Jap Chae- suck it up the Korean way!

Ever since my neighbor Sarah (of Korean origin) lent me her favorite cookbook entitled "Discovering Korean Cuisine", I became intent on trying to make Jap Chae -a noodle dish involving an array of veggies and thinly sliced beef. It seemed to be a fairly simple exercise and the vivid colors of the vegetables screamed -HEALTHY! So I began by driving down to the local Korean store and picking up the meat, noodles, pak choy and bean sprouts. This dish requires copious amounts of Sesame oil and Soy sauce and little else as far as seasonings go. I would recommend adding in some crushed garlic while frying the meat although this particular recipe did not call for it. Also have a pair of kitchen scissors handy to cut up the noodles- these potato noodles are impossibly slippery and super long. This dish falls easily into the comfort food category in my humble opinion since it has a hearty combination of starch and vegetables and is not too flamboyant in taste. The upside is that it cooks literally within minutes if you have the mise en place ready.

Recipe for Jap Chae :

8 ozSweet potato Vermicelli cooked al dente ( firm to the bite)
1/2 lb beef tenderloin sliced thinly( Optional)
1 onion sliced
1 tbsp garlic paste
8 shitake mushrooms sliced
1 bell pepper sliced
2 green onions sliced
3 cups pak choy or spinach
2 carrots julienned
1 cup of bean sprouts
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
salt to taste
Heat the vegetable oil and stir fry the beef and garlic briefly. Add in all the vegetables except the bean sprouts, soy sauce and sesame oil. Stir fry quickly over high heat and adjust seasoning. Serve garnished with the bean sprouts. For those who like hot food - a tablespoon of chili sauce can be added in while stir frying.