| Chef Chris Burchell with his Cold Chap Chae (Photos: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune) |
Cold Chap Chae is one of those recipes that spell "home and family comfort" to Chris Burchell.
Granted, it’s a Korean dish, but then Burchell, the chef at Blakely Care Center in Bowling Green, is half
Korean.
"This is something my mother has made as long as I can remember," he said. "It basically
is a noodle dish that can be served either hot or cold."
It’s a 99 percent certainty that chap chae will be on the menu at any Korean restaurant you visit,
Burchell said. "This is one of the core set of dishes, one that probably any Korean restaurant
would serve," albeit usually in the hot variation.
A sweet-salty flavored dish, Burchell particularly loves its "aromatic vegetables – a bouquet of
aromas and flavors."
Burchell was actually born in Korea and lived there until moving with his parents to Toledo at 18 months
of age. His father was a U.S. serviceman who met and fell in love with his mother, a Korean citizen.
He’s been back to Korea only three times since – for visits at ages 7, 13 and 17.
But that hardly means he’s unfamiliar with the cuisine.
"I had a lot of Korean food growing up. I got off from school at 3 and mom got off work at 3
too" and she would then cook an early Korean supper for the two of them. "My dad got off work
at 5 and then we would sit down for an American meal, so I had both" types of food every day.
When it was time for him to choose a career, he first planned on engineering but later got interested in
culinary training. He ended up enrolling at the International Culinary Academy in Pittsburgh in 1996,
feeling the school’s 18-month curriculum was "the best bang for the buck." It’s now called Le
Cordon Bleu Culinary School.
His first job out of college was at a high-end catering company that operated out of Heinz Hall, the
theater in which the Pittsburgh Symphony performs. In 1999 he became executive chef for the company.
Later, Burchell and the general manager ended up partnering with each other to form their own company,
Truffles and Flourishes, and won the Heinz Hall contract themselves.
They operated the company until 2007, when Burchell decided he needed a job that would allow him more
time with his only child, a daughter now 12.
"It just got to be too much, too many nights and too many weekends."
Burchell moved back to Toledo where he was invited by the Genoa Retirement Village to become their chef.
"I thought, ‘why not?’ I ended up really enjoying being the chef of a retirement facility."
His next gig was as chef at the Avenue Bistro in Sylvania, but "it didn’t take long for me to
realize why I got out of (restaurant work) in the first place. I enjoy the freedom and creativity that a
restaurant can provide a chef, but the nights and weekends are too much."
In April 2010 he started working for Blakely. Since coming on board he’s created a personalized four-week
cycling set of menus for the Poe Road facility. It includes new recipes as well as proven resident
favorites.
Jessica Blakely, co-owner of the facility, noted Burchell’s chicken salad wrap and his bean salad are
summer favorites.
He has not yet introduced cold chap chae on the Blakely menu, but he has served a similar noodle dish.
Chap chae has built-in versatility. Certain ingredients, “like the
noodles, onions, mushrooms and probably zucchini are the core, then you
can add anything to it you want.”
His mother made it with pork, beef, chicken or even shrimp. Extra
vegetables she liked to toss in included bell peppers, radishes,
spinach, turnip and cabbage.
“Whatever you’ve got, (but) probably not tomatoes.”
The recipe calls for sesame oil and Burchell said any brand is fine, as
long as it’s 100 percent pure sesame oil and not a blend.
But he’s choosy about the noodles.
“The particular noodles this dish requires are actually made from sweet
potato. I believe they are able to absorb more flavor than a rice noodle
or a flour noodle.”
The sweet potato vermicelli noodles, called dang myun, aren’t sold at
the neighborhood supermarket. You need to visit an Asian store in Toledo
such as Lee’s Oriental Market or the market next door to Koreana, “a
wonderful Korean restaurant on Reynolds Road.”
If you can’t make it up there, buy a rice noodle at Kroger or Meijer; leave the flour noodles on the
shelf.
Burchell’s most strict piece of advice for cooking chap chae is this:
“Absolutely make certain your garlic is not in the first set of
vegetables in the pan. Because you don’t want it to scorch” from
overcooking. “If it turns brown, it will give the dish a bitter flavor.”
Give it a try. “This is one of those Korean dishes that I would
recommend to the average Western palate. Due to that salty-sweet flavor,
it’s pretty universally well received by anyone I’ve ever served it
to.”
Cold chap chae
Serves 2
6 ounces sweet potato vermicelli noodles (dang myun)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
2 scallions (white and green parts), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced (I like crimini, oyster, and shitake)
1 small carrot, julienned
1 small red bell pepper, julienned
2 cups spinach leaves
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Salt, to taste
• Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the noodles until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, rinse
under cold water, drain again, and set aside.
• Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, scallions, garlic, mushrooms,
carrots, and zucchini, and stir fry until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the spinach, noodles, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. Turn the heat down to low and stir-fry
for another 2 minutes. Turn off heat, toss in the sesame seeds, and season to taste with salt. Allow to
chill overnight in refrigerator. Toss and serve the next day for a wonderful summer meal.
