Japchae - Korean Sweet Potato Noodles

Ingredients:

200g Korean sweet potato starch noodles

150g beef - cut into thin strips

5 dried shitake mushrooms (soaked until softened) - sliced into thin strips

1 small onion - thinly sliced

1/2 carrot - julienned

1/4 red capsicum - thinly sliced

2 stalks spring onions - sliced

2 stalks celery - sliced

dried wood ear fungus - soaked and thinly sliced (optional)

3 cloves garlic - minced

3 slices ginger - minced

1/2 tbsp sesame seeds - toasted

Marinade - for beef:

1 tbsp light soy sauce

dash of pepper

1 tsp cornflour

2 tsp sesame oil

Seasoning (according to taste) - for noodles:

4 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp rice wine

1 tbsp sesame oil

dash of pepper

salt

• Marinate beef with marinade and leave aside for at least 30 minutes.
• Cook noodles in a pot of boiling water until soft (about 5 minutes).  Plunge them into cold water to stop the cooking process.  Drain.  Toss noodles with a little sesame oil to prevent from sticking together.
• Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat; add beef and stir-fry until just cooked.  Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Heat oil in the same frying pan and saute onion, minced garlic and ginger.  Add in shitake mushroom and fungus; stir fry for about 3 - 4 minutes. 
• Toss in vegetables and add in noodles together with seasoning. Fry until noodles are cooked through. Then add in the cooked beef. 
• Turn off heat and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds over the noodles.
• Transfer to a serving plate.