If you love Korean food, you no doubt know japchae, the dish made with those glassy, translucent noodles, tangled with lots of vegetables, mushrooms, and meat. Along with kimchi and bulgogi, it’s one of the most well-known Korean dishes, one I look forward to anytime I find myself in a Korean restaurant.
Until about a month ago, I never would have considered making japchae at home. It seemed too exotic, an endeavor that would require a trip to the Asian market, only to potentially return with the wrong ingredients (or the right ones, only to mess it up anyway).
What I’ve learned recently, however, thanks to Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking , is that there’s nothing exotic about japchae’s makeup: it’s noodles + veg & meat + sauce. I did have to make a trip to the Asian market for the noodles, but I had all of the other seasonings on hand: soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, and sesame seeds.
And guess what? Making Japchae, Maangchi’s way at least, is incredibly easy.
Maangchi’s Japchae
As noted above, to make japchae, the only ingredient you’ll need to seek out are the dangmyeon noodles, which are made from sweet potato starch (making them gluten-free). Your local Asian market likely will carry them, or you can order them online .
Some recipes call for boiling dangmyeon, but here, you’ll simply soak them in cold water for 40 minutes, during which time, you’ll prep everything else.
Typically, Japchae is made stir-fry style. Maangchi herself previously called for stir-frying, both in her first book and on her YouTube channel .
But in her new book, she simplifies the process, employing a completely different method — it’s almost like an un-stir fry. Rather than sauté the vegetables one by one in an uncovered hot pan, she layers everything into a cold pan: first the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and scallions, then the spinach, then the noodles, and finally the sauce.
Once the layering is complete, she covers the pan, and sets it on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Ten minutes later, she uncovers the pot, sprinkles in some sesame seeds and sesame oil, gives it a stir, and calls it done!
It’s incredibly easy, and incredibly tasty, and whether you know the dish or not, I think you’ll love it.
Here’s the play-by-play: Find yourself some dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles). Your local Asian market should carry them.
Soak the noodles in cold water for 40 minutes.
Slice up some mushrooms, garlic, and onions; slice scallions into 2-inch lengths:
Thinly slice carrots: You can do this with a mandoline (left) or knife (right).
Stir together a simple sauce: soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, and pepper:
Place the mushrooms, scallions, onions, and carrots in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot: I love my 5-qt Le Creuset braiser for this .
Toss vegetables with 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup water:
Top with a half pound of spinach:
Cut the soaked, drained sweet potato noodles into 6-inch (roughly) lengths:
Place on top of spinach and drizzle sauce over top:
Place pan on the stovetop, cover, and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes:
Open the lid, and give it a stir:
Add sesame seeds and sesame oil:
Toss!
Serve!
Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking:
Description
Japchae is a Korean dish made from dangmyeon noodles (sweet potato starch noodles) which are also known as “glass noodles” for their translucent appearance.
The recipe below is a vegetarian (vegan actually) version of the recipe in Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking. I’ve not only omitted the meat, but also the wood-ear mushrooms, because Maangchi listed them as optional. Know that you can adapt this recipe in countless ways: with meat or without, with mushrooms or without, with any number of vegetables you like.
The only hard-to-find ingredient here is the dangmyeon. I found a very reasonably priced large bag at the Asian market in Albany, and I would imagine most Asian grocery stores would carrying them. You can also order online: Dangmyeon (Sweet Potato Starch) Noodles .
I have
Carrots: I like to use my mandoline for this, but a knife works just as well.
Mushrooms: A mix of mushrooms is nice: shiitake, oyster, maitake, enoki, crimini.
- 8 ounces sweet potato starch noodles (dangmyeon), see notes above
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 – 5 cloves garlic minced
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 12 – 16 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced, see notes above
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 to 2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced, see notes above
- 4 to 6 scallions cut into 2.5 -inch pieces
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- kosher salt to taste
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- hot sauce, such as Sriracha, if you wish
- Place the noodles in a large bowl (I use a large pot) and cover with cold water. You may need to weigh the noodles down with a lid. Let stand for 40 minutes.
- Make the sauce : In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and pepper.
- Assemble the japchae: In a large, wide heavy pot or sauté pan (I use my 5-qt Le Creuset braiser for this), combine the mushrooms, onion, carrot, and scallions. Season with a good pinch of kosher salt. Add the olive oil and 1/4 cup water, and toss with your hands to combine. Pile the spinach on top.
- Drain the noodles and, using scissors, cut them into 5- to 6-inch lengths. Place the noodles over the spinach. Give the sauce a stir and drizzle evenly over top.
- Cover the pan and set it on the stovetop. Turn heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover and give everything a stir.
- Finish the dish: Add the sesame seeds and sesame oil and stir to combine. Serve immediately with hot sauce on the side if you wish.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Korean
Description
Japchae is a Korean dish made from dangmyeon noodles (sweet potato starch noodles) which are also known as “glass noodles” for their translucent appearance.
The recipe below is a vegetarian (vegan actually) version of the recipe in Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking. I’ve not only omitted the meat, but also the wood-ear mushrooms, because Maangchi listed them as optional. Know that you can adapt this recipe in countless ways: with meat or without, with mushrooms or without, with any number of vegetables you like.
The only hard-to-find ingredient here is the dangmyeon. I found a very reasonably priced large bag at the Asian market in Albany, and I would imagine most Asian grocery stores would carrying them. You can also order online: Dangmyeon (Sweet Potato Starch) Noodles .
