JAPCHAE - VEGETARIAN KOREAN STIR-FRY SWEET POTATO GLASS NOODLE 🇰🇷
Shall we turn back time to the 17th century?
I’m introducing to you a very popular yet a traditional dish called Japchae (잡채). It’s often eaten during Korean festive holidays such as New Years and Harvest festival.
The literal translation of Japchae is mixed vegetables. This dish was first invented in the 17th century minus the noodles. On how it’s prepared, it’s very similar to the Korean Fried rice, bibimbap. It’s quite simple and easy to make! Unlike many other Korean dishes with more intense flavours and spice, Japchae is milder but still absolutely delicious. It’s a sweet and savoury dish and every time I eat it, it turns right back in time when I was young living in Seoul, Korea.
I hope you will enjoy!
-Ari Yori
JAPCHAE: VEGETARIAN KOREAN STIR-FRY SWEET POTATO GLASS NOODLE RECIPE
prep time: 15-20 minutes
cook time: 15-20 minutes
portion: 4-5 servings
INGREDIENTS
15 oz (425g) Korean sweet potato noodles, Dangmyun
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
14 oz (400g) fresh spinach (5 cubes of frozen spinach substitute)
3 eggs, beaten
4-5 shiitake mushrooms or any other mushrooms (optional), sliced thinly
Sauce:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 honey
3 tbsp sesame seed oil
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, sesame seed oil, sesame seeds and, black pepper and mix well. Set it aside.
In a bowl, beat the eggs and season it with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet in medium heat and lightly drizzle with oil. Once your skillet is hot, pour in the beaten eggs and swirl until the eggs evenly cover the surface of the pan. Flip the egg half way. You want to make a thin omelette. Once fully cook through, let it cool on a plate or on cutting board.. When it has cooled down, cut the round omelette in half (half moon shape) and slice it in thin slices. Add the thin egg slices, into a large mixing bowl.
In the same skillet, lightly drizzle the oil again and sauté the onions until soft and translucent. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Then put into a large mixing bowl.
Drizzle oil again and add the red bell pepper. Sauté the peppers until soft. Place the sautéed peppers into the mixing bowl along with the onions.
Now, for the mushrooms, sauté them without any oil. Mushroom is like a sponge and can soak up all the oil. Once it is almost cooked through, sprinkle some salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms into the large mixing bowl.
Boil a large pot of water with a large pinch of salt. Once it boils, add your washed spinach. You just want to wilt your spinach which will take less than 30 seconds. Using a pair of tongs, remove all the spinach from the pot and place it into a strainer and squeeze out all the water.
Place the wilted and squeezed out spinach onto the unwashed skillet and sauté for about 1 minute. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and lightly drizzle some sesame seed oil. Place the spinach into the mixing bowl with the rest of the sautéed vegetables.
In the same pot of water which you wilted the spinach in, cook the glass noodles. Follow the cooking time instructed on the packaging. Once cooked, strain the noodles add it to the mixing bowl. Drizzle 1-2 tbsp of sesame seed oil.
Pour in the sauce you made earlier into the mixing bowl. Using your hands or a pair of tongs, gently mix the sautéed vegetables, glass noodles and the sauce together until it is all evenly combined. If you are using your hands, be careful as the noodles are still hot! Give it a taste and add salt and pepper to your taste.
Garnish with sesame seeds. You can serve it warm or cold.
PRO TIPS
Do not overcook your glass noodles. You want it slightly tender and chewy when you strain it as they will cook further with the retained heat.
