Sheet-Pan Japchae

[Celerity]

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025197-sheet-pan-japchae

https://archive.ph/za1Y9



Though readily available at restaurants today, japchae — the royal Korean stir-fried glass noodle dish — is traditionally a banquet affair, eaten just a few times a year at holidays and special occasions because the labor to produce it is so high. Each vegetable, among a rainbowed array, is ordinarily stir-fried individually, but in this variation, all of the vegetables roast together on the same sheet pan in color-blocked sections for ease and deliciousness. The roasted vegetables caramelize with less effort, and then need only to be tossed with the noodles and sauce, making japchae a dish within reach for any night of the week. The spinach, mushrooms and bell pepper recall key flavors of typical japchae, but you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand or prefer. Frozen spinach might not be a conventional ingredient, but it roasts beautifully and ends up tasting almost like umami-rich kale chips or roasted seaweed. You can add a drop of toasted sesame oil, if you’d like, but the toasted sesame seeds here lend enough of that quintessential aromatic nuttiness that makes japchae taste so regal.

Ingredients

Yield: 4 servings

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce, plus more to taste
1 packed tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for serving
6 ounces dangmyeon (sweet potato noodles; see Tip)

Preparation

Step 1
Position a rack in the top third of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Step 2
On a large sheet pan, arrange the spinach, mushrooms and bell pepper in three separate sections. Generously drizzle all with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Roast until charred in spots, gently stirring the vegetable sections one by one and rotating the pan halfway through, 20 to 25 minutes.

snip

[LudwigPastorius]

1. That reminds me of gagh, a Klingon delicacy.

http://www.twice-cooked.com/2014/09/28/klingon-gagh/



Ingredients

4 – 4.5 cups of Water
1 – 1.5 cups Dried Shitake Mushrooms
1 cup Dried Seaweed or Kombu
4 tbsp Agar Flakes
2 tbsp Tamari or Dark Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 Star Anise Pod
8-10 Whole Peppercorns
Half a Stick of Cinnamon

Preparation

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the water, mushrooms, seaweed, tomato paste, star anise, cinnamon, and peppercorns to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, and allow it to cook at a high simmer for about a half hour.
Using a fine mesh seive, strain the liquid out into a bowl. Remove any particulate matter from the saucepan. Measure out a scant two cups of the broth (you may actually need to add a little bit of water to get it to that level), and return it to the saucepan along with the tamari and the agar. Cook over low-medium heat for a minute or two until the agar disolves and the liquid starts to thicken.

As soon as the broth thickens, remove it from the heat. fill a pint mason jar or a tall, straight-sided drinking glass with the liquid. And then, into the liquid, insert as many drinking straws as will fit. For the best results, you’ll want to insert the drinking straws bendy-side down. And you’ll want to extend the accordion bits to achieve the wormiest ridges.

When it has cooled just a little bit, move the glass of liquid and straws into the refrigerator, and allow it to chill for 4-6 hours, or overnight. You’ll know it’s done when the liquid has solidified.

Once the broth is solid, to make the Klingon gagh, remove the straws from the jar and, using your fingers, a rolling pin, or the side of a fork, push the worms out of the straws and into a bowl.

The gagh can be eaten alone, but it is best served, I think, on a bed of Japanese-style seaweed salad, drizzled with sesame oil and sprinkled with a few sesame seeds.