Beef Jap Chae (잡채)

I thought of my husband when I saw this recipe and thought he would really like it. I was right he LOVED this recipe and I will definitely be making it again. I am not a spinach eater nor an egg eater but I can eat the spinach in this recipe. I will just leave the egg out of my serving. If you are interested in seeing step by step instructions with pictures please visit aeriskitchen's blog at the link below :
http://aeriskitchen.com/2008/12/japchae-%EC%9E%A1%EC%B1%84/#more-1125

Main Ingredients

• ⅓ Carrot
• ½ Onion
• ⅓ Sweet Pepper (Optional)
• 2 Eggs (Optional)
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Black Pepper

Beef Ingredients

• 1 Cup Beef
• ½ Tbsp Soy Sauce
• ½ Tbsp Cooking Wine
• 1 tsp Garlic
• 1½ tsp Sugar
• A pinch of Black Pepper

Mushroom Ingredients

• 3 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms(I used button mushrooms)
• 1½ tsp Soy Sauce
• ½ tsp Sugar
• ¼ tsp Garlic

Spinach Ingredients

• 3 oz Spinach
• 1 tsp Soy Sauce
• ½ tsp Sugar

Noodle Ingredients

• 1 Handful (4.6 oz) Cellophane Noodles (Dang Myun)also called glass noodles
  
• 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• ½ Tbsp Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Seasoning Ingredients

• 1½ Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
• ⅛ tsp Black Pepper

Directions

• Cut about 4.6 oz (1 cup) of beef thinly
• In a small bowl, mix the beef, ½ Tbsp of soy sauce, ½ Tbsp of cooking wine, 1 tsp of garlic, 1½ tsp of sugar, and 1 pinch of black pepper. Set it aside for at least 30 minutes. ( I left mine overnight)
• If you are using shiitake mushrooms:Soak 3 dried shiitake mushrooms in the water for 3 hours, and then squeeze out the water.
  
• Whether you are using the shiitake mushrooms or button mushrooms, remove the stems and slice the mushrooms thinly.
• In a bowl, mix the mushrooms, 1½ tsp of soy sauce, ½ tsp of sugar, and ¼ tsp of garlic.
• Add 3 oz of spinach in boiling water with some salt to keep the color green. Boil for about 30 seconds, and then rinse in cold water. (I used frozen leaf spinach and microwaved it)
• Squeeze out the water.
• Mix the cooked spinach, 1 tsp of soy sauce, and ½ tsp of sugar. Set it aside.
• Cut ½ of an onion thinly. Julienne ⅓ of a carrot thinly. Slice ⅓ of a sweet pepper thinly.
• In boiling water, add the noodles and boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain the water. The original recipe says to boil the noodles for 11 minutes but I was reading other recipes for Jap Chae and they all said to boil the noodles for 3-4 mins., and they came out good.
• Fry the carrot for 10 seconds with a little salt. (I cooked mine for about one minute)
• In a nonstick pan, add 2 Tbsp of olive oil, then add the noodles and stir them. Add 2 Tbsp of soy sauce, ½ Tbsp of sugar. Fry for 2 minutes or until the noodles are evenly colored by the soy sauce.
• Cool the noodles. This makes the combination of colors and flavors be good and the noodles will be shiny.
• To get better color for this dish: Separate the egg yokes and egg whites, and add 1 pinch of salt for each one. Beat the eggs. Fry and slice them thinly. (I just beat my yolk and egg whites together)
• Fry the marinated beef until it is completely cooked.
• Fry the marinated mushrooms until they are completely cooked.
• In a lightly oiled pan, fry the onion for 20 seconds on high with a little bit of salt. Fry the sweet pepper and carrot for 10 seconds with a little salt. (I cooked both the onions and the pepper for a couple of minutes because I like my veggies a little bit more well done)
• In a large bowl, mix all of the noodles, vegetables, and meat.
• Add 1½ Tbsp of soy sauce, 2 Tbsp of sesame oil, 1 Tbsp of sugar, 1 Tbsp of sesame seeds, and ⅛ tsp of black pepper.
• Mix all of the ingredients together, adding the egg last.

Enjoy!