How to make vegetarian japchae

I recommend preparing your vegetables first. If you're fast at chopping, you might not need to. If you are using dried Shiitake mushrooms, make sure to soak them In water for 2 hours beforehand.

Cut the carrots into matchsticks. Onion and mushrooms into thin strips. (A handful of mushrooms should do, but I like them a lot so I use a bit more.) Chop green onion into large pieces.

Boil noodles 2-3 minutes. Drain. Do not rinse with cold water. Refill the pot with hot water and return to a boil for the spinach.

Add noodles to a LARGE bowl and drizzle with sesame oil and a bit of soy sauce to coat. Cut several times with kitchen scissors. I like to keep this covered to retain heat.

Add spinach to boiling water, Cover and blanch for 1 min. Drain. Rinse 3 times, squeeze to drain excess water. Place on a cutting board and cut a few times. Add to bowl of noodles. drizzle sesame oil.

Heat skillet, add a little olive oil and Sauté carrots for 1 minute. Add to bowl with noodles and spinach.

Add olive oil to same skillet, add mushrooms, onion, minced garlic, a little soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add to noodle bowl.

Lastly sauté green onion in a little olive oil for 1 minute, then add to noodle bowl.

You should now have noodles covered in all the veggies.

Add 3 tablespoons sugar, sesame oil and pepper to taste. Mix well and enjoy!! You can garnish with sesame seeds if you have them.

Finished JapChae!