vegetarian japchae (korean glass noodles)
Hey guys!
Noodles are one of my favorite food to eat so I am so excited to share this easy japchae recipe! For those who don’t know what Japchae is, it is a sweet and savory dish of stir-fried glass noodles made of sweet potato, mixed with colorful vegetables that is very popular in Korean cuisine. Japchae (잡채) literally means “mixed vegetables” in Korean so this dish will probably cover your vegetable intake for a whole day (or two)!
There are many variations of japchae but this recipe is vegetarian with minimal ingredients. For those who love japchae, this is the recipe you should keep in mind because it is one of the most simple, yet tasty dishes you can easily make at home! It’s usually served as a side dish but you can eat this as an appetizer or over rice to serve as a main dish.
The glass noodle has many different names so when you go to the store, look for sweet potato starch noodles, Korean vermicelli, and dangmyeon (당면). You can find all the ingredients at your local Korean and Asian market.
Ingredients:
Serving: 4-6
Dried sweet potato starch noodles/ dangmyeun (당면) - 1 lb
Green onion - 2 stalks, chopped
Carrot - 1 medium, julienned or cut into thin strips
Onion - 1/2 , thinly sliced
Mushroom - 1 cup of any type of mushroom, thinly sliced
Bell pepper - 1, julienned or cut into thin strips
Vegetable oil - for stir frying
Water - 1 cup
Sesame seed - 3 tbsp, to use as garnish at the end
Sauce
Soy sauce - 4.5 tbsp
Sugar - 1.5 tbsp
Minced garlic - 1 tbsp
Sesame oil - 1 tbsp for the sauce. 1 tbsp saved on the side.
1. Soak the noodles. In a large bowl (I used a deep baking dish that I use for lasagna), put the dried noodles and pour enough water to cover the noodles. Cut the noodles to about 12 inch so it’s not too long and it’s easier to cook. Let it soak for about 30 min.
2. Chop all your vegetables and make the sauce. While waiting for noodles to soak, prepare all the ingredients! Chop all the vegetables like green onion, carrot, onion, mushroom, and bell pepper and set it aside. For the sauce, in a small bowl mix soy sauce, sugar, minced garlic, and sesame oil and set it aside.
3. Stir fry the veggies. In a large non-stick frying pan, add oil and adjust the heat to medium to medium low. Once the oil has warmed up, add in the veggies. Start off with green onion to make green onion oil, then carrots because it needs more time to cook, then onion, bell pepper, and mushroom.
4. Remove the veggies from the pan. When the vegetables are cooked, remove the vegetables from the frying pan and put it aside.
5. Cooking the noodles. Add a little more oil to the pan and wait until it is up to temperature again. (I had some leftover green onions so I put them in but you can skip this part.) Pour the sauce that you made into the pan then add the noodles. Let the noodles soak in the sauce and cook for about 3 mins.
Keep flipping the noodles and add water little by little until they are transparent and glossy and no longer translucent.
6. Putting it together. When the noodles are almost cooked, add the vegetables back in, pour sesame oil and sesame seeds and mix thoroughly. Turn off the heat.
7. You can eat this as a side dish or have it over steamed rice. Enjoy!
Leave me a comment and let me know if you tried this recipe or will be trying this recipe in the future!
Xx, Amie