Asian, Cuisine

Chewy And Savory Japchae Noodles

Ratings – 4.7/5

Preparation Time – 30 minutes

Chewy and savory, we bet you can never say no to this tempting Korean delicacy. A very popular food item in Korea happens to be japchae, a preparation of stir-fried glass noodles cooked with a mix of vegetables, protein and sauces. Loved in and around Korea, here is our take on the classic japchae recipe out there.

Invention Of Japchae Noodles

Origin – Enjoyed both as a hot and cold dish, you can definitely not go wrong with a tasty plate of japchae noodles. As per the information gathered by us, back in the 17th century, japchae was first introduced in Korea. Originally, a renowned chef called Yi Chung made a dish out of stir-fried vegetables and mushrooms and presented the same to King Gwanghaegun. And guess what, the king loved the dish so much that japchae was instantly included in the royal court cuisine of Korea!
Inspiration – The original japchae recipe was made without any sort of noodles or meat! Back then a stir-fried dish mainly made out of cucumbers, radishes, and shiitake mushrooms was known as japchae. It was only in the 20th century that a major modification was made to this traditional Korean dish. As China brought cellophane noodles to Korea, people were made aware of noodles made out of sweet potato starch. Thus, slowly and steadily, these noodles were included in the original japchae recipe.
Popularity – Currently japchae is known as a celebration dish extremely popular in and around Korea. Whether it is someone’s wedding or birthday, you surely cannot miss out on this delicious Korean delicacy. Enjoyed both as a banchan and main dish, it goes without saying that japchae is a very famous Asian noodle dish.

Japchae is very easy to prepare and is served both as a hot and cold dish! As per our research, during hot summer days, Koreans love to consume a plate of cold japchae noodles.

Ingredients

Sesame oil for cooking
Dangmyeon, also known as glass noodles
1 Red bell pepper, sliced
1 Green bell pepper, sliced
1 Yellow Bell pepper, sliced
1 Carrot, thinly sliced
1 Onion, sliced
Spinach leaves, blanched
Shitake Mushrooms, sliced
4-5 Garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp of Sugar, we have used brown sugar here
¼ cup of Soy sauce
Sesame seeds
Salt and pepper as per taste

Japchae Recipe Steps In Details

Step 1

To begin this tasty and easy banchan recipe, firstly let us prepare the japchae sauce. We have used measuring spoons here. In a bowl, add a quarter cup of soy sauce, minced garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a bit of sesame oil. Mix everything together and keep aside.

Step 2

Next, move ahead to the veggies! Firstly, in a pan, drizzle a bit of cooking oil and add sliced pieces of onion, bell peppers, carrot and mushrooms to the pan. Sauté everything until the veggies are properly cooked. You can also sauté all the veggies one by one and keep them aside.

Step 3

Now, in a pan, add your prepared sauce mix and glass noodles. Sauté it slightly for a minute or two and then add half a cup of water into the pan. Cook it on high flame for a few minutes, until your noodles become all chewy and soft.

Step 4

Once your glass noodles have soaked in all the sauce and water, add all the sauteed vegetables to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and stir it well for a few minutes. Lastly, add a few sesame seeds to your japchae and serve this as a banchan or a main dish.

Step 5

Originally, japchae happens to be a Vegetarian dish, thus we have cooked this in the most authentic way possible. But if you want to make it more nutritious, feel free to add beef or egg to your japchae noodles. Again, we have used shitake mushrooms here, but if you want you can also use oyster or wood ear mushrooms.