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Japchae happens

  Sometimes a course change can happen on a dime. A reality other than the one we planned on seemingly hangs from a fine thread. The storm that brought it upon us leads us to determine that the thread is made of the strongest of materials. It becomes what we are made of.

Today's star is the amazing Emily Kim, born Kim Kwang-sook, but known affectionately around the world as Maangchi. Described by the New York Times as YouTube's Korean Julia Child, she owns stock in a sizable piece of my Korean culinary education.

Close to a decade after this teacher/family counselor migrated to North America, she took up gaming for a post-divorce pastime. Her avatar, a small girl who fought crime with a large hammer was named Maangchi, which is Korean for hammer. In 2007 she started making videos teaching how to make authentic Korean food and for the lack of a channel name, Maangchi was born.

Maangchi is what I would like to call unsinkable and in that way, the name Hammer seems just right. She sports a quirky sense of humor and when it comes to Korean food, she has universal respect. I am sure if you were to ask her today if she ever thought that this is where she would end up she would tell you, no way.

I have had many junctions like this in my life.  In fact, many people were born due to what I did in a one-hour block on a Saturday night 33 years ago. Such a singular thing brings about incredible change and possibilities. 

Monday night's Japchae, sweet potato starch noodles with vegetables and meat is like that. The noodles have a unique clear look to them that when cooked by themselves in a sauté pan, can look a bit questionable, but they are a wild card. The possibilities they bring to a dish are endless. 

There is a dish called Japchae Hotteok which is everything in this recipe except the meat, but it is then fully wrapped in a ball of homemade dough and deep fried into a savory donut and dipped in blissful sweet, spicy, and/or savory sauces. Yeah, possibilities man, that is what I am talking about.

Sweet potato starch noodles change everything for the better, who knows what they will end up in next?



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