Hooni Kim’s Japchae (Sweet Potato Noodles with Vegetables)

Adapted from My Korea: Traditional Flavors, Modern Recipes by Hooni Kim. This delicious and satisfying dish stars stretchy dangmyeon — Korean clear noodles made from sweet potato starch. Kim, who is the chef and owner of Danji and Hanjan in New York City, recommends Wang brand dangmyeon, as it cooks faster than other brands. They are sold dried.

In his headnote, Kim says this dish is best served warm, though in the summertime you can serve it room temperature. We served it warm (splendid!), and then served the leftovers cold the next day. We liked it nearly as much.

Note: Kim gives a recipe for Korean dashi in My Korea, made from dashima (kombu), dried shiitakes and dried anchovies. We prepared this recipe using Japanese dashi, which seemed a reasonable substitution, as Kim’s dashi recipe allows for a range of substitutions for the dried sardines. We have not tested it using water instead of dashi — which would make it vegan. Or you could use a vegan dashi made from konbu and shiitakes. If you want to make it gluten-free, substitute gluten-free tamari for the soy sauce — the dangmyeon noodles themselves are gluten-free.

READ: “Cookbooks We Love: Hooni Kim's 'My Korea' is a knockout of a Korean cooking primer”

Serves 4.

Ingredients

3/4 pound dried dangmyeon noodles

1 pound spinach, washed and thick stems removed

6 tablespoons canola or grapeseed oil

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

Salt

1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and ribs removed, cut into matchsticks

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and ribs removed, cut into matchsticks

1/4 cup toasted sesame oil

1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded, caps sliced about 1/4 inch thick

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Korean or Japanese soy sauce

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups dashi or water, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Soak the dangmyeon noodles in cold water for 1 hour.

2. While they’re soaking, set a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Prepare an ice bath. Blanch the spinach in the boiling water for 2 minutes, drain and transfer the spinach to the ice bath to cool. (Alternatively, you can leave it in the colander and run cold water on it to stop the cooking and cool.) Drain, then squeeze as much of the water out of the leaves as you can.

3. Set a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the canola or grape seed oil. When the oil begins to shimmer and just barely smoke, add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the green and red bell peppers and a pinch of salt and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes, stirring, until all of the vegetables are cooked through and tender. Transfer to a medium bowl.

4. Wipe the pan clean, set it over medium-high heat, and add the remaining 1/4 cup canola or grape seed oil and 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil. When the oil begins to shimmer and just barely smoke, add the mushrooms, three-quarters of the minced garlic and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Cooking, stirring constantly to keep the mushrooms from sticking to the pan; they will release some of their liquid and turn golden-brown. When the mushrooms are cooked through and tender, about 3 to 5 minutes, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the bowl with the other vegetables.

5. Put the dashi or water, the remaining 1/2 cup of soy sauce, the sugar, the remaining garlic and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large straight-sided pan and bring to a simmer. Drain the noodles, add them to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, until they are just tender but still stretchy and chewy; if it starts to become dry, add a little more dashi or water. Add all the vegetables, mix well, and cook for another 2 minutes, or until everything is hot. All the liquid should have been absorbed by the noddles or evaporated in the cooking process so all you see is sesame oil coating the ingredients. If there is any liquid left, increase the heat to high and cook until it has all evaporated.

6. Transfer the noodles to a large platter and sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over the top. Serve immediately.

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