“Why was it so difficult to get rid of things you couldn’t even look at? When would he ever be able to think about the past without such a crushing sense of sadness?”
― Nancy Jooyoun Kim, What We Kept to Ourselves
This week’s theme was Clear, which was very perplexing. What foods are clear? Ice? Jello?
It’s too cold for frozen desserts, and I loathe Jello, so I had to do some research. Google pointed me to glass noodles, which are noodles made with sweet potato starch that turn bouncy and translucent when cooked. They are a key ingredient in japchae, a delicious Korean stir-fry.
To pair with this crystal-clear meal, I read a book full of murky secrets: What We Kept to Ourselves by Nancy Jooyoun Kim.
The book
The title of this novel is apt, because it is all about family secrets and secrets kept from the rest of the world. Sunny, a Korean woman who moves to America for marriage and children, finds herself trapped in an unhappy marriage to John, who won't let her work and discourages her painting hobby. Sunny's life changes when she meets RJ, who becomes a friend to her and her children. But RJ's investigations into corruption at the police department put him, his family, and Sunny's family in danger. There is a lot going on in this novel — the drama of RJ's investigation, the conflict between Sunny and John and their kids, Sunny's feelings about leaving Korea for America, with the backdrop of the racial tensions in LA in the early 90s. With the time skips, I also lost track of the plot sometimes, but that could have also been the audiobook narration. The narrator was so calm, her tone ruined some of the more dramatic parts for me. The ending also felt a little unresolved to me, but I was glad Sunny got to reunite with her family.
The food
There are several Korean dishes mentioned in this book: kimbap, kimchi and jjigae to name a few.
Japchae is featured near the beginning of the novel. Ronald, Sunny and John’s teenage son, decides to cook this dish for his father and sister in honor of their mother, who is missing. But much of the dinner goes uneaten after the conversation turns sour.
For my japchae, I used a recipe from RecipeTin Eats.
First, cook your glass noodles, marinate your meat and chop up all your vegetables. Chopping is the most time consuming part of this recipe. The rest comes together very quickly.
After all the veg is prepped and the meat is marinating, make the sauce. It’s important to make the sauce in a large bowl, because you’re going to layer all the ingredients as they are cooked and then mix all at once.
Cooked glass noodles go in first. Then cook the vegetables in two batches and add them to the bowl on top of the noodles and sauce. Lastly, cook the marinated beef and add it to the bowl. Then mix everything together.
The verdict? I was worried I wouldn’t like the texture of the glass noodles — they are bouncier than wheat pasta — but they really work in this stir-fry, and are the perfect texture for slurping. The flavors are simple but delicious and the abundance of vegetables and lean meat makes it filling without being too heavy. Plus, japchae comes together easily enough that I could make it a weeknight meal, especially if I got pre-cut vegetables or used a chopping box for the onions and peppers.
Next week: Root Vegetables