What is japchae?
Japchae is a type of Korean noodle recipe that is made with a special type of glass noodles. It’s a very popular banchan (or side dish) eaten at Korean restaurants and at home. My favorite restaurants to eat japchae are MoRanGak or Baekjeong. The word “japchae” is translated to “mixed vegetable” in Korean and it’s a fairly basic dish. It’s typically made with a variety of ingredients like mushrooms, spinach, and carrots and seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil.
Ingredients in japchae
Noodles
My favorite part about japchae is the clear noodles of course! These noodles are made of sweet potato and they turn translucent when they’re cooked. In Korean, they are called “dangmyeon,” which are specific cellophane or glass noodles that are made with sweet potato starch. Glass noodles are also made with other ingredients like mung bean or purple sweet potatoes. The texture of Korean sweet potato noodles is best described as slightly chewy and bouncy. They don’t really have a particular flavor and stick to whatever seasoning you use on them. To find the correct type of noodles at the store, try to look for these names that glass noodles also are labeled:
sweet potato noodlesyam noodlesglass noodlescellophane noodlesdangmyeonclear noodles
Vegetables
To make japchae, there are various vegetables you can add or substitute. It’s similar to yaki udon where you can add vegetables you prefer, but the main ingredients typically are carrots, onions, dried mushrooms (shiitake or wood ear), bell peppers, spinach, green onions, and garlic. You can also add cucumbers, chili peppers, or other ingredients too.
Meat / protein
You can also add protein into japchae, and my favorite to add is ribeye because it’s tender, fatty, and flavorful. Personally I love ribeye cap the BEST. Costco doesn’t always stock prime ribeye caps so when I saw it, I had to go with it for this recipe! It’s around $20/lb so it’s not cheap–you can definitely go with less expensive cuts and still make delicious japchae. Since they’re sliced pretty thin, even skirt steak, or other lean cuts would work well too. Alternatively, you can also choose to make this vegan by omitting the protein and just using vegetables–it’s just as tasty. There is also an optional topping called jidan, which is an egg garnish made of egg yolk that’s beaten lightly, cooked on a pan like an omelet, and then cut into very thin strips. This is similar to the egg strips we add to Vietnamese bò bía, and bún thang.
Japchae sauce
Japchae sauce is a very simple and easy seasoning that includes soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, and dark brown sugar. It’s got a nice balance of saltiness from the soy sauce, nutty aromas from the sesame oil, and sweetness from the sugar.
How to make japchae
While making japchae is relatively easy, sometimes noodle dishes with lots of ingredients that have different cook times or processes can become quite confusing if you don’t keep an efficient timeline. This dish is similar to pancit canton or pancit palabok where you may need to cook things separately before mixing it all together at the end. Here is the timeline I use for making japchae as efficient as I can without overcooking or undercooking ingredients while saving time:
How to serve and store Korean glass noodles
Japchae is served either hot off the pan or cold from the fridge. I like it semi-chilled from the fridge when I eat it with my hot and steamy Korean BBQ at home or at the restaurant because it’s a nice balance. I love eating this with Korean potato salad, kalbi, Korean purple rice, and spicy pork bulgogi. If you have leftover noodles, you can store them in an airtight container and place them in the fridge. These noodles will last for up to 4 days in the fridge. To reheat japchae, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and add a damp towel over it so it doesn’t dry out. I like to do 30-second intervals to heat it up.
