1/2 to 1tablespoongochugarupreferably finely ground - see note
For the seafood and vegetables
1small squidabout 4 ounces
8small shrimppeeled and deveined
1/4medium onionthinly sliced
⅓small carrotcut into matchsticks
2 to 3fresh shiitake mushroomsor mushrooms of your choice, thinly sliced
2ouncesenoki mushrooms - optional
1scallionsliced diagonally
Salt and pepper
Sauce
2tablespoonssoy sauce
1-1/2tablespoonssugar
2teaspoonsminced garlic
1tablespoonsesame oil
Instructions
Soak the noodles in warm water until soft (about 30 to 40 minutes), and drain.
Clean the shrimp and squid. Cut the squid into bite size pieces.
Prepare the vegetables, and mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Add the vegetable oil, sesame oil, and the gochugaru to a pan, and heat until hot over medium low heat, stirring. Remove from the heat as soon as the oil starts to turn red and the chili pepper flakes become a bit pasty. Do not burn the gochugaru.
Turn the heat to medium, and add the noodles to the pan along with 1-1/2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce. Stir-fry until the noodles are soft, 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove the noodles onto a plate. In the same pan, stir fry the onion for a minute, and then carrot and mushrooms until wilted. Add a tablespoon of water if the vegetables look dry. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
Add the seafood and the remaining sauce, and stir-fry until the seafood is cooked through. Follow this by the scallion and optional enoki mushrooms until the scallions are slightly wilted.
Return the noodles to the pan, and toss everything well together. You can add a bit more sugar and/or soy sauce to taste.
Notes
You can grind your regular gochugaru in a spice grinder. I used 1 tablespoon gochugaru for the first photo, and 1/2 tablespoon for the second photo.