Japchae

Japchae (잡채), stir-fried noodles with vegetables, is one of the Korean dishes that most resembles Chinese cooking, especially my favourite Singaporean fried bee hoon.



The Korean restaurants in BJ has this dish translated as za cai (杂菜) on the menu and I always wonder if it's actually a noodle or a vegetable dish. Because, (1) nowhere in the name can you tell it's a noodle dish, and (2) the only 杂菜 or chap chye I've known all my life was this Nonya stir-fried vegetable dish.  Well, Prof Wiki's explanation also doesn't sound convincing:

The name, japchae, comprises the two hanja words; jap (hangul: 잡, hanja: 雜, literally "mixed and stirred") and chae (hangul: 채, hanja: 菜, literally "vegetables"). Therefore, japchae literally means "a mixture of vegetables."

My love for this dish comes from my love for tanghoon (冬粉) aka glass noodles. I heart dang hoon everywhere, with fishball soup, chap chye, claypot crab, steamboat, stir-fried thai style, etc, etc.

Surfing the net has also made me realise that almost every Asian country has her own cellophane noodle dish. In Korea, glass noodles are made of sweet potato starch and is called dangmyun (당면 or 唐麵). It has a more greyish shade because of the sweet potato starch content.

Korean dangmyun















Japchae (Korean stir-fried noodles)
(Serves 4)
Adapted from recipe by Korean food guru Maangchi. Besides posting the recipe of each dish, Maangchi also has a video of herself cooking on Youtube which is really useful for first timers like me.

Ingredients: 
250g Korean starch noodles "dangmyun"
150g Minced meat
1 bunch Spinach (washed and drained)
1 Carrot (cut into thin strips)
1 pkt White mushroom 金针菇 (seperated)
5 Dried shitake mushroom (soaked, drained & sliced thinly)
1 White onion (sliced thinly) 
3 cloves Garlic (chopped)
3 eggs (beaten, fried & sliced thinly)







Seasoning (the amounts can be changed according to your preference):
2-3tbsp Soya Sauce
1tbsp Sesame Oil
1-2tbsp Sugar
1-2tbsp Roasted sesame seeds

Preparation (note that seasoning mentioned here is excluded in seasoning list above):
* Blanch spinach. Dunk cooked spinach in cold water to retain fresh green colour. Drain spinach & squeeze out as much water as you can. Cut spinach into 2 inch length and mix it with 1/2 tbsp soya sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil (not included in Seasoning list above). Set this aside.
* Fry carrot strips in 1/2tbsp oil till soft. Set aside.
* Fry white mushroom in 1/2tbsp oil till soft. Set aside.
* Fry onion slices in 1/2tbsp oil till soft and translucent. Set aside.
* Fry chopped garlic in 1tbsp oil, add minced meat, sliced shitake mushroom and 1/2tsp pepper. Set aside when cooked. 

Method:
* Boil dangmyun till soft (takes about 3 minutes).
* Drain cooked dangmyun, but don't wash it with cold water.
* Add sugar and liquid seasonings into dangmyun and mix quickly and thoroughly.
* Mix in all cooked ingredients.
* Sprinkle roasted sesame onto japchae before serving.

You can also reduce the number of ingredients to make simple japchae ^__^

Here's a sample of simple japchae served as a side dish in a restaurant:

Fried Carrot Cake

Chai tow kuay ("fried carrot cake" in Teochew or Hokkien) ~ my all time favourite Singapore food. I remember my dad would occasionally ta-bao ("takeaway") this home for supper if he works late. My brother and I would hold our blunt toothpicks (the old-fashioned kind) and wait anxiously for mum to line the table with newspaper and open the ta-bao brown paper for us. The big pieces can be easily picked up by the toothpicks but I never liked them, what I liked were the salty, tasty small pieces of kuay and chai poh (salted radish), which can be quite challenging to pick up with those toothpicks (haha..). Sometimes I would mistaken the garlic as chai poh, but I still liked to try my luck and pick on those tiny pieces cos they had more flavour than the big ones. ^ ^

It never occurred to me that I should ask my dad where he bought it from. But as an adult, I found my favourite chai tow kuay stall at North Bridge Road Hawker Centre. When I was working in town, Mr Tofu would send me to work every morning. We would drop by this hawker centre for breakfast whenever we had extra time to avoid the ERP. The carrot cake used to taste better, sometimes, the ah-em would leave the egg a little runny (not sure if it's intentional). But since the stall owners passed their skills to some not-so-young ah-bengs, it doesn't taste as good as before. Luckily, the ah bengs did not increase the price after they took over, so it still stays at a very low SGD1.50 per plate (you can't get this price anywhere else in Singapore!).

