Image: Hajime NAKANO (jetalone), CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Japchae combines springy sweet potato glass noodles, stir-fried vegetables and a gentle sweet-savoury soy-sesame sauce. The vegetables are cooked briefly one after another and combined at the end.
Ingredients
- 250 g Korean sweet potato glass noodles (dangmyeon)
- 200 g beef strips or firm tofu
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 carrot, cut into fine strips
- 1 red pepper, cut into strips
- 200 g mushrooms or shiitake, sliced
- 150 g spinach
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- Sauce: 5 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp sesame oil, 2 garlic cloves, 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Method
- Mix the sauce. Cook noodles according to the packet for 6–8 minutes, rinse cold and cut twice with scissors. Toss with half the sauce.
- Blanch spinach briefly, squeeze dry and set aside.
- Cook beef or tofu in a large pan and remove. Stir-fry onion, carrot, pepper and mushrooms one after another for 2–3 minutes each.
- Add noodles, beef or tofu, vegetables, spinach and the remaining sauce. Toss for 3–4 minutes until hot and glossy.
- Adjust seasoning with sesame and serve warm or at room temperature.
Tips and variations
- Sweet potato dangmyeon are important; ordinary glass noodles have a different texture.
- Do not overcook vegetables; keep their colour and bite.
- Japchae is complete and satisfying without meat.