I have
Carrots: I like to use my mandoline for this, but a knife works just as well.
Mushrooms: A mix of mushrooms is nice: shiitake, oyster, maitake, enoki, crimini.
- 8 ounces sweet potato starch noodles (dangmyeon), see notes above
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 – 5 cloves garlic minced
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 12 – 16 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced, see notes above
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 to 2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced, see notes above
- 4 to 6 scallions cut into 2.5 -inch pieces
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- kosher salt to taste
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- hot sauce, such as Sriracha, if you wish
- Place the noodles in a large bowl (I use a large pot) and cover with cold water. You may need to weigh the noodles down with a lid. Let stand for 40 minutes.
- Make the sauce : In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and pepper.
- Assemble the japchae: In a large, wide heavy pot or sauté pan (I use my 5-qt Le Creuset braiser for this), combine the mushrooms, onion, carrot, and scallions. Season with a good pinch of kosher salt. Add the olive oil and 1/4 cup water, and toss with your hands to combine. Pile the spinach on top.
- Drain the noodles and, using scissors, cut them into 5- to 6-inch lengths. Place the noodles over the spinach. Give the sauce a stir and drizzle evenly over top.
- Cover the pan and set it on the stovetop. Turn heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover and give everything a stir.
- Finish the dish: Add the sesame seeds and sesame oil and stir to combine. Serve immediately with hot sauce on the side if you wish.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Korean
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2019/12/01/vegetarian-japchae-korean-glass-noodles/
Tieghan Gerard, author of the Half Baked Harvest cookbook and the eponymous blog , has a new book out: Half Baked Harvest Super Simple . It’s filled with more than “125 recipes for instant, overnight, meal-prepped, and easy comfort foods.”
Naturally, I’m finding myself very drawn to the “pizza & pasta” chapter, a number of which are speaking to me: butternut squash and apple pizza, made with a smear of apple butter, sautéed shallots, and ribbons of raw butternut squash (created with a vegetable peeler), “grown-up” SpaghettiOs, made with mostly tomato paste and water but which is astonishingly delicious*, and this BAKED penne alla vodka.
I love penne alla vodka and have been a devotee of Ina’s recipe for years, which takes hours to cook. Tieghan’s vodka sauce takes a fraction of the time and relies on garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and, most importantly, a half cup of slivered sun-dried tomatoes, whose flavor in the end is so subtle — it will have any recipients of your baked-pasta labors guessing.
You can serve the sauce traditionally with al dente pasta and a shaving of parmesan over top or you can take it one step further and bake it. I opted for the latter and have zero regrets.
It’s simple: after you toss the pasta with the vodka sauce, you layer half of it into a 9×13-inch baking pan, top this layer with a mix of ricotta and heavy cream, top with the remaining pasta, and finally a layer of fresh mozzarella. After 35 minutes in the oven, when the cheese is beginning to blister and the pasta tips are beginning to char, it’s done.
Serve it with a simple green salad — that’s all it needs.
5 Other Favorite Baked Pastas
- Sheet Pan Mac n’ Cheese
- Baked Pasta Gratin with Kale
- Baked Penne with Butternut Squash Sauce
- No-Boil Mac n’ Cheese
- Baked Ziti with Kale & Créme Fraîche
*I loved this one and after making it with wagon wheels, I ordered the traditional anelli pasta , which is very hard to find in a traditional grocery store. I love the “little rings.”
Here’s the play by play: Gather your ingredients.
Sauté garlic and crushed red pepper flakes in butter.
Add vodka and reduce by a third.
Add crushed tomatoes (or plum) along with sun-dried tomatoes, and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 15 minutes, then …
… purée it.
Toss very al dente pasta with the sauce and parmesan.
Layer half of the pasta into a 9×13-inch baking pan.
Top with a layer of ricotta mixed with heavy cream.
Top with the remaining pasta.
Top with fresh mozzarella and transfer to the oven for 30-40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool briefly.
Serve with a simple green salad (and simple vinaigrette … this is my favorite).
Tieghan Gerard’s Half Baked Harvest Super Simple
Description
From Tieghan Gerard’s Half Baked Harvest Super Simple
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ cup vodka
- 1 28-oz can crushed (or whole peeled) tomatoes
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained and chopped
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 pound penne
- 1 cup parmesan
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 16 -oz whole milk ricotta
- 8 -oz fresh mozzarella
- fresh basil, for serving, optional
- In a large saucepan, combine the butter, garlic, and red pepper flakes over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring often, until the butter is melted and the garlic is fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the vodka and bring to a simmer. Cook until reduced by one-third, 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the crushed tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, and a large pinch each salt and pepper. Simmer the sauce over medium heat until reduced slightly, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Add the penne and cook for about 6 minutes (or about 4 minutes under suggested al dente cooking time.) Reserve one cup of pasta cooking liquid. Drain pasta and run under cold water.
- When the pasta sauce has finished cooking transfer it to a blender or use an immersion blender to purée until smooth — you may need to add some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid to thin. I’ve been adding about a cup of pasta cooking liquid.
- Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Add the sauce and parmesan and stir to combine.
- Heat the oven to 425ºF. In a medium bowl stir together the heavy cream and ricotta.
- Transfer half of the pasta mixture to a 9×13-inch baking pan. Top with the ricotta mixture, spreading to cover evenly. Top with the remaining pasta. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and scatter evenly over top. Transfer pan to the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Garnish with basil, if using, and more parmesan, if you wish.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American, Italian
