*"Ahn-nyong"* ...from my very Malaysian kitchen~

After weeks of attempting Korean words; I'm still struggling at "hello", "goodbye", "you", "me" and "love". *laughs* I guess I don't learn foreign languages too quickly. I blame it on my deteriorating memory. *shakes head*
I first heard of potato noodles (Jap-Chae) from Jo about a week ago and was intrigued by how similar it was to "bean vermicilli" cellophane noodles often found in Chinese cuisine. They are both stringy, elastic and transparent when cooked and prepared in almost similar manners. I couldnt wait to try making it on my own!
I invited a Korean over for some vegetarian Jap-Chae; slipped into my apron and dived straight into my potato-noodle attempt! I've never seen or tasted these noodles at Korean restaurants and I felt I needed someone to keep me in line with how they should be made/taste. Jo didn't come to lunch empty handed. His thoughtful mom had prepared some marinated pork slices for me to dish out for everyone at lunch. I was to add onions and shallots to the stirfry and BoY~ did it taste GOOD~! I loved the meat marinade she had done. According to Jo, she makes the sauce at home on her own with special ingredients and juices from fresh fruit! I can't wait to talk to her more about her recipes for marinating meat and hopefully learn a couple of secrets from her.The preparation for jap-chae were pretty straightforward and my first attempt was pretty impressive for a Malaysian cook who's almost oblivious to flavors of Korean cuisine. Jo mentioned that I had purchased the wrong "shape" of noodles as Jap-chae was made with thin round strings of potato noodles instead of the flat ones I've used today. He said I did lunch really well; but it was just the texture of the flat noodles that were not spot on. *does a victory dance*!~ Haha..I'm happy the Korean was impressed, us Malaysians had a satisfying lunch too! I thought the noodles were tasty! We've never had them flat or round...so it didn't really make a difference to us! *shrug*

1 carrot sliced into thin strips
1 onion sliced into thin rings
3 cloves garlic diced
4 stalks chives chopped into long strips
2 stalks shallots sliced diagonally
2 stalks Spinach chopped into large sections
1 red chili sliced thinly
4 cakes potato noodles
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 cup water
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp mirin
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
sesame seeds to garnish

Heat stock in a wok. Add noodles and stir about till noodles are transparent and cooked through. Drain noodles and leave aside. Add oil to the wok and add in all other condiments but the spinach. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes and throw in noodles, soy sauce, spinach, water and loosen noodles and toss condiments well on high flames to combine. Season with salt and pepper and dish out.
Sliced Shitake mushrooms or shredded omelette strips could be added to the recipe if you like. I had eggs, but mushrooms aren't exactly my favorite things :P hehe...
I even attempted my favorite spinach Banchan (korean side-dish) with the extra lot of spinach I had leftover. Jo's mom casually spoke about how it was done at lunch the other day and I reproduced it from what I remembered of the conversation. Surprisingly, despite my failing memory; It turned out great! I guess I have elephant-memory only when it comes to all things edible *wink*