: sweet potato starch noodles), 볶은 야채 ( bok-eun-yah-chae: stir fried vegetables) and 고기 (go-gi: meat). Most Koreans enjoy 잡채 on 명절 (myeon-jeol: holiday) or for a 생일날 (sang-il-nal: birthday party) because the dish can satisfy most people’s appetites. Jap Chae recipes can be vary depending on personal preferences or the origins of regions, but I focus on using colorful vegetables to make this dish. Today, I am going to share my own recipe, which is simple and easy. If you want to surprise your family this holiday season, I suggest that you try this Korean dish.

Voila! Look what I made for holiday dinner.

What you need are…

1. 4oz of Korean sweet potato starch noodles, or so-called glass noodles (당면)
2. 4oz of Ground pork (간돼지고기) *depending on personal preference, beef or pork shoulder can be used.
3. Vegetables:

• 3-4 oz of spinach (시금치)
• Thinly sliced 3-4 small Shitake mushroom (표고버섯)
• ¾ cups of shredded carrots (당근)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (빨간 피망)
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips ( 노랑 피망)
• One medium thinly sliced onion (양파)

4. Condiments:

• Soy sauce (간장)
• Ground black pepper (후추)
• Salt (소금)
• Sesame oil or Vegetable oil (참기름)
• Sugar (설탕)
• Sesame seeds (참깨)

1. Soak 당면 in lukewarm water for 10-15 minutes.
2. Cook ground pork with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set them aside.
3. Blanch spinach leaves for 30- 45 seconds in the boiling water. Rinse with cold water and squeeze by hands to remove excessive water. Season spinach leaves with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set spinach aside.
4. Cook 당면 in the boiling water for 1-3 minutes until noodles get transparent. Drain the noodles and rinse them with cold water.
5. Season 당면 with 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil (or vegetable oil), 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix them well to prevent noodles getting sticky. *You can substitute vegetable oil if you don’t like sesame oil.
6. Stir fry all vegetables in a pan with a pinch of salt and pepper, except spinach.
7. Gather 당면, pork, cooked vegetables in a big bowl. Season them with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper. (If you don’t mind sesame oil, add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil.) Feel free to add 1 more tablespoon of soy sauce and sugar, if needed.
8. Garnish the dish with sprinkled sesame seeds.