Jap chae

This is my mom's favorite Korean dish. She could eat oodles of these noodles. It is an easy recipe, and easily adaptable. I made it recently for an impromptu, outdoor dinner party and it was a perfect summer nom. (And it got perfect-er and perfect-er with every blueberry gin & tonic used to wash it down...)

Ingredients:
- 1 pkg. cellophane noodles (aka "glass noodles" - these can also be found labeled "sweet potato starch" noodles or "bean thread" noodles or just "Korean starch noodles")
- 1 block of tofu, drained well or 3/4 lb. thinly sliced beef or pork
- 1 egg, fried
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 3 scallions, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, matchstick sliced
- 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. mushrooms (shitake perchance?)
- a handful of spinach if you have some, or some other green
- 1 1/2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
- sesame oil
- canola oil
- soy sauce
- ~ 1 tbsp. sugar
- black pepper

First, you cook the noodles. If you are using the bean thread variety, I recommend you rinse the noodles in cold water first. Then, add them to a large pot of boiling water and cook them for ~5 minutes. It really does not take long. Drain them in a colander. You will notice that, wow, they are very, very long, these noodles. Cut them with kitchen scissors and set them aside (you can toss them in a wee bit of oil to make them less sticky, too, if you want.)

Then, heat up some canola oil in a wok or saute pan and saute your garlic, scallions (the white parts), and onions. Add the tofu or meat, and saute ~2 mins. Add the carrots and mushrooms and saute until just softened. Then, add the spinach, sugar, soy sauce, and pepper. Saute just to wilt the spinach and then transfer everything to a large bowl.

Add the noodles to the bowl, along with a drizzle of sesame oil, tossing everything together as you go. Sprinkle everything with sesame seeds, and ta-da, jap chae!