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Marcus - K-Town Noodles
Marcus - K-Town Noodles
from
MARCUS
OFF
DUTY:
THE
RECIPES
I
COOK
AT
HOME
©
2014
by
Marcus
Samuelsson.
Reproduced
by
permission
of
Houghton
Mifflin
Harcourt.
All
rights
reserved.
K-‐Town Noodles
Serves
4
When
we
were
filming
Top
Chef
Masters
in
Los
Angeles,
we
ate
in
Koreatown
(known
as
K-‐Town
to
the
locals)
all
the
time,
and
I
discovered
that
L.A.
has
some
of
the
best
Korean
street
food—not
only
in
the
country,
but
in
the
world.
With
some
second-‐generation
Korean
staff
members
as
my
guides,
I
learned
much
about
the
bold
and
hearty
notes
of
Korean
home
cooking.
To
me,
this
dish
is
luxury,
and
it’s
become
my
default
quick
supper
instead
of
pasta.
When
I
peel
the
cucumber
for
these
noodles,
I
do
it
only
partially,
leaving
strips
of
peel
so
the
cucumber
looks
striped.
The
noodles
are
equally
great
hot
or
at
room
temperature.
5–6
ounces
very
thin
bean
thread
noodles
½
cup
soy
sauce
3
tablespoons
sesame
oil
2
garlic
cloves,
chopped
1
tablespoon
sugar
1
tablespoon
canola
oil
1
medium
yellow
onion,
thinly
sliced
3
medium
carrots,
peeled
and
cut
into
thin
2-‐inch
sticks
1½
cups
shiitake
mushrooms,
stemmed
and
thinly
sliced
3
cups
baby
spinach
½
seedless
cucumber,
peeled
so
it’s
striped,
and
diced
½
cup
Korean
kimchi
(see
Note)
2
scallions,
chopped
1.
Put
the
noodles
in
a
large
bowl,
cover
with
warm
water,
and
let
soak
until
softened,
about
10
minutes.
Drain
in
a
colander.
2.
Bring
a
4-‐quart
saucepan
of
water
to
a
boil.
Add
the
noodles
and
cook
until
tender,
about
2
minutes.
Drain
in
a
colander
and
rinse
under
cold
water
until
cool.
Reserve.
3.
Put
the
soy
sauce,
sesame
oil,
garlic,
and
sugar
in
a
blender
and
blend
until
smooth.
4.
Heat
the
canola
oil
in
a
deep,
12-‐inch
heavy
skillet
over
high
heat
until
it
just
begins
to
smoke.
Add
the
onion
and
carrots
and
stir-‐fry
until
softened,
about
3
minutes.
Add
the
mushrooms
and
continue
to
stir-‐fry
until
they
soften.
Add
the
spinach
and
stir-‐fry
for
about
30
seconds,
then
add
the
noodles
and
the
soy
sauce
mixture
and
toss
to
coat
the
noodles
and
vegetables.
Lower
the
heat
and
simmer,
stirring
occasionally,
until
most
of
the
liquid
is
absorbed,
3
to
5
minutes.
5.
To
serve,
toss
the
cucumber,
kimchi,
and
scallions
into
the
noodles
and
then
divide
among
four
bowls.