Try this hearty Korean glass noodle vegetable stir fry dish, marinated in a delicious soy and sesame oil sauce. This recipes little bit of patience, but you'll be rewarded with amazing flavors.
What is japchae?
Japchae (잡채) translates to mixed vegetables in Korean, and I recently learned that the dish originally contained no noodles. Surprisingly, the reason why so many people love this dish is because of how chewy the sweet potato noodles are compared to wheat noodles. The noodles soak up the marinade and make for a great base for the rest of the stir-fried vegetables. I recommend using a variety of vegetables to add colors to this dish!
Japchae dishes will typically have some type of meat, such as beef. In this vegetarian japchae, we will be subbing with shittake mushrooms marinated in a delightful soy sauce/sesame oil based sauce.
What are Korean glass noodles?
The noodles used in japchae differ from wheat noodles as they are typically made from sweet potatoes or mung bean. The sweet potato noodles are called glass noodles because they become translucent when cooked. They are typically purchased dry, but become extremely chewy and springy after they are boiled. The noodles are great for both hot or cold dishes. Because there is no wheat flour in these noodles, these are also great for those who are gluten-free. To make this dish gluten-free, simply substitute tamari for the soy sauce.
You can find these noodles in any Asian grocery store or online.
Ingredients
You're free to use whatever vegetables you find hearty and delicious, but I'll be including vegetables that are typically found in japchae. Because the marinade is soy-sauced based, using a variety of colors help to brighten up the dish
- Korean sweet potato noodles: Korean sweet potato noodles, also known as "japchae noodles" or "dangmyeon," are translucent, chewy noodles made from sweet potato starch.
- Shittake mushrooms
- Red bell pepper
- Spinach
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- Yellow onion
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
Instructions
This dish will take quite a bit longer to prep and cook as there are a lot of vegetables to clean and slice. Then each vegetable is individually stir fried to preserve their color.
However, you'll be able to make this into a large dish that's enough to feed 2 as a main course!
- Prep the vegetables. Clean, de-stem, and thinly slice your mushrooms, julienne zucchini and carrots (peel these first!), and thinly slice yellow onion and red bell pepper.
- Wash spinach and boil a pot of water. Blanch your spinach (meaning it sits in the boiling water for about 30 seconds). Drain and run under cold water so it stops cooking. Season with sesame oil and salt.
- Create the marinade in a separate bowl by mixing together soy sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic, salt, and ground black pepper to taste.
- Use ⅓ of the marinade on the mushrooms. Let sit.
- Boil another pot of water and add the noodles. Let it boil for around 7 minutes until soft and bouncy. Drain and rinse under cold water. Use the remaining ⅔ of the japchae marinade on the noodles. Let it sit while you stir-fry the vegetables.
- Stir-fry the vegetables separately to maintain the bright colors. You'll have to add a bit of oil to the pan for each vegetable to ensure it doesn't stick to the pan.
- Sauté sliced yellow onions until soft. Remove from pan.
- Sauté carrots until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan.
- Sauté red bell pepper until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan.
- Sauté zucchini until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan.
- Stir-fry the marinated mushrooms until nicely caramelized. About 2-3 minutes, remove from pan.
- Stir-fry the marinated noodles from about 30 seconds. Place in a large bowl.
- For the optional egg, beat egg with chopsticks or a fork and season with sesame oil and salt. Pour into a hot skillet and cook each side for 1-2 minutes or until well-done. Remove from pan and slice vertically.
- Place vegetables and mushrooms onto the noodles and mix well with chopsticks. Add in another teaspoon of sesame oil and top with white sesame seeds.
FAQs
Yes, you can prepare the marinade ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Yes, you can prepare components in advance and assemble just before serving for a convenient party dish.
While shiitake mushrooms add a unique flavor, you can use other mushrooms of your choice if needed.
Absolutely! Feel free to adjust the vegetable mix based on your preferences or what you have on hand.
For a vegan option, you can use Just Egg or your preferred egg substitute in place of regular eggs.
📖 Recipe
Korean Glass Noodle Vegetarian Stir-Fry (Japchae)
Ingredients
- 150 g Korean sweet potato noodles
- 4 shiitake mushrooms (de-stemmed and sliced)
- ½ carrot (julienned)
- ½ zucchini (julienned)
- ½ red bell pepper (sliced)
- ½ yellow onion (sliced)
- 100 g spinach
Spinach Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Marinade
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
Sauté
- 4 tablespoon vegetable oil (split between cooking)
Egg
- 2 eggs vegans sub with Just Egg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Optional Toppings
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
Instructions
Vegetable Prep
- Clean thoroughly, de-stem, and thinly slice mushrooms.
- Peel and julienne carrots, do the same with your zucchini
- De-seed and thinly slice red bell peppers
- Peel and slice yellow onion
- Boil a pot of water and blanch spinach for a couple seconds. Drain and run under cold water immediately to stop cooking. Season with sesame oil and salt. Set aside.
Marinade
- Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, minced garlic, and sugar in a bowl. Use ⅓ of the marinade on your mushrooms.
Begin Cooking
- Boil a large pot of water and add your noodles. Cook for about 7-8 minutes. Remove, rinse under cold water, and set aside. Use the remaining ⅔ of marinade on the cooked noodles.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a hot skillet and sauté slice yellow onions until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet. Stir-fry carrots for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle on some salt. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil in the same skillet and cook the red bell peppers until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Heat another tablespoon of oil in same skillet and sauté the zucchini until soft, about another minute. Sprinkle on salt. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Stir-fry marinated mushrooms last for 2-3 minutes until nicely caramelized. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Add more oil if necessary, stir-fry the marinated noodles for a couple seconds and remove from heat and move to a large bowl.
Egg
- Beat eggs in a bowl with a fork or chopsticks and add salt and sesame oil.
- Heat oil in a skillet, pour the egg mixture in and keep on low-medium heat. Cook each side for 2 minutes or until well-done. Remove from heat and cut into thin vertical slices.
Final Construction
- Arrange stir-fried vegetables and mushrooms onto the noodles. Use chopsticks and mix everything throughly. Add a touch more sesame oil and white sesame seeds to top off.
Jamie says
Looks delicious, love all the flavors here!
Kris says
My family, even my little ones, thought this was delicious.
Michele Peterson says
I enjoyed the Korean sweet potato noodles - really delish!
Addison says
So fresh and flavorful!
Chef Dennis says
My mouth is watering. I have to make this!
Kim Guzman says
This looks like a wonderful meal. I can't wait to try it. I've never heard of glass noodles and I hope I'll be able to find some.
Sabrina says
I love all these flavours. Really delicious.
Julia says
Thanks, Sabrina!
Alexandra says
One of my favourite dishes! Love the flavours!
Elizabeth says
Great recipe! Will make again!
FOODHEAL says
Wow, sweet potatoes noodles! I wish I can find them here in France. I love this recipe, it's full of veggies and to me, that's healthy enough.
Emily Flint says
This sounds delicious and nutritious, I can't wait to try it!
Luke Ratford says
Loved this recipe, a great stir fry, thanks for sharing 🙂
Sue says
This looks irresistible - must try!
linda says
I'm a fan of Korean food (who doesn't), and this one here is one of my faves! I can't wait to try this recipe. Is there a way to keep the leftover noodles from clumping together?
Julia says
Unfortunately we always finish these in one sitting, but I would see one way is to re-heat in a pan with a dash of sesame oil to help with the clumping!
Swathi says
Japchae korean glass noodle vegetables looks delicous.