Japchae is one of those foods that I could probably eat for lunch or dinner every day and never get tired of it. Once a royal dish, japchae is now one of the most popular traditional Korean celebration dishes, often served on special occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, and holidays.
Made from Korean sweet potato starch noodles, or dangmyeon, stir-fried vegetables, and a simple sweet-savory sauce, it’s pretty much a no-brainer to prepare! Even though this dish is simple on the outside, the challenge lies in deciding what to put into it! The chewy noodles are mixed with assorted vegetables, meat, and mushrooms, and seasoned with a soy sauce dressing.
A lot of traditional recipes employ Japchae as a delicious way to use up leftover bonchon, or side dishes/prepared vegetables. Due to the ease of bulk preparation and flexible serving, japchae can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold from the refrigerator, and can be eaten freshly made or the day after. If it makes it to the next day!
For this version, we used some Forge To Table Test Kitchen mainstays, including spam (don’t knock it till you try it!), zingy kimchi, savory blue oyster mushrooms, plus a host of fresh vegetables. Many traditional recipes use sliced beef, chicken, or pork, but we just like how spam gets crispy and works with many other flavors in the dish.
The sauce is pretty simple, as it’s only made from low-sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and MSG (you know how we love our MSG!). This will provide seasoning for both the noodles and the stir-fried vegetables.
The noodles, Dangmyeon, are pale grey, semi-transparent, chewy, and elastic noodles made from sweet potato starch. They are also known as "glass noodles", "cellophane noodles", or "sweet potato vermicelli". Preparation varies depending on the brand, but we opted to boil the noodles for about 7 minutes until soft, then shock with cold running water.
There are few things worse than overcooking your glass noodles and getting a gluey clump of starch… Don't do it! Drain the noodles and place them into a large mixing bowl while you get everything else together.
Since the recipe is a stir fry, it’s best practice to make sure all your elements are prepared ahead of time so the cooking process is as smooth as possible. Use your handy 7” Nakiri Knife to get through your mushrooms, red onion, carrot, bell pepper, garlic, and kale. You want to cut them into julienne, but make sure they aren't too small, or they won’t stand up to the heat and make your japchae a mushy mess. You want tender-crisp texture!
Feel free to throw in some other vegetables if you have them! You might need to kick up the seasoning with an extra splash of soy sauce, but taste as you go.
When it's time to cook the dish, use a large wok or carbon steel pan to make sure you get even cooking over high heat. Start with the protein to get a lovely brown exterior, followed by the mushrooms and red onions, to make sure they get the lovely sear they deserve too. Follow this with the prepared carrot, bell pepper, and minced garlic, and only cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp. You don’t want to overcook the vege!
Finish the stir fry with the prepared sauce and some chopped kimchi, cook and toss until everything is combined. If your pan is large enough, you can add the cooked noodles, but this makes a big batch, so we just added the stir fry and sauce to the noodles. Mix well, making sure that the noodles are coated in sauce and that the vegetables are evenly distributed throughout the dish.
Once everything is mixed up, just top it with some sliced scallions and sesame seeds for an extra crunchy addition. Eat like this or save for meal prep for an incredible lunch. We think you’ll love japchae, so try it out and make it your own!
Kimchi & Spam Japchae
These satisfyingly chewy Korean glass noodles strike a great balance of easy and delicious. Layered with mushrooms, tender-crisp vegetables, and kimchi, every bite tastes fresh. The best part is that you can use anything to make an equally delicious version!
Recipe and Photography by Sam Burgess
Forge To Table Knives
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
8 ounces Korean glass noodles (sweet potato starch noodles or dangmyeon)
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-½ tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon MSG (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 ounces spam, cubed
6 ounces mushrooms (blue oyster, shiitake, etc), sliced
½ large red onion, julienned
1 large yellow bell pepper, julienned
½ large carrot, julienned
1 tablespoon garlic, minced (3 cloves)
3 cups chopped kale or baby spinach, packed
¾ cup high-quality kimchi, chopped (storebought or homemade)
2 each scallions, sliced thin, for garnish
2 teaspoons toasted white sesame seeds, for garnish
Directions:
NOODLES. Cook the Korean glass noodles according to the package directions. Be sure not to over-cook them as they can become mushy. Drain the water and rinse well with cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain well and set aside in a large bowl.
SAUCE. In a small bowl, mix together the low-sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and MSG (optional), until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
PREP. As a stir-fry dish, everything comes together quickly, so prepare all the components with your Forge To Take 7” Nakiri ahead of time. Make sure that the vegetables aren’t sliced too thin or else they will fall apart in the stir-fry.
STIR-FRY. Once all the elements are ready, heat a large wok or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil, and once it starts to shimmer, add the cubed spam. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy and browned, about 2 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and red onion, and stir fry for 2 minutes.
STIR-FRY, Add the yellow bell peppers, carrots, and minced garlic to the pan. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the vegetables, they should still be slightly crunchy.
FINISH. Add the chopped kale or spinach, chopped kimchi, and the prepared sauce, and toss everything together until the greens start to wilt. Remove from heat.
SERVE. Add the stir-fried vegetables and sauce to the glass noodles in the large bowl. Toss everything to combine well. Place in individual bowls and garnish with sesame seeds and chopped scallions. Enjoy while warm!
Chef’s Notes:
Try using a variety of crunchy vegetables, mushrooms, and proteins to make a flavorful fridge cleaner of a dinner.
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