Japchae, sweet potato starch noodles stir fried with vegetables and meat, is one of Korea’s best-loved dishes, and one of the most popular on my website as well.
If anyone asks me to recommend a good potluck dish, I don’t hesitate to answer japchae for the simple reason that pretty much everyone loves it. At any gathering it’s hard to pass up these chewy, sweet, and slightly slippery noodles with colorful stir-fried vegetables and mushrooms, its irresistible sesame flavor, healthy amount of garlic, and light, refreshing taste.
Stir frying each ingredient separately seems like a lot of labor, but each one requires a different cooking time and a bit of care, and keeping the color and freshness of each ingredient intact makes for a stunning final presentation. An easy way to make it even prettier and more nutritious is to use more vegetables and less noodles, although this is hard to recommend because the noodles are delicious by themselves.
Let me know if you make this at a party! Double, triple, quadruple the ingredients and let everyone taste your japchae!
Ingredients
(serves 4):
- 4 ounces beef, filet mignon (or pork shoulder), cut into ¼ inch wide and 2½ inch long strips
- 2 large dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 2 to 3 hours, cut into thin strips
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 large egg
- 4 ounces spinach, washed and drained
- 4 ounces of dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles)
- 2 to 3 green onions, cut crosswise into 2 inch long pieces
- 1 medium onion (1 cup), sliced thinly
- 4 to 5 white mushrooms, sliced thinly
- 1 medium carrot (¾ cup), cut into matchsticks
- ½ red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (optional)
- ground black pepper
- kosher salt
- vegetable oil
Directions
Marinate the beef and mushrooms:
- Put the beef and shiitake mushrooms into a bowl and mix with 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil with a wooden spoon or by hand. Cover and keep it in the fridge.
Make the egg garnish (jidan):
- Crack the egg and separate the egg yolk from the egg white. Remove the white stringy stuff (chalaza) from the yolk. Beat in a pinch of salt with a fork.
- Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to a heated nonstick pan. Swirl the oil around so it covers the pan, and then wipe off the excess heated oil with a kitchen towel so only a thin layer remains on the pan.
- To keep the jidan as yellow as possible, turn off the heat and pour the egg yolk mixture into the pan. Tilt it around so the mixture spreads thinly. Let it cook using the remaining heat in the pan for about 1 minute. Flip it over and let it sit on the pan for 1 more minute.
- Let it cool and slice it into thin strips.
Prepare the noodles and vegetables:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and blanch for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then take it out with a slotted spoon or strainer. Let the water keep boiling to cook the noodles.
- Rinse the spinach in cold water to stop it from cooking. Squeeze it with your hands to remove any excess water. Cut it a few times and put it into a bowl. Mix with 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil. Put it into a large mixing bowl.
- Put the noodles into the boiling water, cover and cook for 1 minute. Stir them with a wooden spoon so they don’t stick together. Cover and keep cooking for another 7 minutes until the noodles are soft and chewy.
- Strain and cut them a few times with kitchen scissors. Put the noodles into the large bowl next to the spinach. Add 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix well by hand or a wooden spoon. This process will season the noodles and also keep the noodles from sticking to each other.
- Heat up a skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil with the onion, the green onion, and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry about 2 minutes until the onion looks a little translucent. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
- Heat up the skillet again and add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Add the white mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for 2 minutes until softened and a little juicy. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
- Heat up the skillet and add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Add the carrot and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add the red bell pepper strips and stir-fry another 20 seconds. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
- Heat up the skillet and add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Add the beef and mushroom mixture and stir fry for a few minutes until the beef is no longer pink and the mushrooms are softened and shiny. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
Mix and serve:
- Add 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil to the mixing bowl full of ingredients. Mix all together by hand.
- Add the egg garnish and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Mix it and transfer it to a large plate and serve.
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안녕하세요 Maangchi^^!
