Korean Japchae, stir-fried glass noodle recipe

You might be wondering, what in the world is Korean Japchae?? Jap meaning “mix”, Chae meaning “vegetable”, is a Korean Japchae stir-fried sweet potato or rice glass noodle dish. Originally made for the royal of royals with vegetables and mushrooms for special events such as weddings, birthdays, and holidays. In the 20th century, when cellophane noodles were brought to Korea and China, became popular to the commoners. Now, Korean Japchae in this day of age, enjoyed by many people whenever, wherever.

Shiitake mushrooms have always been an interest of mine, and I finally decided to use these mushrooms in a dish and, Ioved them! They’re a mushroom that is fairly easy to find at Publix, or your local health food store. Let’s dig into the health benefits of them. Shittake mushrooms, are a veriety of mushroom. As Dr Mercola states on foodfacts.mercola.com “shiitake mushrooms are completely unique. Copper figures most prominently, with 65% of the daily value per serving, significant because copper is one of the few metallic elements accompanied by amino and fatty acids, essential to human health. Linoleic acid is one. Since the body can’t synthesize copper, our diets must supply it regularly. But researchers say that not only do few people eat adequate amounts of copper-containing foods, but copper deficiency can also be a factor in coronary heart disease development.”.

Shittake mushrooms, having the natural components to deter tumors, inflammation, bad bacteria, harmful viruses, and, strange as it is, fungus. These mushrooms also contain vitamins B2, B5, and B6, and the necessary pieces to help break down, carbs and proteins.

Now, unto the part you’ve been waiting for!

Course        Entree

Prep time     20 minutes

Cook time    10 minutes

Servings       4

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Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Soy sauce (my family uses Braggs liquid aminos, because it is GMO-free)
• 2 Tbs maple syrup or agave nectar
• 1 1/2 cups of firm tofu, diced (10 1/2 ounce, try and find a certified GMO-free brand)
• 9 ounce rice noodles (you can substitute Sweet potato noodles)
• 4 ounce fresh spinach
• 1 Tbs oil (vegetable, olive or coconut is fine, I prefer coconut oil for the health benefits)
• 1 cup yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
•  1/2 cup carrots, shredded
• 2 scallion stocks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 1/2 tsps sesame oil
• 2 tsps sesame seeds

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Directions:

1. In a medium sized bowl whisk together soy sauce and honey. Add in tofu, gently stir to coat and allow to marinate while you prepare other ingredients.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil, enough to fit the noodles. Cook noodles in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, until bendable. Do not discard water. You will use it for blanching the spinach. Use tongs to transfer to a colander and rinse noodles under cool running water. Cut the noodles into 6-inch long pieces with scissors. Set aside.
3. Blanch spinach in the same pot of water that you cooked the noodles for 30 seconds, until wilted. Drain the water and rinse under cold running water. For spinach into a ball and squeeze out excess water. Use a knife to cut the spinach ball in half. Set aside.
4. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and allow to heat up. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, and carrot, saute for 2 minutes. Add scallion and saute 1 minute. Add tofu and cook 1 minute to warm (do not discard sauce). Turn heat to low and add noodles, spinach, sesame oil and sauce. Gently stir to combine until noodles are coated with the sauce. Serve topped with sesame seeds.