Easy Japchae (Korean Glass Noodles Stir Fry)

An easy vegetarian japchae noodle recipe (Korean glass noodles stir fry) made with perfectly chewy glass noodles, seasoned lightly with sweet and savory japchae sauce, sesame oil, and a variety of vegetables, and made without boiling the noodles.

What is Japchae?

Japchae (잡채)  (aka chap chae) is a very popular stir-fried Korean glass noodle dish that is typically a side dish (banchan) but it can also be eaten as a main dish as well and served with a bed of rice.

Similar to the chewy texture of tteokbokki, japchae is made of a combination of springy, chewy, and incredibly flavorful glass noodles with a variety of colorful vegetables cooked in a sweet and savory sauce.

This is a vegetarian chap chae recipe and does not contain any meat in it, but you can easily add some chicken, beef, or pork to this recipe easily by pre-frying some and mixing it in at the very end.

Whenever I bring this japchae dish to any potlucks, parties, or BBQs they are always a hit, so if you're looking for something to bring to a BBQ gathering, you should definitely consider this dish. It's easy to make ahead and reheat in the microwave the next day.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Egg - Plain omelet cut into thin ribbons, or if you're pressed for time, quickly scramble the egg and set it aside to add at the end when you are mixing the noodles
• Peppers - I like to use yellow, orange, or red bell peppers for their sweeter flavor.
• Shiitake Mushrooms - I like to cook these ahead of time in a sweet soy sauce, and then cut them into thin slices
• Meat - This is not a traditional ingredient, but I have added in leftover meats in the past for a heartier noodle dish. If you choose to keep it vegetarian, you can just skip adding the meat.
• Garlic - Adds a bit of extra flavor, but I like to keep this optional because it can overpower the dish.
• Vegetables -  I like to stick to the basic vegetables which are carrots, onions, green onions, spinach, and peppers
• Soy Sauce, Sugar, and Sesame Oil - This trio is what makes the delicious sweet and savory japchae sauce.
• Sesame seeds - For more flavor, garnish this Korean noodle dish with lots of toasted sesame seeds

What are Clear Korean Glass Noodles?

The noodles used in Japchae are called Korean glass noodles (dangmyeon 당면). They are a type of Korean vermicelli made with sweet potato starch. These sweet potato starch noodles are thicker than your typical Asian glass noodles and are about 2 mm thick in diameter.

When sweet potato noodles are cooked, they turn into clear and shiny noodles with a springy and chewy texture when they are not overcooked.

They do not contain any wheat so they are a good option for any type of gluten-free diet and they are very delicious because they are fantastic at soaking up sauces which makes them incredibly flavorful.

How to Make Japchae

1. Preparation is important for this dish, so you will have to pre-cut all the vegetables ahead of time. You can use this time to also soak the noodles in warm to hot tap water while you are preparing the vegetables and making the japchae sauce.
2. There are a lot of ingredients in this dish, so make sure you use a large frying pan for this.
3. First, I cooked all the vegetables together for about 3-5 mins until they were soft and then I transferred them out of the pan to another bowl and set it aside for later.
4. Once the noodles were soft, I would drain the water out of the boil and cut them into 4-inch length pieces. I cooked the noodles, with half the soy sauce mixture and when the noodles were almost cooked (they will look shiny and translucent), I added the vegetables back into the frying pan and added the other half of the soy sauce mixture.
5. ...and voila! 🙂 You're done! Time to enjoy your chewy Korean Glass Noodles (Japchae / ChapChae)!

Storing and Reheating

Once you put these glass noodles in the fridge, the noodles will get hard from the cold so you can't serve them straight from the fridge.

To reheat japchae noodles, put them in the microwave for one minute at a time, (for up to a few minutes) while mixing them with a utensil in between minutes to prevent cold spots. Mixing and using small time intervals, will prevent the noodles from getting too hot too quickly which can melt its delicate texture springy texture. 

