JAPCHAE (잡채)


Japchae or chapchae, 잡채 (Korean glass noodle stir fry with meat and vegetables) is a very popular Korean dish. It is the number one sought after dish during the Korean festive holidays (e.g. New Year’s day and Harvest festival) but it is also enjoyed on any other common day as well.

It is typically served as a side dish but it can also be served on a bed of rice (Japchae-bap, 잡채밥) as a main dish. In this case, I normally serve it with Korean black bean sauce, just like a Korean-Chinese restaurant in Korea. – I will cover that variation at some other time.

Preparing for traditional Japchae is a lot like making traditional Bibimbap. It typically requires meat and vegetables (unless you make a vegetarian version) and they are individually prepared and cooked.

Some might argue that this separate cooking process is unnecessary (I hear you! It’s cumbersome!) but by cooking them separately you can enhance their individual flavour, texture and colour better (This is really true. I had many mediocre/failed Japchae meals by stir frying it all in one skillet before). After all, they all have a different cooking point.

Well made Japchae should have a balanced sweet and savoury flavour, crunchy vegetable texture (not too raw and not too soft) and bouncy noodle texture (not mushy).


Terminology

Japchae is one of typical party(hangul is Janchi) food in korea. (ex) birthday party, wedding party..) That meaning is same Janchi guksu. Noodles's mean is long life and long happiness time for their life. The name, Japchae, comprises the two hanja words; jap (hangul: 잡, hanja: 雜, literally "mixed and stirred") and chae (hangul: 채, hanja: 菜, literally "vegetables"). Therefore, japchae literally means a mixture of vegetables.

Japchae was first made in the early 17th century, when the Joseon Dynasty was reigning in the Korean peninsula. When King Gwanghaegun hosted a big party at his palace, one of his lieges, Yi Chung, created this delicious dish to please the king’s palate. The king liked this dish so much that he rewarded his liege by promoting him to the position of hojo panseo(equivalent to the Secretary of the Treasury)


History of Japchae


the original version of japchae contained neither meat nor noodles. Dating back to the seventeenth-century Joseon (or Choson) dynasty, japchae was invented by one of King Gwangaegun’s subjects, who concocted the dish for a royal celebration. As the story goes, the king enjoyed the new dish so much that he promoted the humble servant to a position equivalent to Secretary of the Treasury!

At the time of its creation, the signature characteristics of japchae—beef and noodles—were not prevalent in the Korean diet. Rather, vegetables dominated Korean cooking. Even today, no meal is complete without an array of side dishes (banchan or panch’an) showcasing different vegetables in a variety of preparations.

The lasting influence of Buddhism is a significant factor in the centrality of vegetables to Korean cuisine. During the Koryo (or Goryeo) dynasty (which preceded the Joseon), the slaughter of cattle for food was prohibited in accordance with Buddhist beliefs. Buddhism is further reflected in the food tradition of combining numerous vegetables in a single dish to balance tastes, textures, and colors (Pettid 2008). Based on the five elements or phases (ohaeng) of East Asian cosmology, many Korean foods feature five colors: green (onion, squash, cucumber), red (chili peppers, carrots or jujubes), yellow and white (usually a separated egg fried and cut into strips) and black (dark-colored mushrooms or laver) (Pettid 2008). The spinach, carrots and mushrooms typically used in japchae, plus the garnish of a fried egg, satisfy these color requirements.

Until fairly recently, beef was a rare delicacy on Korean tables outside of the aristocracy and royal court. In addition to the legacy of Buddhism, cattle ranching was not practiced on a large scale throughout most of Korean history because of its intensive land and resource requirements. It wasn’t until the Mongols invaded the peninsula in the late thirteenth-century, establishing pastureland and breeding cattle, that beef consumption became more common (Ye 2012). However, beef eating was slow to take hold in Korea until well into the twentieth century, when the country’s growing affluence and the modernization of cattle raising made beef more affordable (Pettid 2008). Today, beef dishes are typical in Korean cooking. In the West, offerings such as bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) have become synonymous with Korean cuisine. A robust market for native Korean beef, known as Hanwoo (or Hanu), has emerged. Korean consumers prize Hanwoo over cheaper imports for its quality and freshness (Jo, et al. 2012).

Along with their penchant for beef, the Mongols also brought noodles to the Korean peninsula. Originally made from wheat and buckwheat, noodles were later made with sweet potatoes after the tubers arrived from Japan in the 1760s. Sweet potatoes became essential in areas with steep or rocky soils, unsuitable for rice and other crops. Consequently, sweet potatoes became an important famine-relief food. Eventually, japchae changed to accommodate this shift in tastes and availability. Noodles persist as an essential ingredient in japchae, a popular dish for celebrations and parties, probably because of the noodle’s symbolic significance as a wish for long life (Pettid 2008).

