As I have mentioned before, I absolutely love Korean food. It’s famous for its heat and funk, but it has a deliciously sweet and mild side too. No dish exemplifies this side better than Japchae, stir-fried glass noodles.
It’s a simple dish, and ubiquitous in Korean restaurants, where it is pressed into service as a banchan (little side dishes theat come with every self-respecting Korean meal) as well as served as a main course. Japchae is a delicious introduction to Korean food: With its slippery, chewy glass noodles – made from sweet-potato flour – and mild but addictive soy-and-sesame sauce, it’s a hard dish not to like.
The preparation of Japchae is simple, too. The noodles are boiled, then tossed in a hot pan with cooked vegetables and a simple mixture of soy sauce, mirin (sweetened rice wine), oyster sauce, and sesame oil. Stir it all together until the sauce turns the slightly greyish noodles a tempting, glistening golden brown, and you’re in business.
Japchae makes a great vegetarian dish, and that’s how I’m presenting it here, but just toss in some cooked chicken, steak, or what-have-you when you add the noodles if you’d like a meaty version. I used a mixture of shiitake and king oyster mushrooms, but any mushroom would be good, including the oft-maligned but really quite tasty white button mushroom.
I found this recipe – well, a version of it, anyway; of course I made changes – in the cookbook Koreatown. I’ve been looking for a Korean cookbook that really inspired me, and I’ve found it! Watch for a full review soon.
Japchae (Korean Glass Noodles)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried sweet-potato noodles
- 8 ounces fresh spinach or other green or 4 ounces broccoli
- 2 tablespoons peanut or mild vegetable oil
- 1/2 red or yellow onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup julienned carrot
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 3 cups sliced mushrooms of your choice
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce, plus more to taste
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil, plus more to taste
- Sesame seeds to taste
Instructions
- Bring a stockpot of water to boil over high heat. Add the noodles and boil 6 to 8 minutes, until tender but still chewy. Use tongs or a strainer to remove the noodles, but keep the water hot. Run the noodles under cold water until cool and set aside.
- Salt the water, if desired, and return to a boil. Blanch the spinach or other green vegetable for 30 seconds to a couple minutes, until tender. Drain, rinse under cool water, and set aside.
- In a large nonstick saute pan (or stainless steel sprayed with cooking spray), heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add the onion and carrot and saute until the onion is slight softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, then add the mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the noodles and toss until covered with oil, then let cook undisturbed for a couple of minutes. They may or may not develop any color; if you'd like them to brown a little, cook until that happens. (I didn't bother.)
- Add the blanched green vegetable, mirin, oyster sauce, and soy, then reduce heat to medium and toss to combine thoroughly. Remove from heat and stir in the scallions, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Taste and season with more soy or sesame oil as desired. Serve hot or at room temperature, sprinkled with sesame seeds.
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