Jap Chae Glass Noodles

This Korean noodle recipe reminds me of the days when Denden (a former co teacher) would have the noodles brought to our school parties by our Korean students. The marriage of the the saltiness and the sweetness in the recipe is just perfect! I would often tell myself then that I would try cooking this someday. Fortunately I have found a nice and yet simple recipe on the internet (I forgot the source though). 

I cooked it first on our New Year's Eve dinner in the Philippines in 2009 and I did it again a few months ago in Australia.

Ingredients
1/2 pound dried Korean sweet potato noodles
2 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
1 tablespoon cooking oil
3/4 cup thinly sliced onions
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 stalks scallions, cut into 1″ lengths
1/2 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced (shitake, wood ear)
1/2 lb spinach, washed well and drained
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Procedure:
Fill a large pot with water and boil. When water is boiling, add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again and toss with only 1 tsp of the sesame oil. Use kitchen shears to cut noodles into shorter pieces, about 8 inches in length. Set aside.

In bowl, mix soy sauce & sugar together. Add the cooking oil in a wok or large saute pan on high heat and swirl to coat. When the cooking oil is hot but not smoking. Fry onions and carrots, until just softened, about 1 minute. Add the garlic, scallions and mushrooms, fry 30 seconds. Then add the spinach, soy sauce, sugar and the noodles. Fry 2-3 minutes until the noodles are cooked through. Turn off heat, toss with sesame seeds and the remaining 1 1/2 tsp of sesame oil.

Note: You can buy the glass noodles at any asian stores if you are abroad and in Korean shops if you are in the Philippines.