Doenjang Fish Cake Noodles

This noodle dish uses ingredients from my local Korean market and is definitely not an authentic Korean recipe. Like my previous Korean-style recipe, Korean-Style Pork Belly and Fish Cake Stew (韓燉魚片豬腩肉, Hon⁴ Dan⁶ Jyu⁴ Pin³ Zyu¹ Naam⁵ Juk⁶), the three principal sauce ingredients are Korean Hot Pepper Powder (고추가루, Gochugaru), Korean Hot Pepper Paste (고추장, Gochujang), and Korean Fermented Soybean Paste (된장, Doenjang) – in different ratios with the Doenjang being the principal part of the sauce in this case. The other major ingredient to make this noodle dish is Korean flat fish cake (어묵, Eomuk), which is purchased already cooked and then cut into strips. You can, of course, use another type of fish cake that’s more available to you if you cannot find Eomuk.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Korean flat fish cake (어묵, Eomuk), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) strips
½ lb.	250 g.	Snow peas (荷蘭豆, ho4 laan4 dau6)
10	10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
10.5 oz.	297 g.	One 20 oz. (566 g.) can bamboo shoot strips (筍, seon2), drained, or use fresh if available
¾ lb.	375 g.	Bean sprouts (芽菜, ngaa4 coi3)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 lb.	454 g.	One package Hong Kong noodles (雲吞麵, wan4 tan1 min6)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Korean Hot Pepper Powder (고추가루, Gochugaru)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Korean Hot Pepper Paste (고추장, Gochujang)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Korean Fermented Soybean Paste (된장, Doenjang)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Korean Flat Fish Cake (어묵, Eomuk)

Preparation Instructions

1. If using frozen flat fish cake, thaw in a covered container overnight in the refrigerator. Take the fish cake out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking and cut into ½- (15 mm.) x 2-inch (5 cm.) strips.
2. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems, and cut them into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Reserve 

   

   Korean Hot Pepper Powder
   (고추가루, Gochugaru)

   the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
3. Wash and remove the string from the snow peas by grasping each snow pea in one hand and pulling the tip the length of the snow pea with the other.
4. Open and drain the can with the bamboo shoots, or use fresh if available (wash first). Remove as much water as possible to facilitate stir frying.
5. Wash the bean sprouts and remove as much water as possible to facilitate stir frying.
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal.
8. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Korean Hot Pepper Powder, Korean Hot Pepper Paste, Korean Fermented Soybean Paste, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil.

Cooking Instructions

Korean Hot Pepper Paste
(고추장, Gochujang)

1. If using dried noodles, cook according to the instructions on the package until the noodles just become al dente, drain the noodles, and set aside. If using thawed, ready-made, or fresh noodles, “fluff” to separate the individual noodles (i.e. you don’t want put a single mass of noodles into the wok).
2. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil and then the fish cake. Stir fry the fish cake until brown by forming one layer of fish cake in the wok and leaving the fish cake alone for a while before flipping it over to brown the other side. You may have to stir fry the beef in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the browned fish cake to a bowl. Since the fish cake is already cooked, this should not take very long.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then transfer to the bowl with the fish 

   

   Korean Fermented Soybean Paste
   (된장, Doenjang)

   cake.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the snow peas. Stir fry to brown the snow peas. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic mixture to the wok, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic become fragrant. Add the contents of the wok to the bowl with the fish cake.
5. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bamboo shoots. Stir fry the bamboo shoots and then transfer to the bowl with the fish cake.
6. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bean sprouts. Stir fry the bean sprouts and then transfer to the bowl with the fish cake.
7. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil and then the noodles. The wok should be very hot before adding the oil and then the noodles. Noodles cooked in a restaurant wok (over much higher heat than that available in your kitchen) are served slightly burned, which gives the noodles an extra added flavor.  To try to emulate slightly burned noodles, try to put the noodles in one layer in the hot wok and add some Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid (but not too much liquid otherwise you’ll steam the noodles) to facilitate the heat transfer from the wok to the noodles, and leave the noodles alone. You want the noodles to get burned before adding more oil to the noodles and turning them over, repeating the process.
8. Add the green onions and the contents of the bowl with the fish cake back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and mix the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve immediately.