Recipe: Japchae

Japchae is one of my favorite Korean foods and it’s so easy to grab from Korean supermarkets…though I never order it when I’m at a restaurant. Sure, I’ll add it to my Korean BBQ plate but never as an ordered dish. You know? Well during the pandemic (I know we’re still in it, but this is more towards the beginning of the pandemic), I had a real hankering to make it myself. Well let me tell you, it’s no easy feat in terms or prep. Check it out.

Great marinade recipe for the beef, it was delicious!

Not that I go looking for this but it was so nice to find fresh shiitake at the Korean market! I think I prefer fresh over dried.

I have one of those mandolins but I am so lazy to take it out and then have to wash yet another dish. Forget it. You can tell I chopped this by hand, the different sizes shows it was homemade with love (or with me, probably in anger but angry love)

Red bell peppers, a must have! And it gotta be red cause you want all the pretty colors!

Sliced Onions

Man, if I knew I needed spinach…I would have gotten the big bag from Costco. Here’s my puny bunch from the Korean market haha

Just a plan omelet, nothing special here. And not even cooked yet.

For inquiring minds, this is the brand of noodles I bought.

Noodles ready to go at the bottom…look at how pretty the veggies and eggs are layered on top. See why you need the red bell pepper??

Can’t really pretty up brown and brown. I just dumped the meat and mushrooms on top lol.

All mixed together and ready to eat. It’s OH SO GOOD. The marinade in the meat makes this dish all the more delish. I would definitely make and eat it again! Check out the recipe below!

Japchae (Seonkyoung Longest)

INGREDIENTS

For the Beef
½ lb beef, cut into 3″ long thin strips (such as sirloin, chuck, short ribs or tri-tip)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp sesame oil
½ tbsp mirin (Seasoned rice wine, if you don’t have it, leave it out)
1 clove garlic, chopped

For Vegetables & Egg Omlet
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ medium size onion, thinly silced
1 ¼ bell pepper, fine julienne
½ large size carrot, fine julienne
5 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (You can substitute to any other mushrooms)
12 oz spinach (1 large bunch), cleaned well
salt and vegetable oil

For the Noodles
14 to 16 oz Korean sweet potato noodle, Dangmyun
For the Sauce
⅓ cup soy sauce
⅓ cup sugar, honey or agave nectar (if you are using agave, add additional 1 tbsp soy sauce)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients for beef in a medium mixing bowl. Let marinate while preparing other ingredients.

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tsp oil; swirl to coat. Add beaten eggs swirl skillet to egg covers surface in a thin layer. Cook until it’s just set, about 2 to 3 minutes, then flip over and cook for another minute. Slip omelet onto a plate and let it cool.

Heat the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp oil and sliced onion. Season with a pinch of salt, sauté 4 to 5 minutes. Remove onion from pan, keep warm. (Place on a plate or a bowl where you are going to mix whole entire japchae.)

Add 1 tsp oil to the pan and red pepper with a pinch of salt. Sauté 1 minute. Remove chili pepper from pan, keep warm. Add 1 tsp oil to the pan, carrots and a pinch of salt. Sauté 2 to 3 minutes. Remove carrot from pan, keep warm.

Wipe off excess oil from the pan and add mushrooms. Sauté 2 tp 3 minutes. Remove from pan, keep warm.

Add 1 tsp oil and add marinated beef to the pan; sauté for 2 to 5 minutes or until beef is cooked through and all moisture has evaporated. Remove from pan, keep warm.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add generous amount of salt. Add the spinach, cook about 10 seconds, not much longer. Move spinach from the boiling water to ice water immediately. Squeeze out water from spinach gently. Set aside with other veggies.

In the same water, cook the Korean sweet potato noodles. Boil noodles according to package directions or 6 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile the noodles are cooking, whisk all ingredients for sauce in a bowl, set aside. Slice cooled egg omelet into thin ribbons and set aside. Drain the cooked noodles and place in a large mixing bowl.

