Faux Korean Noodles

In order to use up ingredients for Korean food, I improvised a hybrid of bibim guksu (spicy noodle salad) and japchae (stir-fried noodles) this evening. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture, but you can catch a glance of very similar food at the 3:22 mark of Gangnam Style.

Vegetables

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 4 small carrots or 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
• leftover kimchi, chopped
• lemongrass fake chicken leftover from who knows when, sliced (optional)
• any other vegetables or meat you want to use up, sliced

First put a pot of water on to boil. In a wok, heat the oils. Fry the onion. When it starts to get translucent, then add the carrots. When they start to brown, add the kimchi and the fake chicken. Add any other ingredients at the appropriate times. When the vegetables are tender, turn down the burner until later.

Sauce

• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 4 tablespoons liquid from kimchi
• 8 tablespoons gochujang (red pepper paste that comes in a little plastic treasure chest thingy)
• 1 tablespoon leftover bruschetta from an appetizer the other day (optional)

For the kimchi liquid, use the juice from whatever kimchi you used in the vegetables. If you don’t have enough, just make it up with water. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Garnishes

• 2 eggs
• 2 baby cucumbers, cut into matchsticks
• 1 green onion, sliced coarsely
• a few sprigs of cilantro, de-stemmed and chopped

By this time, the water should be boiling. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the other ingredients and set aside. When the eggs are done, add the noodles (see below) to the pot immediately. Rinse the eggs with cold water, peel them, and cut them in half. Set aside.

Convergence

• 250 g dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles)

Boil the noodles for 6 minutes, then drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Add the noodles to the wok, turn the heat up again, and stir-fry them for about 3 minutes, tossing them with the vegetables and/or meat. On each plate, put a helping of noodles, then garnish with the garnishes and spoon the sauce over the top.

Serves 3.

Adapted from Maangchi’s japchae and bibim guksu.