The transformation of japchae from vegetable dish to today’s popular noodle and beef iteration demonstrates how traditions adapt new ingredients to accommodate shifting tastes and preferences.


Types

Varieties without noodles
  • Gochu japchae (고추잡채), made with shredded fresh green chili pepper and vegetables
  • Buchu japchae (부추잡채), made with Korean chives
  • Kongnamul japchae (콩나물잡채), made with kongnamul (soybean sprouts)
  • Haemul japchae (해물잡채), made with seafood and vegetables
  • Beoseot japchae (버섯잡채), made with mushrooms

Varieties served in Korean royal court cuisine
  • Tangpyeongchae (탕평채), made with nokdumuk (mung bean starch jelly), sukjunamul (mung bean sprouts), watercress, red pepper, and various types of seaweed
  • Gyeojachae (겨자채)
  • Jokchae (족채), made with shredded jokpyeon (cow-hoof jelly) and vegetables
  • Wolgwachae (월과채), made with zucchini, beef, pyogo (shiitake), chapssal bukkumi (찹쌀부꾸미, a pan-fried variety of tteok made of glutinous rice flour), and other vegetables.[4] "Wolgwa" (월과) refers to the Oriental pickling melon (Cucumis melo var. conomon) in Korean language.[5] Nowadays zucchini has largely replaced wolgwa for making the dish due to the latter vegetable's rarity

How to make Japchae







Sources :

https://mykoreankitchen.com/korean-glass-noodle-stir-fry-japchae/

http://ikoreanfood.blogspot.co.id/2008/12/japchae-transparent-noodle-with-beef.html

https://foodfirst.org/on-the-table-japchae/

Komentar

Posting Komentar

Postingan populer dari blog ini

SAMOSA

Gambar
HISTORY The SAMOSA probably travelled to India along ancient trade routes from Central Asia. Small, crisp mince-filled triangles that were easy to make around the campfire during night halts, then conveniently packed into saddlebags as snacks for the next day's journey. According to the “The Oxford Companion to Food” the Indian samosa is merely the best known of an entire family of stuffed pastries or dumplings popular from Egypt and Zanzibar to Central Asia and West China. Arab cookery books of the 10th and 13th Centuries refer to the pastries as sanbusak (the pronunciation still current in Egypt, Syria, & Lebanon), sanbusaq or sanbusaj, all reflecting the early medieval form of the Persian word: sanbosag. Claudia Roden (1968) quotes a poem by Ishaq ibn Ibrahim-al-Mausili (9th Century) praising the sanbusaj. By the early 14th Century, it was not only a part of Indian cuisine but also food fit for a king. Amir Khusrao, prolific poet of Delhi royalty, observed in...
Baca selengkapnya

BUNNY CHOW

Gambar
Bunny Chow -Deliciously Tasty South African Street food with made with aromatic spices, meat , chickpeas and potatoes served in hollow bread. A one of a Kind Sandwich. Bunny Chow is a very unique, portable and popular South African street food that exemplifies the natural fusion of South African Cuisine. A highly spiced curry that would get any spice lover excited, my kind of peeps. Rest assured no bunnies are involve in this dish. It’s usually made with some sort of protein; Lamb, chicken or vegetables and oh so delicious! Served in a hollowed out bread bowl, makes it even more appealing for carb lovers. The term bunny is another variation from the word “Bania“, an Indian class of traders who sold this tasty street food. History of the bunny chow This only-in-South-Africa combination of Asian curry, European bread, and South African apartheid was originally created in Kapitan's Vegetarian Eating House on the corner of Victoria and Grey streets in Durban....
Baca selengkapnya

PECANS

Gambar
Pecans are a type of nut produced by the Hickory tree and are native to the south-central region of the United States and Mexico. The name “pecan” comes from an Algonquin word meaning “nut that requires a stone to crack.” Pecans resemble walnuts but tend to be longer, more slender, and smoother in appearance. Their shells, which are shaped like large pills, are spotted brown, smooth, and are thinner and easier to crack than walnut shells. Description Smooth, hard, thin, oval shell. Two-lobed, brown-skinned nut, cream-colored interior. Rich, buttery flavor. Available whole in shell; shelled halved, chopped Pecan History Pecans have played a large role in the diet and cuisine of the cultures native to pecan growing climates. Many Native American tribes relied on pecans as a staple food in the fall and winter months and even traded pecans monetarily. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Spanish and French colonists began cultivating pecans and eventually bega...
Baca selengkapnya