Funchosa is a very popular dish in Middle Eastern countries, and can be eaten hot or cold! It's packed with flavor and is super easy to make, although from a first glance it may look complicated. It's great for any meal because it's light on the stomach but leaves you feeling full and satisfied. The Middle Eastern people will usually make their own mung bean noodles but I buy mine from Fubon because it saves me time and it turns out just as good! This dish is pretty cool because once the noodles are done, they turn gelatin like and almost see through and the veggies stay a little crunchy, so if you think about it, it's kind of like eating a hearty salad!

Ingredients for funchosa

1 radish

2-3 Carrots

1/2 cup of light olive oil

1 bag of small bell peppers

1 pound of beef

2-3 small onions

7 cloves of garlic

salt (to taste)

pepper (to taste)

Crushed dried chili peppers (to taste)

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp teriyaki sauce

1 bag of Saifun bean noodles

have a boiled pot full of hot and lightly salted water ready

1. Rinse and cut all your ingredients. For the radish and carrots I used a different type of grater so that my dish looks more traditional. But if you don't have one, you can use a regular greater as well.

2. Pour the 1/2 cup of light olive oil into a Kazan (or thick pot) and let it warm. Then toss in 2 out of the 7 cloves of garlic into the pot whole and let them brown. This gives your dish a richer taste. Once they brown, you can either mince them into the funchosa with the rest of the garlic, or just toss them.

3. Next, add the meat, stir, and let it cook until browned.

4. Now add the onions and let them caramelize in the pot. Stir often so the onions don't burn. After the onions are soft and a golden brown, add salt, pepper, and dried crushed chili peppers to taste. Seasoning the meat and onions will really bring out their  taste. 

5. Once you have added the spices, add the carrots with the radish together and stir so the radish and carrots are well incorporated in the pot. Season with salt, pepper and dried crushed chili peppers to taste (I season my dish a second time because the meat and onion will not give up much of their seasoning and I like my funchosa well-seasoned). Most of the veggies in this dish are meant to stay crunchy, so make sure not to expose your carrots, radish, and bell peppers to too much heat, otherwise, they will become soft and your dish will become more of a stew than a salad.

6. Now, add the bell peppers and stir well.

7. At this time, your pot of water should have boiled and it's time to put in the mung bean noodles. Once they are in the hot water, stir and leave them in for about 30-45 seconds then take the noodles out and rinse with cold water to stop the process of cooking. Place them into a tall pot because you will need plenty of space to stir in your veggies with your noodles. (I used a pair of kitchen scissors to cut my noodles a couple times so they aren't too long in order to be able to mix in the veggie and meat mixture really well with the noodles)

8. Add the teriyaki sauce, soy sauce and your minced garlic into the veggies and meat mixture, and really incorporate all that throughout the pot. 

9. Once you like the way your veggies and meat taste, carefully combine them to your pot of prepared noodles and you're done! Get a plate and enjoy your delicious funchosa! You deserve it!