I recently interviewed the owner of Kim's Asian Market, Jun, in Davis as my November food article for Davis Life Magazine. The full story went live on November 1st. It was too much fun to write the article, get a Korean cooking demo and, of course, sample all the lovely vegetarian offerings.
I became an instant fan of the sweet potato noodles Jun made. I had never heard of or seen these glassy, semi-transparent Asian noodles made with just sweet potato flour and water with a cost of just 99 cents for 12oz - what a deal! Jun prepared them with a host of vegetables, sesame oil, salt and sesame seeds - simple with a great nutty taste and terribly easy to prepare.
If you live anywhere near Davis, CA, you should bike right over and buy some from the store. A very generous portion goes for only $3.99 and you can pick up some other equally as lovely Korean delicacies. If not, you must try them at home. So easy to make and I could imagine adding some sliced, baked tofu would make it a real hearty main. I added one secret ingredient to Jun's version: garlic. I just really can't make a dish without it!
Korean Sweet Potato Noodles
Servings: 4
Time: 20 min active and total
Type: vegan
Price: <$5.00 total; I spent $2.78 at Kim's Asian Mart buying the noodles, green pepper and cabbage. I had the remaining ingredients at home
Nutrition (per serving):
Calories: 354.1
Protein: 4g
Fat: 7.3g
Saturated fat: 0.92g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 332.3mg
Carbohydrates: 74.4g
Fiber: 6.4g
12 oz sweet potato noodles, aka: oriental starch noodles or oriental vermicelli
1/2 Tbsp sesame seed oil
1/2 Tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, sliced vertically
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, sliced (on the bias if you want to be fancy)
1 green and 1 red pepper, sliced lengthwise and in half if the pepper is really long
1/2 lb napa or other chinese cabbage, perhaps bok choy might work?
3/4 cup chopped frozen spinach, for fresh use perhaps 1/2 bunch
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Bought at Kim's Asian Market in downtown Davis, CA
Ingredients already on hand.
1. Bring pot of water to boil and add package of noodles. Stir to break up and cook for 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile heat both oils in a wok or large skillet with a good sized lip. Add onion, garlic and carrot and saute over medium-low to medium heat for 3-4 minutes. You may need to turn up the heat if using a skillet. My wok is thin and heats up pretty hot!
3. Add peppers and saute another 3-4 minutes. Add cabbage, spinach and salt and saute some more - for about 3-4 minutes more. All of this sauteing really depends on how crunchy you like your veggies. I like a good bit of crunch, but Michael, in my opinion, likes mush, so it's always a bit of a battle!
4. Noodles should be about done by now so drain in a colander in the sink and add them to the wok/skillet with the veggies. Add sesame seeds. I found it to be kind of hard to mix the noodles and veggies together so when I plated I pulled out some noodles and then topped with veggies.
5. Once plated, add a drizzle of sesame oil if desired.