Cut the noodles as needed, if you prefer. Pour 2/3 of the sauce into the noodles and gently mix until noodles absolve all of the sauce. Add the noodles into the vegetables and beef, toss gently to combine everything with your hand or/and tongs.

Garnish Japchae with some additional sesame seeds as desired. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Mixed Plate

Gotta have posts like this here and there, I don’t always fully capture my meal so you will have to get it in bits and pieces. 🙂

Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Mama’s Trio | $25.95
chicken parmesan, lasagna bolognese, fettuccine alfredo

Is Mama trying to kill you? Yes, I think so. This wasn’t my dish but look at this…hefty portions of hefty dishes. It was not finished, had to be packed up to take home. No waste!

Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Shrimp Scampi | $24.95
sauteed jumbo shrimp, capellini, garlic, rosemary butter, roma tomatoes

Yeah, I had the shrimp scampi again. So wot? Like fight? Nah, getting it a second time means it was good ah? Was good.

Little Sheep Hot Pot
Half & Half Pot | Original & Spicy

I can’t say I was super impressed when they first opened, I was still a huge fan of Sweet Home Cafe. Well sorry to say, well not really sorry, but I basically only go to Little Sheep now. Love their sauce bar and now they have all you can eat deals for lunch and dinner. Service is hit or miss (you better be willing to flag anyone and everyone down to help you). Delish!

Ja Gal Chi Restaurant
Bossam | $30.99
steamed pork with oysters

Gosh, can anyone help me? There used to be the most bomb bossam restaurant by Ala Moana, it was located where Dowon Chinese Restaurant is now. They specialized in Bossam and it was soo good but alas, like most businesses, the owners decided to retire and they closed for good.

Anyway, I don’t think a lot of Korean restaurants offer this but Ja Gal Chi does and boy oh boy was it a treat. I mean look at it, of course it was a treat. They give you kimchee and the little salted shrimp sauce too. It’s just heaven.

Yakiniku-Kirakuen – Asakusa, Japan

A long travel and walking day ends with a meal very close to our hotel. Also a craving for high quality meat (not me). Short post today…Yakiniku Kirakuen!

Kirakuen Set | ¥3,680 (plus tax)
a helping of various kinds of dishes of five kinds of meat (lol, they tried with the English)
Bibimbap | ¥880 (plus tax)
Kalbi Soup | ¥680 (plus tax)

So the kalbi soup and bibimbap was mine. Didn’t feel much like meat that night and this soup and rice combo really called to me. And it really hit the spot too! And…the $15 for this was well worth it. Delicious.

Funny story about this restaurant. Well first, the wait staff were all Chinese but fluent in Japanese (this was a common occurrence this trip) but one of them was also fluent in English. Three languages! Talent.

On the other end of the restaurant had a table with 3 young foreign guys, possibly military? Different ethnicities and next to them was a table of 3 quite randy Chinese ladies. The ladies were probably drunk and kept asking the guys to “join us” at whatever location they were going to after dinner. It was quite amusing to see. Sounded like a joke at first but the join us statement happened a…lot.

Don e Don – Keeaumoku, HI

I did not know a lick about Don e Don before I ventured out here for a visit. I wasn’t feeling for anything in particular as I drove down Korea-moku but decided to give this new restaurant a try! Well, I am certainly glad I did! This restaurant was a pleasant surprise, good food AND service. That’s a lot for me, I’m a bit overwhelmed. Haha, just kidding. Check out the pics!

BAN-CHAN. Looks basic? Oh let me lead you through the dishes…

Clockwise from left to right:
Shoyu Potatoes – Yum
Kimchee – Yum
Seasoned Choy Sum – Yum!
Korean Green Salad – OKAY I HAVE TO SAY THIS IS THE BEST KOREAN SALAD I EVER HAD – I usually don’t touch this and well I helped to polish this off. The dressing was perfect, a good balance of sweet and tang.
Preserved Mustard Cabbage – First time I seen this as a banchan in a Korean restaurant. Delicious! Light seasoning, not at all salty or bitter. Was good.
Daikon/Onion/Pepper Pickles – Delicious! Wait a minute, was I just super hungry? Nah, I liked all the banchans!

