Can I cook Japchae with our community gardens’ foods?

Today before weeding the dill, I looked around the Bread of Life Community Garden to see whether ingredients for Japchae have been planted. I started this project during lunch at my favorite Korean restaurant in South Bend, IN, Hancook on Lincoln Way West.

Japchae to-go from Hancook in South Bend, Indiana, and my Korean Food 101 reference book

Surprisingly for Japchae, the restaurant did not include spinach; however, it IS planted at the community garden at Bread of Life Food Pantry (BoL). I will add some from my kitchen before eating the leftovers.

The BoL garden also has onions and peppers in these same beds, and I’m going to ask if I can plant green onions (although the Japchae recipes usually call for yellow onions, I use green onions in lots of other dishes).

I’ll make a list of the plants at the community garden next to the Plymouth Senior Center when I go to Thursday’s Craft Circle (10 a.m; all adults welcome; some adult granddaughters attend).

You can buy small packages of glass noodles (Dangmyeon) at Kroger or large bags at Asian markets (e.g., Saigon Market in South Bend, etc.). And I use forest-raised pig/pork from Tanglewood Acres and delivered by Market Wagon and sometimes shrimp.

Here’s a link to a recipe prep video by the fun-to-watch and talented Maangchi (I have her cookbook):