Japchae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Japchae | |
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Korean name | |
Hangul: |
잡채
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Hanja: | |
Revised Romanization: | Japchae |
McCune-Reischauer: | Chapch'ae |
Japchae (also spelled jabchae or chapchae) is a Korean dish made from sweet potato flour cellophane noodles (called dang myeon), stir fried in sesame oil with sliced beef and various vegetables (typically thinly-sliced carrots, onion, spinach, and mushrooms), flavoured with soy sauce, and sweetened with sugar. It is usually served garnished with sesame seeds and slivers of chili.
Japchae is most commonly served as a side dish, though it may also be ordered as a main dish. It is also often served on a bed of rice; together with rice it is known as japchae-bap (잡채밥).
[edit] History
Japchae was first made in the early 17th Century, when the Chosun Dynasty was reigning in the Korean peninsular. When the king, Kwanghea-Gun, hosted a big party at his palace, one of his lieges, Choong Lee, created this delicious dish to please the king’s palate. The king liked this dish so much, he rewarded his liege by promoting him to the Secretary of the Treasury. At the time, Japchae was made with a variety of vegetables and mushrooms, such as sliced cucumber, shredded daikon, and shiitake mushroom. Although Dangmyun (sweet potato starch vermicelli noodle) was added in the 20th Century, Korean people loved the texture of this noodle so much, Dangmyun has been the first ingredient people would list when they shop for making Japchae.
The name, Japchae, literally means a mixture of vegetables ('Jap' means a mixture,and 'chae' means vegetables). This dish is served at Korean celebration parties and special occasions. Any vegetables that are in season can be added.
A Korean mother's cooking notes (Unknown Binding), by Son-yong Chang [1]