Water and Barley Tea

Why don’t more restaurants do this? I like it when they bring the pitchers and leave it at your table. I drink a lot of liquids so I appreciated this lots!

Lunch Set Menu (Meat and Stew Combo) – Soft Tofu Pot Stew

They have an awesome lunch set menu and the price varies based on the meat you choose. I’ll show the two meats we choose for our combos after this. The soondubu is delicious! The serving is not small by any means, was a perfect portion even though it was part of a set!

Lunch Set: Marinated Sliced Rib Eye (Bulgogi) | $14.99

They were pretty smart to name this marinated sliced rib eye, makes it sound all high class right? While I’m not usually a fan of marinated thinly sliced beef, this was surprisingly good! I liked that it was served on a bed of onions that cooked down with the sweet marinade. Would I get it again? Well, probably not but mainly because I would rather get the pork ribs below. But if you’re a fan of bulgogi, for sure get it!

Lunch Set: Pork Spare Ribs | $16.99

Omigosh! Okay, get mostly bone but I am not shame to pick these bones up and gnaw the meat off. Get some pretty meaty pieces in there though. They are known for these pork ribs so I give it a thumbs up! I would definitely return to get this again! They have a sea salt pork rib which I would like to try next time.

Mixed Plate

Just a random post with various eats that won’t make a whole post on it’s own. First off, Whole Foods Market, when Jalna shared about the 2/$5 deal! Thanks so much! Now I check my amazon app all the to check the deals. The pizza was pretty good, the garlic and spinach one was mine. Plenty garlic so I liked it a lot!

Ninja Crispy Chicken Bento | $12.49

Chi Chop is located in the Ala Moana Food Court, not great. The fried chicken is seasoned with quite a bit of five spice powder if that’s your thing. I also think it was quite pricey for $13!

Two Combo Plate (Spicy BBQ Chicken & Fish Jun) | $16.50

Korean Hibiscus BBQ! Oh boy, what a deal. A cute and sweet couple run this shop and the portions are generous! The taste was great and do you see? Two pieces of fried mandoo too! I do have to say, MSG galore, I was thirsty all night!

Yakiniku Korea House – Honolulu, HI

Yakiniku Korea House is a great Korean restaurant in Moilili. They have great lunch specials and I enjoy their menu because to me it’s more authentic Korean food versus a localized version. They even have the Yukhoe raw beef dish I love! Well, I haven’t tried it here because no one is willing to eat it with me and I can’t eat the serving all by myself and I’m going to assume they would not let me take it home. Ugh, third world problems.

Pork with Potato Stew (serves 2) | $29.95

Here’s a dish I got recently, big soup ready to feed 2-3 people. I like how it boils up in front of you, let it cook down some more at the table so the meat gets more fall off the bone and the potatoes get softer. Kinda spicy (I mean look at it!) but a great way to sweat out some toxins!

We got five complimentary ban chans; seasoned bean sprouts, seasoned acorn jelly, traditional kimchee, mac salad, and a more fresh water kimchee? They don’t explain it but I enjoyed the traditional kimchee more. They did refill our banchan when we asked.

HOWEVER, apparently rice is not free refills. They charge $2.00 for an extra bowl of rice! Hmm…not a fan of that charge. She didn’t let us know it cost extra either and it’s not like it’s the fancy mixed rice, it’s just plain white rice. I think when you cough up the dough for a big soup dish, the rice should be complimentary!

Seoul Tofu House – Honolulu, HI

Seoul Tofu House opened a few months ago and I couldn’t help but salivate from the pictures I saw popping up on social media! I love myself a good soondubu…and a good Korean meal in general! This restaurant is located in Waikiki, right next door to the International Marketplace. I don’t think they have their own parking option. I parked at the International Marketplace and bought something from Mitsuwa to get parking validation. If you spend $10 at any store in the marketplace, you can get a validation for 1 hour free parking. Good deal! So how was the restaurant?

Look at this handy notch on the chairs! Why don’t all chairs have this??

