Japchae -- Korean Sweet Potato Noodle Dish (韓國粉絲）

This is my favorite Korean cold dish.   Based on the recipe a friend of mine gave me many years ago,  I made some changes according to my own tastes.  It doesn't taste exactly like the one served in the Korean restaurants, but my kids like it and my guests seem to like it too.  It is often made as a cold dish in my summer BBQ parties over the years.   The other day, my daughter called and asked me for its recipe.  So, I made it tonight and here it is.

Ingredients: 1. Sweet Potato Noodles- half a bag (There are all kinds of brands from Korea, China or Taiwan in Chinese markets.  Some noodles are thinner, some are thicker.  I like to buy thicker ones, see picture below for product package) 2. Two carrots, medium size 3. One medium onion 4. 8 dry mushrooms 5. 2 stalks of green scallion 6. Seasoning: soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt

Steps: 

1.  Cut off the stem from dried mushrooms, soften them in water for at least 30 minutes.  
2.  Shred carrots into strips (not too thin), cut onions, mushroom, and green scallion into strips.
3.  Add 3 TSB vegetable oil in a flat bottom cooking pan.  Stir-fry onion, carrots and mushroom until soft.  Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 TSB soy sauce and 2 TSB oyster sauce.  Add green scallion at last and turn off the heat. This dish is supposed to be a bit sweet, oyster sauce adds to the taste of sweetness.
4.  Boil water in a big pot.  Put the sweet potato noodles in, when the water is boiling.  Cook for about 7-8 minutes (Or, follow instruction on the package).  The cooking time varies depending on the thickness of the noodle.
5. The sweet potato noodles are a bit chewy, which is expected.  Use a strainer to drain water from the pot, and cool the noodle with cold running water.  Pour noodle into a big bowl, season with 1 TSB sesame oil, 1/2 TSB soy sauce and 1/2 TSB oyster sauce.  Mix the noodle with the vegetables from Step 3.  Sprinkle some roasted white sesames before serving.  

With the ingredients above, I made two plates of japchae as shown in the picture.  It is plenty for a dinner of 6.  If you want to make it for a big party, you can double or triple the quantity of the ingredients.  The noodle tends to harden if you put it in the refrigerator,  a reason not to make too much.  In the original recipe I got, it also added some beef strips (marinate and stir-fry separately) and spinach leaves (boil them and mix).   I like to keep it a vegetarian dish.  Since spinach doesn't really add more favor, it's not used here.  The roasted sesames are for decoration only, it is optional.

Peanuts with Dried Anchovy and Indonesian-style Peanuts with Silver Fish (花生小魚乾-小菜兩碟)

The lady who helps us take care of my aging and ailing mom showed us how to make an elaborate and delicious Indonesian dish, Peanuts with Dried Silver Fish (印尼花生小魚乾), last week. While trying our hands on a simplified version of that dish, we thought about a similar but popular side-dish that is often served in Shanghai-style restaurants, Peanuts with Dried Anchovy (花生小魚乾).  So we made both dishes over the weekend.  BTW, we left out the fermented soy bean cake （印尼黃豆餅）, an Indonesian delicacy, from the simplified version of the Indonesian dish.  Here are the recipes.

I. Shanghai-style Peanuts with Dried Anchovy (花生小魚乾)

1. Make 4 cups of roasted (or pan-fried) peanuts.  We will use 2 cups for this recipe and 2 cups for the next recipe (see Part A of this previous post).
2. Pan-fry ~2 oz of dried anchovy (丁香小魚乾), with 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil, over medium heat, till slightly golden (3-5 minutes). Set aside.  Note- Dried anchovy is available from any Chinese market (in refrigerated food sections, not in freezers).  Need to buy small-size anchovy (<1" in length).  Larger-size anchovy might taste bitter, because of the entrails inside.
3. Turn on medium heat, add 1-2 Tbsp of vegetable oil into a flat bottom cooking pan, add 3-4 cloves of garlic (minced), and 6-8 green chili pepper (sliced), stir till fragrant (1-2 minutes).  Note- Might consider to choose the right chili pepper based on the heat index.
4. Add pan-fried anchovies (from Step 2) into the pan.  Season with 1/4 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of sugar. Stir for 2-3 minutes.
5. Turn off heat, add 2 cups of roasted peanuts into the pan (from Step 1), mix evenly.  Season with salt (add 1/4 tsp a time), and sugar (add 1/2 tsp a time).  Here is a picture of the finished product.
   

II. Indonesian-style Peanuts with Dried Silver Fish (印尼花生小魚乾)

1. Make 4 cups of roasted (or pan-fried) peanuts. We will use 2 cups for this recipe and 2 cups for the previous recipe (see Part A of this previous post).
2. Deep-fry ~2 oz of dried silver fish till golden, slightly brown (high heat, 400-deg-F, ~10-15 minutes).
3. Deep-fry 1-2 finely-sliced small potato (high heat, 400-deg-F, ~10-15 mins).  Note- Use a Julianne Slicer, to create potato slices that are about the same size as the silver fish.
4. [Make the Hot Sauce] Grind 3-4 cloves of shallots, 3-4 cloves of garlic, and 6-8 red chili pepper with a food processor.  Set aside.  Note- Might consider to choose the right chili pepper based on the heat index.
5. Soak a 3/4-1"-cube of tamarind paste in 3-4 Tbsp of warm water for 15-20 minutes.  Stir loose and press down with a spoon.  Strain out the juice, and set aside.  Note- Tamarind paste is available from any Chinese market.
6. Turn on low-to-medium heat, add 1-2 Tbsp of vegetable oil into a flat bottom cooking pan.  Add the hot sauce (from Step 4) into the pan, add the tamarind water (from Step 5).  Season with 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1 Tbsp of sugar.  Stir constantly, until the the mixture is thick (try to reduce the water content as much as possible, without burning the saauce, 2-3 minutes).  
7. Turn off heat, add deep-fried potato slices (from Step 3), and deep-fried silver fish (from Step 2), and 2 cups of roasted peanuts (from Step 1).  Stir evenly.  Season to taste with salt (add 1/4 tsp a time), and sugar (add 1/2 tsp a time).  Here is a picture of the finished product.