In keeping with my conviction that Korean food is the Next Big Thing in this country, I've gotten several requests lately for Korean recipes, including one from Barbara Gonsalves for the "long rice" you see in Korean barbecue restaurants.

I think — somebody correct me if I'm wrong — that this dish is a version of the Korean standard chapchae (aka japchae), a stir-fried mixture of slivered vegetables, marinated meats and cellophane noodles that is a standard side dish for feasts.

But the chapchae we know and love in local Korean restaurants is a far cry from the dish as prepared in Korea, which requires a series of painstaking cooking tasks, with each ingredient individually cooked or rehydrated. Prepared this way, chapchae is never gluey or excessively oily.

Our barbecue-house chapchae is usually meatless, or close to it, while the chapchae Korean families prepare for celebrations includes a goodly amount of meat, usually sliced beef.

There are two schools of thought on the noodles. Korean sources specify sweet-potato noodles (slightly greenish), whereas Korean-American sources call for the transparent mung-bean noodles known in Hawai'i as long rice.

You begin by marinating the meats and mushrooms used in the recipe. A typical Korean marinade would include chong ju (Korean rice wine), sugar, garlic, lemon juice or vinegar, green onions, sesame oil, salt and pepper. The Island-style version is shoyu-based.

Here's a Western-style chapchae that should come close to the local dish:

Make a seasoning mixture of 2 tablespoons shoyu, 1 tablespoon sugar, 3 tablespoons minced green onion, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and a dash of pepper. Cut 1/2 pound beef tenderloin into thin slices and place in seasoning mixture to marinate. Soak 1 ounce EACH of dried shiitake and cloud-ear mushrooms in hot water until softened; trim away any hard parts, slice thinly and add to beef.

Have a large bowl at the ready. Chop 1 bunch fresh spinach into 2-inch lengths and stir-fry quickly in 1 teaspoon sesame oil with 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Place in bowl. Cut 1 carrot, 1 medium onion and half a bunch green onion into thin slivers; stir-fry quickly in the same pan used for the spinach. Place in bowl. Stir-fry beef, mushrooms and marinade quickly, using the same pan as for the vegetables, but with 1 additional teaspoon of sesame oil. Place in bowl. Rehydrate 2 ounces long rice (Chinese vermicelli) in 6 cups boiling water until softened; drain and cut into 5-inch lengths. Place in bowl. Dress the chapchae with a mixture of 2 tablespoons shoyu, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds. Lightly toss ingredients.

Makes 4 servings.