Cucumber Salad | $3.50
sliced cucumbers tossed in a sesame oil dressing

I’m always excited to try smashed cucumbers at restaurants. This one was a thumbs down for me unfortunately. While I don’t expect complete marination since it’s a fresh cucumber dish – there was not enough seasoning in this dish. Maybe a bit more salt would have made it better.

Grilled Spicy Chicken with Cheese | $24.50 (bansang: complete meal)
juicy chicken thighs that are marinated in a fiery 
Housemade Gochujang paste. It is grilled, sauteed, and then served with onions and 
kabocha pumpkin, and then topped with mozzarella cheese and aonori

This dish was surprisingly delicious. While I like dishes like this, it’s not something I order usually. Well, this dish certainly changed my mind. Their sauce is delicious! Yes, a bit spicy (but not really to me) but it has a great sweetness to it too. Definitely a homemade sauce from the restaurant, I loved it. I would recommend it!

Grilled Short Rib Patties | $20.25 (bansang)
100% all natural local Kunoa Beef special blend patties that are seared, grilled, and then glazed in a unagi sauce. they are topped with dried jujube (red date) and crushed pine nuts.

Good dish! A definite winner with kids. I don’t know about the unagi sauce description, just tasted like a nice savory teriyaki-ish burger patties!

Marinated Grilled Short Ribs | $28.99 (bansang)
savory and grilled to perfection, these short ribs are marinated in a traditional Korean BBQ-style soy based sauce. it is served with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and roasted garlic

Look, can you ever go wrong with kalbi? Definitely not. Was it worth $29? Probably not, it did taste good though.

Seafood Soondubu | $13.99 (all soondubu are bansang)
soondubu is traditional spicy soft tofu soup. made with 24 hour beef broth served in a hot 
stone pot that is sure to warm the soul. filled with your favorite ingredients and topped with green onions, enoki mushrooms, and sliced chile

The grand finale, my dish!! They’re known for soondubu so of course I had to get it. And look at the cost! Only $14 for the full meal and it’s for the seafood one. They were pretty generous with the seafood too. The broth had a nice deep flavor, would definitely recommend it. The service was great when I went and the food came out fast. Give it a try!

Ong Ga Nae Korean BBQ – Los Angeles, CA

Hands down, one of my favorite meals in California. The service at Ong Ga Nae Korean BBQ started off awful, but I honestly go to Korean restaurants expecting that. Anyway, we were there a bit early. Found street parking luckily so we didn’t have to use valet parking, whew! We were initially served by two males and they did not seem like they liked being waiters, lol. But let me tell you, as our meal progressed, a female waitress came on duty and made up for the entire meal. She was so incredibly sweet and helped us cook all our meats. I was too busy eating and didn’t spend enough time taking pictures…

BAN CHAN LIFE
Special Combo A (serves 2) | $59.99
marinated beef rib, pork belly, chicken bulgogi, prime beef brisket
Yukhoe (Beef Tartare) | $not cheap

I wish I had more details on this. I tried to find it on their menu but it was a picture on their wall and it doesn’t look like it’s part of their printed menu? I have wanted to try this for a long long long time. You don’t really find this dish here because it’s beef tartare. I really wish we had it here, this dish was to die for. It was so much meat but I had to have it. And we couldn’t take it out, understandably, so I really had to try to eat it all. Beautiful beef, korean pear, pine nuts, sesame oil, and may other ingredients. It just came together to make the perfect dish. I certainly didn’t need the other BBQ meats with this dish. I know for next time…maybe a soup and this dish. Ughhh…I wish I could eat this again! Sooner than later!

