Dad's Birthday and Noodles with Vegetables and Beef (jap-chae)

Thank you for the ones who left me sweet comments about Tobey! I really appreciate it. :) He is doing much better. In one week, I have to take him back to get his stitches remove. We will finally move the cone on his head... lol~ I'm really looking forward to that, because that thing hurts when he runs towards you. :X

Thanks again y'all!!! :)

This week has been very busy for me with Tobey (wake up early, feed him medicine 2X a day, take him out many times a day for the bathroom, put warm compress 4X a day, etc...), as well as, my dad's birthday. My dad's birthday was on Thursday. I woke up early to cook for him. It took me 4 and a half hours of cooking!!!... eek~ :X
I made mi-yuk gook/seaweed soup (click here for the recipe), bu-chim gae or hea-mul jeon/seafood pancake (click here for the recipe), kim-chi jeon/kim-chi pancake (click here for the recipe), and jap chae. I know jap chae is a requested recipe and I apologize it took me this long to post it up!!! I just don't make this often because it takes a long time to make this dish. I tend to make it during special days like my dad's birthday. I hope you guys like it! :)

If you need some guidance with the ingredients, you can check my Korean Cooking 101. ;)

Ingredients:
water
5 shiitake mushroom
olive oil or any cooking oil
lots of chopped garlic
1/2 onion
3 carrots
2 eggs
salt
beef
spinach
sesame oil
noodle
sesame seeds
sugar
soy sauce

Step 1:
First thing you want to do it take out the dried shiitake mushroom and soak it in water for 2 hours. The mushroom will get bigger and softer.

Step 2:
Cut your onion in thin, long strips. You will be using the frying pan pretty often. In the frying pan, add oil and chopped garlic. Then cook the onion. Once the onion is done, toss it in a big bowl.
Cut your carrots into long, thin strips. Do the same thing as above cook it in the frying pan with oil, chopped garlic, and carrots. Then toss it in the same big bowl.

One of the things I do in between frying is clean the frying pan with a dry towel paper. It helps the next vegetable not to be discolored. ;)
In a small bowl, crack the eggs. I add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of water. The water helps the eggs become more liquidity to fry. Fry the egg on both sides and cut them in long, thin strips. Toss it in the same big bowl.
In a small bowl, add these small mushrooms for 20 minutes in water. I have no clue what they're called... lol~ Then squeeze the small mushrooms to get the water out. I chop them up in small pieces, and fry them in oil and garlic. Then toss in the same big bowl. If you don't know what this is, you can skip this part. It isn't important to have them. ;)
After 2 hours of soaking the shiitake mushroom in water, squeeze the water out. Then chop them in thin, long strips. Fry them in oil and garlic. Then toss them in the same big bowl.
I soak my beef in hot water until the blood runs out. Once it stops bleeding, I cut them in small pieces. I fry them in garlic and black pepper. Then toss it in the big bowl.
In a pot, add water and wait until it boils. While you're waiting for the water to boil, cut the ends of the spinach and clean it. Once the water boils, add the clean spinach. You will leave the spinach in the hot water for 3 minutes.
Then drain the water and squeeze the spinach with your hands. I cut them into small pieces which makes eating them easier. Then in a small bowl, I add the ingredients pinch of salt, chopped garlic, and sesame oil. I mix them and throw it in the big bowl.
This is how the big bowl will look like.

Step 3:
I don't know which noodles are good, but I used this one. It came out great to me... hehe~ ;)
In a pot, add water and wait until it boils. Once it boils, add the noodle. You cook it until it becomes soft. It takes about 5-10 minutes depending on the noodle. Then drain the water like you do spaghetti.
Then I fry it in oil and garlic. It makes the noodles more transparent, as well as, makes it easier to mix with the vegetables. Then throw it in the big bowl.

I forgot to take a picture of all of them in the big bowl *sigh*. Sorry!!! :X Basically, you mix the noodle with the vegetables and beef. You add soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and sugar. The most crucial ingredients is sugar and soy sauce.
It should look like this at the end... yummy!~!~ :)

This is the traditional way of making this dish. It takes longer to make this than the modern way. The modern way is to cut all the vegetables and fry them together. It takes less time, but I think the traditional way taste better! ;) It is up to you which one you want to do... hehe~


I'm going to end this post with a freebie... wheee~ ;)
Here's another coupon that is still usable (click here for the coupon). It expires in December of this year. I hope you like it!!! :)