A recipe for Japchae (잡채, Korean Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Noodles)! These noodles are packed with marinated beef and vegetables for quite the light and delicious meal.
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Japchae (잡채) is a flavorful dish pairing Dangmyeon (당면) with a variety of colorful vegetables and optionally marinated beef in a mild sweet and savory sesame soy sauce.
Simply boil the noodles until chewy and tender, then toss in the easy sesame soy sauce along with blanched spinach, beef, and individually sautéed vegetables.
Serve immediately or at room temperature as a main meal, side, or even with rice (Japchae Bap, 잡채밥).
Dangmyeon (당면, dangmyun, tangmyun) are long, almost translucent noodles made from the starch of sweet potatoes. This creates a chewy, springy texture that absorbs the flavor of the sauce and other ingredients added.
They are also naturally gluten-free (to keep the meal gluten-free, use a gluten-free soy sauce). I have been able to find Dangmyeon in the dried noodle section of local markets with Korean and East Asian ingredients. They can also be found on Amazon: Dangmyun.
A Few Tips
The beef should be sliced as thinly as possible, about 1/8 inch (3 millimeters) thick against the grain. Placing it in the freezer for about 15 minutes before cutting can help. I usually find beef at the local Korean market already sliced for easy prep. Pork is another delicious option.
Have all of your vegetables sliced and prepped before heating the pan. They cook quickly once you get started.
After boiling the Dangmyeon, I cut the noodles into 8 inch (20 centimeter) long pieces and coated with a little sesame oil to keep them easier to manage and toss with the rest of the ingredients.
For a vegetarian meal, omit the beef and add a couple more vegetables if desired.
Other common ingredients include sliced bell peppers and strips of egg (jidan, 지단).
Traditionally, the vegetables are each cooked separately, transferred to a plate, then tossed together with the noodles at the end of cooking. This helps retain the flavor and texture of every ingredient.
You can cook the vegetables together to save time, but take care not to overcook. When I do this, I usually start with the onions, then add the carrots, mushrooms, and green onions.
Be sure to squeeze out excess moisture from the spinach before tossing with the noodles.
Notable Ingredients
I used dried shiitake mushrooms and soaked them in hot water until they were soft, about 20 minutes. You can also use fresh mushrooms.
Soju (소주)is a distilled Korean clear liquor made with rice, wheat, barley, or potato. It can be found in some liquor stores and Korean markets, but you can substitute with sake or vodka if you are unable to find it.
Looking for more Korean recipes?
Try my:
- Gungjung Tteokbokki (Korean Royal Court Rice Cakes)
- Gyeran Bbang (Korean Egg Bread)
- Dak Bulgogi (Korean Soy-Marinated Chicken)
This recipe was originally posted in March 2013 and updated in May 2022.
Japchae (Korean Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Noodles) Recipe
Adapted from Steamy Kitchen
Japchae (Korean Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Noodles)
Ingredients
Beef:
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) honey or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) Soju or rice wine
- 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces (227 grams) rib eye or sirloin beef thinly sliced against the grain 1/8 inch (3 millimeters) thick
Japchae:
- 5 (13 grams) dried shiitake mushrooms
- 8 ounces (227 grams) Dangmyeon Korean Sweet Potato Noodles
- 8 ounces (227 grams) baby spinach
- 3 tablespoons (44 milliliters) soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) granulated sugar or light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) sesame oil plus more for seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoon (30 milliliters) vegetable oil divided
- 1 medium onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 green onions cut into 1 inch (2.5 centimeter) pieces
- 1 large carrot peeled and cut into matchsticks
- Salt to taste
- Sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
To prepare the beef:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, soju, sesame oil, garlic, and black pepper.
- Add the beef and toss well to coat. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. If not using within an hour, cover and refrigerate for up to a day.
To prepare the Japchae:
- In a medium bowl, cover the dried shiitake mushrooms with hot water and soak until softened, about 20 minutes. Remove the stems and thinly slice the softened mushrooms. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and boil until tender and chewy, about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove the noodles from the pot, leaving the water boiling.
- Drain and rinse the noodles. Cut with scissors into about 8 inch (20 centimeter) long pieces and toss with a drizzle of sesame oil.
- Season the boiling water with salt and place a bowl of ice water near the pot.
- Add the spinach and boil just until wilted and vibrant green, about 1 minute.
- Remove the spinach from the water and place in the ice bath. Drain well and set aside. Once cooled enough to handle, squeeze out excess moisture. Toss with a small drizzle of sesame oil and pinch salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and black pepper. Set aside.
- In a wok or large pan, drizzle 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) of the vegetable oil over medium high heat.
- Once heated, add the marinated beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and just cooked through.
- Transfer the cooked beef to a plate, set aside, and wipe the pan.
- Drizzle another 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) of vegetable oil in the wok and place back over medium high heat.
- Add the onion and green onions. Cook until just starting to soften, stirring often. Season with a pinch of salt and transfer to a plate.
- Drizzle a little more oil if needed and add the carrots. Cook just until tender, but still crisp, and season with a small pinch of salt. Transfer to a plate.
- Drizzle a little more oil if needed and add sliced mushrooms. Cook until starting to soften, stirring often, and season with a small pinch of salt. Transfer to a plate.
- Toss the cooked noodles with the soy sauce mixture in the wok.
- Once combined, toss in the cooked beef, spinach, and sautéed vegetables. Continue to toss until the noodles have absorbed the sauce.
- Season to taste and serve garnished with sesame seeds.
Amy
I absolutely love Korean food. Cannot wait to make this! I’ve had it in restaurants and didn’t know it was so easy to make at home.
Kavita Favelle
I’m currently working in a town known as Little Korea and the best aspect of that for me is being able to enjoy Korean food for lunch most days. I love Jap Chae, never made it at home though. Thanks for the recipe!
Brian Jones
That looks and sounds delicious, fab sounding recipe.
Valentina
I LOVE those noodles and am so happy to have another recipe to use them in. This looks SO delicious!
Irena Macri
One of my favourite Korean dishes! This is just as good as what you’d get at a restaurant.
Liza
What a fantastic recipe. Your blog is always so much fun to read for new recipes, flavors and cultures, and I had never heard of Dangmyeon Korean Sweet Potato Noodles until reading this post. Thank you for another special meal!
Andrea
I’m excited to make these! I’ve got almost all the ingredients right now except I’m going to substitute bok choy for the spinach. Thanks for the recipe!
kushigalu
These noodles look amazingly delicious. I have never tried something like this before. Pinned.
Ieva
So much flavour, so wonderfully exciting – just extremely tasty! Thanks for another great recipe! 🙂 Keep them coming!