Recipes: fried vegetable

Serves: 2-3

Scramble the Eggs:

1. Whisk eggs in a bowl and set aside.

2. Heat a large non-stick skillet or wok on low heat. Add in a knob of butter.

3. Once the butter has almost melted, pour in the whisked egg. Scramble the eggs by allowing them to slightly set against the surface of the pan before using a spoon or spatula to gently pull the eggs from the edges of the pan back into the centre. Tilt your pan to allow the runny part of the eggs to make contact with the pan and set. Be gently to create long soft ribbons/chunks of egg. Switch off the heat before all the egg has set. (The eggs will continue to cook) Do not overcook your eggs. You want them to be soft. 

4. Carefully transfer your eggs to a plate.

Assembling the rest: 

1. Wipe your pan clean with a kitchen paper towel. Add oil and heat your pan to high.

2. Add garlic and white parts of the spring onions. Saute until fragrant.

3. Add diced tomatoes and break down in the pan to create a thick sauce.

4 Add in sugar and soy sauce.

5. Add in chunks of tomato and stir to mix.

6. Taste for seasoning.

7. Add in the rest of the spring onions and take your pan off the heat.

8. Add the scrambled eggs into your tomato mix. Roughly fold through, taking care not to break up the egg too much in the stir fry.

Enjoy! 

Have a big mixing bowl ready.

You will make each component of your jap chae separately and then transfer it into the mixing bowl. 

A. Marinate the beef and mushrooms:

Into a small bowl, add:

• marinated beef bulgogi
• mushrooms

Mix together until well combined, then cover and refrigerate. 

B. Make the egg garnish:

1. Beat the egg yolks with a pinch of salt.

2. Add 1 tsp oil to a heated non-stick pan.

3. Turn off the heat and pour the egg mixture into the pan.

4. Tilt your pan so that the egg spreads thinly. Let the egg cook using the residual heat in the pan.

5. Flip over the egg and let it sit in the pan for another minute.

6. Once cool, slice the egg into very thin strips and set aside.

C. Prepare the Spinach:

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil.

2. Add spinach and blanch for 30-60 seconds.

3. Remove spinach into a colander and rinse in cold water to stop it from further cooking.

4. Squeeze the spinach with your hands to remove any excess water.

5. Cut the spinach into smaller pieces, then place in a corner of your large mixing bowl

6. Season your pile of spinach with:

• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil

D. Prepare the noodles:

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the noodles, and cook for 7 minutes (make sure to stir the noodles so thye don't stick together)  

2. Strain noodles and cut with scissors so that the strands are not too long.

3. Place noodles in a pile in the mixing bowl next to the spinach.

4. Add to your noodles and mix:

• 4 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar

E. Prepare the vegetables

1. Heat up a skillet over med-high heat with 2 tsp of oil 

2. Add onions and a pinch of salt. Stir fry for about 2 mins until the onion looks translucent and transfer into the mixing bowl 

3. Reheat the same skillet and add oil.

4. Add carrots and capsicum and stir fry for 1 minute (or too your liking. Some people prefer softer vegetables) 

5. Transfer mix to the mixing bowl.

F. Cook the beef and mushrooms

1. Reheat the skillet and add oil.

2. Add the beef and mushroom mix and stir fry for a few minutes until the beef is cooked through.

3. Transfer mix to the mixing bowl.

G. Final assembly of the dish

Now that all you have prepared and placed all the different components of this dish into your mixing bowl, add the final seasoning and mix:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2T soy sauce
• 2T sugar
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp sesame oil

Garnish your jap chae with the egg strips and toasted sesame seeds.

This dish is best served at room temperature.

Prepare the Mushrooms

1. Rehydrate the wood ear mushrooms in a bowl with boiling water and leave them to soak for about 30 mins. Once ready, drain away water, squeeze out excess water and cut out any hard central bits.Roughly chop and set aside.
2. Remove any dirt/debris from the fresh mushrooms with a pastry brush (natural hair brush, not silicone). Give the mushrooms a wipe with kitchen paper towel if necessary.
3. Chop the king mushrooms into small pieces (3-5mm).
4. Remove the hard woody stems from the shitake mushrooms and chop into small pieces - cut all mushrooms to the same size.
5. Slice away and discard the bottom part of the enoki mushroom (like removing the woody ends off asparagus spears). Cut the stems into 2cm lengths.

Time to Cook

Tip: Cook your mushrooms in batches. Do not overcrowd your pan as your mushrooms will stew. I cooked my mushrooms in 3 separate batches

1. Heat a large skillet on high and add 3 T olive oil.  Add in 1/3 of the chopped garlic. Saute and let it sizzle for about 20 minutes.
2. Add in 1/3 of the chopped king mushrooms and 1/3 of the chopped shitake mushrooms. Stir to coat the mushrooms in the garlicky oil. Let the mushrooms cook in the pan, giving it a stir every now and then to prevent burning. The mushrooms should shrink in size and develop colour.
3. Add in 1/2 tsp salt and stir through.
4. Add in 1 1/2 T vegetarian oyster sauce and stir through. Be careful not to burn the sauce.
5. Add in 1/3 of the chopped enoki mushrooms and stir through. When the enoki mushrooms wilt a little, you can add in 1/3 of the chopped wood ear mushrooms.
6. Give everything a good stir through and add crack pepper.
7. Your mix is ready when the mushrooms have shrunk in size, dehydrated in the pan and developed colour and depth of flavour.
8. Throw in 1/3 of the chopped coriander.
9. Taste and season further if necessary.
10. Place prepared mushroom mix in a large mixing bowl.
11. Now repeat and make another two batches of shiitake & king oyster mushroom, adding each completed batch into the same large mixing bowl.

When all three batches are prepared, mix them altogether in the mixing bowl to combine. There should be 650-700g of mushroom mix, ready to use.

Serve with noodles or rice

Serves 4-6 as a side

1. Mix all the ingredients together.

2. Pour oil into a deep fry pan, enough to coat the base with 1cm of oil.

3. When the oil is hot enough, dollop corn mix into rounds into the pan, leaving room between each fritter. Fry until the bottom is golden then flip. Continue to fry the other side until golden. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.

Serve immediately.