This sweet n' spicy Korean stir fry is food truck greatness, right here. Saucy noodles, bright crunchy veggies and a spicy sweet sauce made with ginger, garlic and Gochujang. It's a perfect weeknight dinner because it's ready in only 20 minutes.
Happy Friday Everyone! We're gonna enter homemade food truck heaven as we sail into the weekend. Here's the deal. Friday nights are my favourite part of the week. For me they've always been about quick and fun dinners, a glass of wine and making some weekend plans. It's so often that when people are going to order takeout they do it on a Friday night. It's dinners collective night off.
Well, why don't we skip takeout and make something fun at home. Grab your noodle bowls, and a glass of wine and we'll make this stir fry together in 20 minutes and then you can go make some big weekend plans. K?
A few things to note about this recipe.
- It does not require extra salt. The only seasoning in this stir fry comes from the sauce where we used light soy sauce and some fish sauce. If you love salt then you may want to add more. For us, it was perfect as is.
- This sauce makes quite a lot. A first, I thought I was only going to use half of it, but I did end up using it all. We like sauce. You can get away with halving the recipe or freezing the rest, if you don't like it too saucy.
- Garnishes are the name of the game in this recipe. Please add your favourites. I listed in the recipe what I used, but please don't limit yourself. Chillies, peanuts, scallions, and any thing else you might love.
How to make a proper Korean Stir Fry at home?
It all starts with proper Korean condiments. Most importantly it starts with gochujang. It's a fermented Korean chilli paste made from brown rice. Be careful. It's spicy. Usually somewhere around 2 tablespoons is plenty for a stir fry for 2 large, food truck sized portions. Because it's Friday. And on Fridays we go big or we go home.
Then, we grab veggies. This can be a clean out the crisper drawer affair and that's just fine. Peppers that are a little bit past their prime are welcome around this stir fry. It's Friday. There is stuff in that crisper that hasn't seen the light of day since Monday. Let's use it. The key to making a great stir fry is what's called mis en place. It's a French cooking term which just means everything in place.
How to practice mis en place?
To create a stir fry that is worthy of the very best noodle houses in the land, you need everything ready to go as soon as you start cooking. Mis en place refers to having all of your veggies sliced and diced, your noodles cooked and ready to go and your sauce mixed and ready for action. I've learned a lot in 10 years as a professional chef, and mis en place is the one thing that I will never let go of. You can relieve 95% of cooking stress when you have all your ingredients laid out before you and ready for you as soon as your ready for it.
Sweet N' Spicy Korean Stir Fry Noodles Step By Step
- Slice all your vegetables about the same size so they all cook at the same time.
- Have your noodles cooked and all your toppings ready to go, so that you can get those noodles while they're hot and fresh!
Get your oil hot. Really hot. So that once those veggies hit that pan, they're cooked in minutes and still have vibrance and crunch to them. This recipe is using toasted sesame oil, and that has a pretty high smoke point, so you can get it nice and hot without worrying about it smoking out the kitchen.
And that's all there is to it. You can serve with with rice too, but I feel like it just goes better with noodles. Wholewheat noodles are a lovely texture and taste addition.
Happy weekending, folks! See you next week!
Sweet N' Spicy Korean Stir Fry Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 x 6 ounce sirloin steak
- 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 10 chestnut mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 x spring greens cabbage
- 3 nests whole wheat egg noodles cooked
For the sauce
- ¼ cup light soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons gochujang paste
- 1 teaspoon corn starch diluted in 1 teaspoon of water
- 1 Tablespoon Chinese rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger minced
For the toppings
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
- 4 radishes thinly sliced (I use this mandolin)
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup crispy fried onions
Instructions
- If you are using cooked noodles then start by slicing your vegetables and placing them on a plate or chopping board ready for the stir fry. If you are boiling your noodles, cook them while you slice the veggies.
- Prepare the garnishes and the sauce.
For the sauce, whisk all the ingredients in a measuring jug and set aside until ready to use.
For the garnishes, slice the radishes, chop the cilantro and prep the pomegranate.
- In a non stick skillet heat the sesame oil. While it’s heating, season the steak with salt and pepper. Sear the steak on both sides until desired doneness. Depending on your steak it’s usually about 2 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove the steak from the pan and leave on a plate to rest.
- Toss the vegetables in the hot skillet and stir fry until tender, but with a bit of a bite. Add ½ the sauce and stir fry until the sauce comes to a boil. If you prefer more sauce, use the remaining.
- If your happy with the level of sauciness, freeze or fridge the rest for your next at home food truck experience.
Albert says
Everything about this stir-fry sounds amazing, so much depth in flavors...this is excellent
Simon says
Made this last night, it was really good. I used ground beef since I didn't have any steak. Did a quick soy/garlic/sugar/sesame marinade on it.
Will def make again! Thank you
Debs says
That's awesome Simon! Your version sounds soooo good!