Chingu – Honolulu, HI

I’m not big on the bar scene, but it’s hard to resist some bars because they seem to serve up some of the most delicious looking grub! I went to two bars in May, that’s pretty big for me. But not to worry, I am not a bar fly by any means…we have gone when they open at 5. We have literally been the only customers in the bar and we basically eat the food…haha. Probably their worst type of customer, but hey, we’re still paying customers! The first bar I’m going to feature is Chingu, brand new place that serves up some delicious Korean food and soju concoctions! There was a bit of confusion when we walked in, a bunch of workers who seemed to point to the table right next to the bar…but now that I reflect back, I think they were saying we could sit anywhere. I would have totally sat in the corner if I had known that….not smack dab in the middle fronting their area. *facepalm*

Chingu = friend

Fresh Fruit Cocktail Soju (Strawberry Lemonade) • $20.00

Big portion! And yes, the soju is not weak in this drink so it’s a pretty good price. I know $20 sounds like a lot but you’re getting a lot of drink for it. At first, I enjoyed the lemon and strawberry pulp in the drink…signals the freshness. After a while, I wanted a non-chunky drink…haha.

Kalbi • $23.00

48 hour marinated/flame grilled

Hmm…didn’t realize we paid $23 for this. Could I tell this dish was 48 hour marinated? Is that even a difficult step to do? I think the kalbi was good, but it’s the same taste and quality you get from any Korean food joint.

Dukk Bokki • $15.00

Udon/Fried Eggs/Fish Cakes

Hmmm…this dish was pretty good! The sauce was a bit spicy but also sweet. I liked the fried eggs on top and the large pieces of fish cake. Biggest complaint? The udon noodles! The noodles were completely broken and they could have given more noodles, I mean aren’t the udon noodles the cheapest part of the dish?

Chicken n Cheese • $22.00

Thai Gochujang Glaze/Mozzarella Cheese

This is the dish that I wanted to come here for. If you go to their Yelp page, it’s like picture after picture of this dish. Koreans have an obsession with cheese in their dishes and I just really really really wanted to dip some of this spicy chicken into the velvety cheese. They bring this dish out on a metal cooking plate on a butane portable stove.

That’s the shot I was waiting for! The cheese melted and ready to eat. I guess this is like a form of fondue huh? This dish was good! But definitely great fresh…we couldn’t finish the food so I got to eat this as leftovers at home. Well the cheese did not melt that great the second time around. The service was good and the manager came around to talk to every customer, he was very nice. He mentioned that it’s best to come with 4-6 folks because the food and drink portions are best shared! He’s right. So I got here right when they opened and they have space for 3 stalls in front of their restaurant. When I finished, some person parked right butt up against my car. It was rude, I don’t know how he/she got out of his car…both driver side doors were blocked by each other! I had to climb into my car through the passenger side…it was a great sight to see with my skirt! Sorry for the free show Kapiolani Boulevard!

 

O’Kims – Chinatown, HI

O’Kims is definitely one of those hole in the wall places that is hard to access. There is no parking so you either have to strike it rich with Chinatown street parking or park at a municipal lot. This shop is very small and it’s set up essentially for take-out. We did a lunch order for the office a few months back and I enjoyed it! If they had a parking space for quick in and out stops for take-out, I would be coming here way more often! I hope you can give them a try, it’s a small shop and they change their menu monthly. They even have vegan options! Let’s take a look at some of the food…

Kalbi Steak – Short ribs with sweet shoyu seasoning, roast root veggies, purple rice, green salad and kimchi.

Kimchee Fried Rice with Egg Nest

Jidori Chicken Ginseng Risotto

I didn’t get this dish but the ones who did didn’t seem to enjoy it too much…

Seaweed Salmon – Slight poached salmon with nori and panko on top, Korean remoulade, tosazu gelee, pickled cherry tomato, nori chip, green salad, purple rice and kimchi.

I tried two dishes! I enjoyed this! The fish was cooked perfectly, not dry at all. At first I thought the fish was a bit small but it was actually the perfect size. The deep fried nori chip…hmm…definitely not needed or memorable.

Confited Pork Belly Brulee – Confit pork belly with sesame leaves and miso sauce, pickled onions, apple & ginger jam, green salad and kimchi.

I really enjoyed this dish, the pork was delicious and I love the deep fried leaves on top of the pork belly. Although, I think when I got it…it may have been deep fried kale? Either way, it was delicious and complemented the pork really well. What I appreciate about O’Kim’s is how high quality their food is and the little touches and details they add to their dishes. Highly recommended!