Japchae (잡채)

For every birthday in my family, we always eat japchae (잡채), a dish made from sweet potato noodles. It is usually served at special occasions. While it is sometimes served with beef, japchae originated as a vegetarian dish. The name includes the characters jap (잡) meaning "mixed" and chae (채) meaning "vegetables" (the same character in the title of this blog). Thus, japchae literally means "mixed vegetables." 

The current version of this dish includes sweet potato noodles and usually has mushrooms, spinach, and carrots. You can find sweet potato noodles at most Asian supermarkets, or you can serve this dish without the noodles, just make sure to reduce the seasonings or add more vegetables to balance out the flavors.


Japchae (잡채) (vegan)
serves 4-5 

8 ounces sweet potato noodles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot
4-5 shiitake mushrooms
1/2 medium yellow onion
1/2 bunch spinach
3 green onions 
3 tablespoons plus 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil 
1 1/3 tablespoons sugar or 1 tablespoon agave
1 teaspoon salt
 Toasted sesame seeds for garnish.

Cook the sweet potato noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to the package, generally 4-5 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse the noodles under cold water to stop the noodles from cooking.

While the noodles are cooking, shred or cut the carrot into thin strips. Chop the mushrooms and onion, and cut the green onions into about 1 inch pieces. 

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, carrot, mushrooms, onion, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and stir-fry until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the spinach and stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes. Then add the green onion and stir-fry for another minute. 

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the noodles, vegetables, remaining soy sauce and sesame oil, sugar, and salt. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.