COVID-19 Movement Control – Day 71
Lunch: Spicy mixed-up seafood noodle soup (Jjamppong)

I still have 2 stalks of dae-pa that I bought from Korean grocer. Not wanting it to go to waste, I checked on internet what I can cook with it and found this from my favourite Korean chef, Maangchi’s Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup.

Another new Korean recipe. Sourish, spicy and sweet seafood noodle soup.

Ingredients:

Vegetables:

• 1 daepa (large green onion), or 4 green onions, cut into 2 inch length
• 100g leek, washed and cut into ½ x 2 inch strips
• 100g ounces bok choy, washed
• 85g / 3 large cabbage leaves, cut into bite-size pieces
• 100g onion, sliced
• 1 small carrot, peeled and cut into 2-inch strips

Seafoods and meat:

• 4 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 100g squid, just the body with guts removed and sliced into rings
• 8 mussels (optional), scrubbed, debearded, soaked in salted water for a few hours, and washed
• 24 small clams (optional), soaked in salted water for a few hours, and washed
• 100g of thinly sliced pork belly (or beef or chicken)

Noodles and seasonings:

Bought this from a Korean grocer, $17.20 for 6 servings.

• Fresh or frozen jjajangmyeon noodles, thawed if frozen, and uncoiled
• 5 tbsp gochugaru (Korean hot pepper flakes)
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Directions:

Make the hot pepper flakes mixture:

1. Combine 2 tablespoons of hot pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil in a small bowl.
2. Mix with a spoon until well incorporated. Set aside.

Make jjamppong:

1. Heat a large wok (or pot) over high heat. Add the vegetable oil, garlic, ginger, and stir about 20 seconds with a wooden spoon until the garlic starts to turn a little crispy.
2. Add the pork and stir until slightly cooked.
3. Clear a spot in the wok by pushing the garlic, ginger, and the meat to the side. Tilt the wok so that the excess vegetable oil slides into the cleared area. Put 3 tablespoons hot pepper flakes into the hot oil and stir and mix with the wooden spoon for about 1 minute, until it creates a smoky flavor but not long enough to burn. Then stir everything in the wok together into the hot oil.
4. Add green onion, leek, cabbage, and onion and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until the vegetables are wilted.
5. Add 6 cups stock and all the seafoods and bok choy. Cover and cook 7 to 8 minutes until the mussels and clams are open and the shrimp and squid are well cooked.

6. Stir in the fish sauce, kosher salt, and the reserved hot pepper flakes mixture. Cover and let it simmer over low heat.

We added too much of anchovy stocks that the broth is a little diluted but the taste is still nice.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and stir a few times so that they don’t stick to each other.
2. Cover and cook 5 to 8 minutes until tender but still chewy.
3. Strain and rinse the noodles in cold running water to make them nice and chewy.

Put it together and serve:

1. Heat up the soup over high heat.
2. Divide the noodles into individual serving bowls. Add the soup over top and include cooked seafood, vegetables, meat over top of the noodles. Serve right away.