Photography by Selina S. Lee

Happy Friday! Oh boy am I glad it’s Friday. What a long tiring over-working week it has been. I’ve been spending so many hours in-doors in front of my screen. I can’t wait to get out and get some sun and soak in plenty of vitamin-D this weekend. I like this trend of sharing my favorite recipes once a week on Fridays. I hope to keep it up. Here is one of all time favorite Korean traditional dish, Japchae. It’s made with Korean glass sweet potato noodles and lots of veggies and meat. This dish can be served as an appetizer, a side dish or as main dish served over bed of rice or with sweet buns. For all you veggie lovers, you can replace the meat with shiitake mushrooms for the same meaty texture and flavor. Enjoy!

CHIVES & GREEN CHILI PEPPER JAPCHAE – 2 Servings

INGREDIENT
2 hand grabs (2 servings) sweet potato glass noodles (pn. dangmyeon)
1/4 lb lean pork
1 cup cut chives
5 green chili pepper (pn. cheongyang gochu)
1 sm carrot
1 sm onion or 2 shallots
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

SAUCE
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp ground roasted sesame seeds

PREPARATION
Boil noodles according to instructions on the package. It’s usually 5-6 mins. Rinse them in cold water and drain. If you didn’t buy the pre-cut noodles, cut the noodle in half (about 6” long). Mix 2 tbsp of prepared sauce and set it aside. Mixing the noodles by hand will get all the flavors to soak-in better. Cut pork into 2 inches long strips and mix in 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Cut and wash green chili peppers in same long strips and take out the seeds. Cut and wash chives, carrots and onions in same long strips like thin matchsticks.

INSTRUCTION
1. In a large non-stick skillet, stir fry the noodles over medium heat, stirring frequently until translucent and bit sticky (about 3-4 min). Transfer back to the large bowl. 2. Stir fry green chili peppers and chives with 1 tsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper, cook for about 1-2 min then set it aside. 3. In the same pan, stir fry the pork for about 1-2 min until pork is thoroughly cooked. Transfer the vegetables and pork to the large bowl with the noodles as each is cooked. 4. Combine all the ingredients and the remaining sauce. Toss well by hand. Adjust the seasoning to taste by adding a little more soy sauce and sugar. 5. Serve with steamed buns or with rice.