Korean Mixed Vegetables with Beef and Vermicelli Noodle

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Whether you call it Chap Chee, Chap Chae, or Jap Chae (a combination of Japan and China),

this is a very popular dish that combines a variety of textures, colors, flavors, simple seasonings along with one of their staples, noodles. Koreans love beef and serve it more often that pork and chicken, and they never eat lamb or goat. Garlic, ginger, and sesame are common to most Korean beef dishes and this one is no exception. Traditionally, Chap Chee is spiced up with a bowl of kimchi. Available in Asian markets, it’s a fiery hot condiment containing fermented vegetables such as cabbage and turnips. An acquired taste! The meat will be easier to thinly slice if put in the freezer for about 30 minutes and have all the ingredients assembled before stir-frying.

Ingredients

For the Beef:

 

  • 3/4 pound flank or sirloin steak, trimmed and thinly sliced against the grain in strips 2-inches wide

  • 1/4 cup dried wood ear mushrooms

  • 4 ounces vermicelli noodles

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced

  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger

  • 4 green onions, finely chopped including some of the greens

  • 4 Thai chiles, stems removed, minced or substitute serrano or jalapeño chiles

  • 1 small carrot, julienne cut in 3-inch long pieces

  • 1 small red bell pepper, julienne cut in 3-inch long pieces

  • 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach

  • 1/2 cup straw mushrooms

  • 1/2 cup bean sprouts

  • Garnish: Chopped fresh cilantro

  • Toasted sesame seeds

For the Kimchi

Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Marinade:

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 1 green onion, chopped

  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic

  • 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil

 

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and add the beef. Toss to coat and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Place the wood ears in a bowl and cover with warm water. Allow the mushrooms to steep for 30 minutes to soften. Drain the mushrooms and discard the water.

Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package, drain and keep warm.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix.

Heat a wok or heavy skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil and when hot, add the meat and quickly stir-fry until browned, about 2 minutes. Remove and keep warm.

Add the garlic and ginger to the wok and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the onions and chiles and stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes. Next add the carrots, bell peppers, and spinach and stir-fry for 2 more minutes.

Stir the sauce into the wok and add the noodles. Continue to stir-fry until the noodles absorb the sauce. Return the beef and cook until all ingredients are hot.

To serve, place the Chap Chee on a large serving platter, garnish with the cilantro and sesame seeds and serve with the kimchi on the side.

Mongolian Beef

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This recipe and others can be found in the following article:

 Oodles and Oodles of Asian Noodles

by Nancy Gerlach, Fiery-Foods.com Food Editor Emeritus 

 

 

Ingredients

For the Beef:

  • 1 pound flank or round steak, thinly sliced in pieces 1 1/2 inches by 3/4 inches

  • 2 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying

  • 2 to 3-ounces rice vermicelli noodles

  • 4 small dried red chiles, such as piquin or Thai

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

  • 1 tablespoon hot bean sauce

  • 8 green onions, cut in 1 1/2-inch lengths

For the Marinade:

  • 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Slice the beef across grain and at an angle into thin strips. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in bowl and mix well. Add the beef and marinate, at room temperature for an hour, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours.

Heat a wok until hot, add the oil and heat to a temperature of 375 degrees F. Gently loosen the roll of noodles with your fingers and break into 3 portions. Carefully lower one of the portions of the noodles into the oil with a slotted spoon and press under the oil for 2 seconds until puffed and crisp. Immediately remove the noodles from wok and drain. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Pour off all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of the oil and reheat. Add the chiles and garlic and stir-fry for a minute. Add the beef and stir-fry until the meat is lightly browned.

Add the hoisin sauce, hot bean sauce, cornstarch and on-half cup water to the wok. Bring to a boil over medium heat and add the green onions. Simmer for a couple of minutes to thicken the sauce so it clings to the meat.

To serve, place the noodles on a platter and top with the meat.

Green Curry with Chicken and Noodles

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This curry dish is adapted from a recipe by “The King of Curry” in his recommended book, Pat Chapman’s Noodle Book. In it he says that “green curry is probably Thailand’s most popular dish, both inside and outside the country. Cooked correctly it is a delicate bland of fragrance and flavor, of subtle color laced together with creamy coconut milk. In fact the sauce is not and should not be green; it, and the chicken, is a buff-white color. It is the accompanying herbs — basil and cilantro– and, traditionally, pea aubergines, and huge numbers of tiny green Thai chiles that give the dish its greenness.” Since pea aubergines (tiny eggplants) are somewhat bitter and difficult to find, they have been eliminated in this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 9 ounces dried or 1 pound fresh egg noodles

  • 1 boneless and skinless chicken breast, sliced

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped

  • 1 2-inch piece galangal or ginger, chopped

  • 1 to 3 teaspoons Thai green curry paste

  • 1 14-ounce can coconut milk

  • 2 or 3 stalks lemon grass

  • 2 to 3 Kaffir lime leaves, shredded, omit if unavailable

  • 5 to 6 green Thai chiles, stems and seeds removed, chopped

  • 1 to 2 teaspoon fish sauce (nam pla)

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Heat a large pot of water to a boil, add the noodles and cook until “al dente.” Drain the noodles and keep warm.

Trim the stalks of lemon grass to about 3-inches in length. Trim away any hard portions, discard the outer leaves, and coarsely chop.

Heat a wok, add the oil and when hot, add the garlic, ginger, and green curry paste, and stir-fry for about one minute. Add the coconut milk, lemon grass, lime leaves, and simmer for 5 minutes stirring occasionally to allow the milk until thickened. It may look as though it is curdling, but it cannot do this so don’t worry.

Add the chicken and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Add the chiles, fish sauce, basil and cilantro and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Cut a piece of chicken to check to see that it’s done.

Immediately add the noodles, stir, and simmer until the noodles are hot.

Mustardly Deviled Eggs

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These spicy appetizers are perfect to serve with a casual brunch or even a picnic. For an even spicier recipe, add a teaspoon or two of habanero hot sauce.

Ingredients

  • 6 large hard-boiled eggs, shelled

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise

  • 1 tablespoon grated onion

  • 2 tablespoons English Red Mustard (see recipe)

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut the eggs lengthwise in half. Scoop out the yolks and place them in a boql. Mash the yolks with a fork and add the mayonnaise, onion and the English Red Mustard and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide the fillling among the egg halves, mounding it slightly. Garnish with dried pepper flakes or paprika powder. Arrange the eggs on a platter, cover, and refrigerate.

Maurice’s Spicy Chicken Wings

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These mustard-infused wings are a perfect snack when watching sporting events. If you want them spicier, simply add some hot red chile powder to the marinade.

Ingredients

  • 40 chicken wings

  • 3/4 cup soy sauce

  • 2/3 cup honey

  • 4 teaspoons vegetable oil

  • 3 tablespoons Colman’s dry (powdered) mustard

Instructions

Put the chicken wings in a large self-sealing plastic bag. Mix the soy sauce, honey, vegetable oil, and dry mustard in a bowl, then pour it into the bag. Close the bag securely and shake until all the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the chicken wings, in the bag with the marinade, for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and place a rack on top of the foil. Remove the chicken wings from the bag and place them in one layer on the rack. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the chicken wings are crisp and golden.