Jap Chae

This was delicious! If only we hadn't gotten greedy and tried to sauce 2lbs. of noodles with the sauce intended for 12 oz. of noodles... Yeah, maybe try following the recipe to the letter on this one, and you'll have better luck. Ours tasted pretty good, just that we had to keep adding soy sauce and sugar at the end when we were running out of the regular sauce that we'd mixed beforehand. :-P

Ingredients:

12 oz dan myun (sweet potato starch noodles)

3/4 cup tamari (wheat-free sauce from refined soy)

4 tbsps Asian sesame oil

6 tbsps sugar

2 tbsps finely chopped garlic (4 cloves)

2 tbsps olive oil

1 large onion, sliced lengthwise 1/8-inch thick (3 cups)

5 medium carrots, grated into 1/8-inch thick matchsticks (2 in. long)

2 tsps toasted sesame seeds

1/2 lb fresh shitake mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/8-inch thick (3 cups)

6 cups baby spinach

Method:

1. Cook the sweet potato noodles in a large pot of boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Be sure not to overcook the noodles, or they will lose their chewy texture.

2. Whisk together tamari, sesame oil, sugar, and garlic.

3. Heat olive oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until it just begins to smoke, then stir-fry onion and carrots until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add sesame seeds and mushrooms and stir-fry until softened, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and stir-fry 30 seconds, then add noodles and tamari mixture and toss to coat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste. Transfer to a shallow serving dish and sprinkle with more toasted sesame seeds. Serve warm or at room temperature.