



The next part of the challenge was more difficult: finding a recipe to try. I've had this book for so long, it was hard to find a recipe I hadn't made before. I chose Chapchae, a Korean noodle and vegetable stir-fry that I often grab as a snack over at the asian market. Full of garlic, sesame oil, a hint of soy sauce, and thick, chewy noodles, it isn't a lot to look at, but the end results are quite satisfying.
Chapchae
Serves 2-4 (2 as a main dish, 4 as a side)
2 ounces thick mung bean or yam noodles
2 Chinese dried black mushrooms
1/3 pound tender spinach leaves
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 small zucchini, julienned
2 medium sized mushrooms (I subbed red bell pepper - don't like fresh mushrooms), cut into matchstick pieces
2 large Chinese cabbage leaves
4 green onions
4 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 Tb. dark sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tb. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Soak the noodles in 6 cups of water for 30 minutes, then drain and set aside. Soak the mushrooms in 1 cup hot water for 20 minutes. When soft, cut off any hard stems and slice fine.
Blanch spinach in boiling water for a minute or so. Drain, then run under cold water. Squeeze as much moisture out of the spinach as you can.
Cut away the tender, curly part of the cabbage and discard. Cut the thick core crosswise into thin strips.
Cut the green onions into 2 inch sections. Quarter white sections lengthwise to make narrow strips.
Mix all the vegetables in a bowl, separating the spinach leaves.
Heat vegetable and sesame oil in a wok or large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir fry for 10 seconds. Add the vegetable mix and stir fry for 3-4 minutes, or until vegetables are just tender-crisp. Turn heat to low. Add the noodles, soy sauce, sugar, and salt. Stir well and cook for 2-3 additional minutes. Taste for seasoning (I ended up doubling the soy sauce, sugar and salt).
looks like some of your content is scrambled. The dish looks delish!
ReplyDeleteAck! Sorry about that. Blogger appears to have eaten part of my post, so I've gone back and fixed it. That'll learn me to proof read a wee bit more carefully in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt's a really wonderful book. The first section goes through each vegetable in turn, so if caulflower is really looking good you can find several recipes all together. Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Arabic, Vietnamese, Thai, pretty much everything is there and it's all delicious.
ReplyDeleteI love the retro look of that cookbook: Indian lady in saree and long hair!
ReplyDeleteI just bought one of Madhur's books, so its nice to know that your recipe worked :) looks healthy and delicious.
This does sound really delicious. I've always been curious about that book. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteGee, that's one of my favorite cookbooks and I always fall back on it when I just don't know what I feel like cooking. Mine is held together by lots of tape and a big rubber band. Very well loved.
ReplyDelete