Needless to say, one of the goodies that I 'imported' to Beijing is this packeted carrot cake (for stir-fry) from NTUC! ^ ^

Chai Tow Kuay (Fried Carrot Cake 菜头粿）
(serves 2)

Ingredients:
1pkt Ready-made carrot cake (cut into cubes)
3cloves Garlic (chopped)
1-2tbsp Chai poh (chopped)
1-2tbsp Oil
1tbsp Fish sauce (use regular soya sauce if you don't have this)
1tsp Chilli paste (optional)
3nos Egg (or 4 if you like)
2stalks Spring onion (chopped)

Method:
* Fry garlic and chai poh till fragrant
* Add carrot cake and pan-fry till least two faces of it is lightly browned and crispy
* Drizzle fish sauce and chilli paste and stir fry thoroughly
* Spread browned carrot cake evenly apart in pan
* Beat eggs lightly and pour mixture over carrot cake
* Flip carrot cake when egg is almost set (never mind if it's not a perfect flip, it's fun to be imperfect)
* Sprinkle chopped spring onions as a garnish (I ran out of it)

North Bridge Road ah beng's chai tow kuay ~

Now that my 'imported' chai tow kuay is used up, I can only go to Lau Pa Sak restaurant to satisfy my cravings (^ ^)b

Costs abt RMB35-40 per plate.

Bittergourd with Beancurd, Egg & Minced Meat

How to select less bitter bittergourds
- choose those that are lighter shade of green
- choose those with less bumps or uneven surface
- choose local SG/MY bittergourds (those gigantic 20-30cm ones) instead of Japanese bittergourds (those tiny little 10cm ones)

How to remove bitterness in bittergourds:
- cut bittergourd into half, remove seeds, slice thinly
- rub bittergourd slices with 2 teaspoons of salt, let the salt draw the bitter juices out
- rinse thoroughly and squeeze out all water to remove the bitterness



Stir-fried Bittergourd with Beancurd, Egg & Minced Meat

Ingredients:
1pc Bittergourd (prepared as per above to reduce bitterness)
1clove Garlic (chopped)
100g Beancurd (cut into cubes)
100g Minced meat (marinated)
1pinch Salt
1no Egg + 1tbsp Water + 2tsps Soya sauce (beaten in a bowl)

Method:
* Marinade sliced bittergourd with salt for 30 minutes till bittergourd juice seeps out into bowl.
* Rinse bittergourd several times to remove bitterness and salt.
* Squeeze out excess water and bitter juices.
(Steps 1-3 will help reduce the bitterness)

* In a wok, fry garlic till slightly shrinked.
* Add bean curd cubes and fry 3 sides of the cube (I prefer to leave the other 3 sides unbrowned to enjoy a softer texture of the beancurd).
* Add minced meat and fry till 50% cooked.
* Add bittergourd and salt. Stir fry and simmer with some water for the next 3 minutes.
* Add egg mixture and simmer for 1-2 minutes (I like to eat the egg in chunks, so I usually let the egg sit and solidify).

Had this dish in a Japanese restaurant called Satsuma Sochu Dining Bar in Gallery Hotel serving Okinawa cuisine with Blacktulip before she left for Sydney. I remember it costed at least SGD10 a dish. With this recipe post, Blacktulip, u can try making this simple and affordable dish for your bf! (^ ^)

Fried Bee Hoon with Canned Pig Trotters

I'm HOME ALONE today. Yay!! Time to cook up yummy stuff!

There's cabbage in the refrigerator... and I remember seeing a can of braised pig trotters in the cupboard... I know! I can make fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli) with the pig trotters! Yummy but sinful stuff! *chuckle chuckle*

I remember my mum requested for twelve cans of pig trotters from Mr Tofu (boyfriend at that time) for Guo Da Li. The canned pig trotters is right most container featured here. She said this was what Teochew mothers would request as part of the formal wedding gifts. Mr Tofu and his sister (the matchmaker) had a hard time carrying them to my house (very heavy lor) that day. LOL...



Fried Bee Hoon with Canned Pig Trotters

Ingredients (serves 4)

200g Bee hoon or rice vermicelli (soaked in cold water)
1 can Braised pig trotters (chilled)
Half a Cabbage (cut into thin strips)
3 cloves Shallots (chopped)
3 cloves Garlic (chopped)
1.5 cups Water
1 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tsp Soy sauce
1 tsp Salt


Preparation

• Soak bee hoon in cold water till it turns from translucent to opaque white.
• Chill the entire can of braised pig trotters. Let the layer of oil in the sauce harden and turn white. Remove the hardened oil. Remove the bones of the pig trotters. Place the meat and the sauce in different bowls.
• Mix pig trotter sauce, water, oyster sauce, soy sauce and salt in a bowl.

Method

1. Fry shallots and garlic till light golden brown.
2. Add de-boned braised pig trotters and fry with the shallots to draw out the fragrance from the pork.
3. Add cabbage, bee hoon and water-oyster sauce mixture and turn down fire to let it simmer. Allow bee hoon to absorb the liquids (takes about 5 minutes).

Wondering why I'm home alone but cooked 4 portions?

1 portion for lunch today

1 portion for dinner today

1 portion for breakfast tomorrow

1 portion for lunch on Tuesday

~ hahaha... that's how much I love fried bee hoon... :D

Sushi (Makizushi 巻寿司)

Mr Stone is having a house warming party in his new flat in Sengkang. We volunteered to contribute sushi for the pot-luck party. After viewing this, this and this demonstration on Youtube, I started my new adventure...

The rice (酢飯).













The fillings.













Rolling with a sushi mat.













The uncut rolls - 2 cups of rice yield 5 rolls.













Cut the rolls into eighths.