Japchae (Korean Glass Noodles)

I love Korean food. One of the reasons is that I am crazy about kimchi. I would literally eat it every day. In fact it’s what I’ve been doing for the past few days thanks to that trip to a Korean grocery store. I came home with a large 4-litre jar of kimchi. Just yesterday I had a bowl of steamy rice and kimchi. A lot of it. And it made me so happy!

Having japchae (Korean glass noodles) is also a must when we visit a Korean restaurant. Like we have to have it no matter how much meat we’ve ordered for BBQ or how big that bowl of gamjatang (pork bone soup) is going to be. We love japchae!

Over that Korean grocery shopping trip, I also bought a bag of Korean glass noodles. Well, I just knew it wouldn’t be too difficult to make it at home. And in fact japchae is as simple as it gets. Just cook the noodles, eggs, vegetables and meat separately, then toss everything together in a sauce, all done! Great for lunch, dinner, snack, appetizer… I had it yesterday for dinner, and I couldn’t put my chopsticks down.

Ingredients (serves 6-8):
500 grams Korean glass noodles
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
meat of your choice (I used shredded cooked chicken thighs and sliced BBQ pork belly)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
a big bunch of baby spinach
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions:
Cook Korean glass noodles according to package instructions. Rinse under cold water and drain well. Set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat in a wok or large skillet, fry eggs until the edges start to curl. Flip it over. Take off heat and slide eggs onto a cutting board. Let cool before slicing it thinly.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Sauté carrots and onions until softened, about 2 minutes. Briefly stir in meat. Transfer to another bowl.
Combine soy sauce, water, salt, sugar, sesame oil and garlic in the same skillet. Heat over medium heat until simmering. Add noodles and spinach. Stir fry until the noodles are glossy, spinach is softened and the liquid is absorbed.
Toss in vegetables and meat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve warm.

10 comments

  1. Hi Madkay, I happened to try this recipe two days ago. And we loved it! I was a little skeptical about the amount of salt too, but it turned out fine mixing with the water and sugar.

  2. This was the worst recipe! Way way way too much salt! I had to take the whole meal and wash the salt off in a strainer with water and then throw the meal back in the wok to reheat!

  3. Oh Fanny this looks like a wonderful meal! I like kimchi, only had it once ;) My son-in-law is Korean and I try to find recipes for my daughter to make. She loves all types of Asian cuisine, being the who introduced sushi to her siblings. Thanks for helping with her repertoire!! xo :)

  4. I’ve been having it every time I went to a Korean restaurant. I didn’t realize it was so easy to make it at home. I will aboslutely try it. Thanks for sharing.

  5. Hi, I am also a big fan of kimchi! This noodle looks really yummy!!!!! I bet it tastes even better with kimchi!

  6. I looooove Japchae. I’ve always wanted to make it at home. Now I think I am going to do it for real!

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