You can store this in the fridge for up to a week.

Looking for More Korean Recipes? Try These!

• Korean Corn Cheese (Elote Style) 
• Spicy Korean Pork Bulgogi
• Spicy Soondubu Tofu Stew (Soondubu Jjigae)
• Stir-Fried Kimchi Rice Cakes 
• Korean Fried Popcorn Turkey 
• Tteokbokki (Korean Spicy Rice Cakes)
• Korean Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim)

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Recipe Card

Easy Japchae Recipe (Korean Glass Noodles Stir Fry)

An easy japchae recipe (Korean glass noodles stir fry) seasoned lightly with sweet soy sauce, sesame oil, and a variety of vegetables and perfectly chewy bouncy glass noodle texture without boiling the noodles in water.

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Course: Appetizer, Main, Side

Cuisine: Korean

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

6 Servings

5 from 49 votes

Recipe Notes

• Reheating Leftovers - Once you put these glass noodles in the fridge, the noodles will get hard from the cold so you can't serve them straight from the fridge. Re-heat it in the microwave for one minute at a time, (for up to a few minutes) while mixing it with a utensil in between minutes to prevent cold spots. Mixing and using small time intervals, will prevent the noodles from getting too hot too quickly which can melt its delicate texture springy texture. 
• Storing - You can store this in the fridge for up to a week.

Ingredients

 

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• ▢ 400 g sweet potato noodles

Japchae Sauce

• ▢ ½ cup hot water
• ▢ ¼ cup sugar
• ▢ ½ cup soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sesame oil

Vegetables

• ▢ 1-2 carrots (cut into matchstick slivers, approximately 1 ½ cups)
• ▢ 1 bundle spinach (approximately 1 cup after it has been cooked and wilted)
• ▢ 1-2 peppers (sliced into thin strips, approximately 1 ½ cups)
• ▢ 1 onion (medium-sized, sliced, approximately 1 cup)

Toppings & Garnishes

• ▢ 2 stalks green onion (finely chopped)
• ▢ toasted sesame seeds

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Instructions

 

Preparing the Sweet Potato Glass Noodles and Vegetables

• In a large bowl, add warm to hot tap water and soak the noodles in it for 20 mins. Prepare the vegetables while you are waiting for the noodles to soak.
• Peel the carrot and cut them into thin matchstick sizes. Set aside.
• Slice the onions and peppers. Set aside
• Boil the spinach for 2 mins. Once it is done, run it under cold water to stop the cooking process and squeeze and squeeze all the water out. The texture should be dry and not soggy. Season it with salt and set it aside.

  Alternatively, you can also skip boiling the spinach and put it directly in with the rest of the vegetables to save some time.
• Toast sesame seeds in a frying pan on low heat until brown. Set aside.
• Finely chop the green onions and set them aside for the end.
• After 20 mins, when the noodles are soft and pliable, drain the water out and cut them roughly 4 inches in length. Set it aside for later.

Make the Japchae Sauce

• In a small bowl, dissolve sugar with hot water, then add in the soy sauce and sesame oil. Set it aside.

Cooking the Japchae

• In a large non-stick frying pan, add oil and set the heat to medium.
• Once the oil has warmed up, add in the veggies (except the green onions) and cook them for approximately 3-5 mins or until the vegetables are soft. Remove them from the pan into a dish and set it aside.
• Add the noodles to the pan and half the soy sauce mixture and cook for about 2-3 mins. Keep flipping the noodles, until they are transparent and glossy and no longer translucent.
• When the noodles are almost done, add the vegetables back in and add in the remainder of the soy sauce mixture and cook for another 1-2 mins.
• Turn off the heat and add in the green onions and sesame seeds and mix well. (It's might be easier to mix it with your hands)
• Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 332kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 717mg | Potassium: 144mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1828IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*

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Made with ♡ by Joyce | Pups with Chopsticks

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