I visited Korea 2 years ago and loved how healthy the food was! When it came time to make my own food, at first all I cooked was fried rice and spaghetti :). I wanted to add more variety to my diet and I found your website/youtube channel. Thank you so much! And my stomach thanks you too!^^
I’ve tried so many of your recipe but I would say this one turned out to be the most successful recipe! My mom and aunty loveeeed it! I also tasted it as a good food but strangely I can’t eat a lot after cooking it bcs it’s really exhausting lol soo many ingredient and so many stir fried to do. THANKS MAANGCHI YOU SAVED MY LIFE from eating junkfood over and over again
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Tried this when I went to Korea and fell in love with the dish. Decided to try and make it myself, so I ended up on your site. The result was amazing, and it tasted almost exactly the same as the one I tried on my travel <3 Thank you for sharing!
You made delicious japchae. Now you can make many other Korean dishes!
Hello Maangchi!
Japchae has been one of my favorite Korean dishes since I tried it years ago in a local Korean restaurant! I am very excited to try making it following your recipe! I intend to practice a few times before I make it for my boyfriend, who is half Korean. However, he does not like spinach OR mushrooms! Do you or any of your viewers have suggestions for replacements for the spinach and mushrooms? I was thinking perhaps water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, or thinly sliced broccoli or cabbage. What are your thoughts?
You can add any of your favorite vegetables to your bibimbap but I would use cucumber or broccoli(as you said) instead of spinach and skip mushrooms. If you use cucumber, slice it thinly and sprinkle with some salt. 5 to 10 minutes later, squeeze out excess water and pan fry with a drop of cooking oil for 20 seconds and use them.
Hi Maangchi,
I just made japchae and it taste really delicious! My boyfriend and I finished the whole serving together! We’ll definitely try this for the second round… =)
Thanks for sharing this awesome, delicious and simple korean recipe! Have a prosperous 2016 to you and to your family… =)
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yes, your japchae looks terrific! I made japchae on Jan.1st 2016 for my family, too! Homemade japchae is always more delicious than restaurant japchae because we use lots of colorful and good ingredients. Yours looks awesome!
Happy New Year to your and your family, too!
Hi Maangchi-
This is my first (ever) attempt at making a Korean dish. We moved to Nicaragua from the US and are missing our favorite Korean restaurants so much. I added more marinated mushrooms and increased the meat in the dish because we were so hungry. The final result was so outstanding! Thank you so much for sharing your enthusiam for cooking with us. It is contagious!
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Your japchae looks great! I’m so happy to see the yellow egg garnish was well made!
So, for a really long time, my Korean friend’s mom made Japchae and many other dishes for me whenever I went to their house. She called me her “daughter” and always sent me home with leftovers. About a year ago, they moved out of state and I’ve been missing her and her food like crazy. I got your cookbook over the weekend and started with this dish. I almost cried when I tasted the first bite, as it was so amazingly delicious and it also brought back great memories. Thank you, thank you.
“I almost cried when I tasted the first bite, as it was so amazingly delicious”
Thank you for sharing your story , and congratulations! I feel your passion for cooking. I do the same thing when my cooking turns out well.
Cheers!
Delicious!!! Sooooo damn tasty! Thank you maangchi for such a brilliant dish which doubles as a lovely snack. But it probably won’t last that long.
안녕하사요,
I just made this recipe among other ones from your website and I am always impressed! Thank you for the time and effort you put into making these recipes and posting them for us.
감사합니다,
샤넬
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All the dishes look amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Maangchi, this my second time making this dish. The first time I made it, I used mung bean glass noodles just to see what it was like. But this time, I used sweet potato starch glass noodles and this dish is so much better than the first time I made it. These noodles are fantastic. Please continue to post your wonderful recipes. Take good care! :)
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Thank you for sharing the photo of your japchae! It looks so yummy!
Thanks for your recipe~I’m make this for my husband he love this so much!
Last time I’m try by myself but too oily,but this time use your recipe is success.
Thanks so much~
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Thanks for the recipe. I made this for my family last month and it was a hit!
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I made this recipe twice and loved it, cooked it with beef. I plan to make this for a batch of around 10 adults but plan to cook it the evening before and keep it overnight in the fridge. Will the texture of the noodles and flavour still be good? The vegetables won’t turn soggy and cause the noodles to be watery right? Is it better to serve it again room temperature or cold? Thanks if uncan reply asap.
Koreans usually make large batches of side dishes like this and then eat a little at each meal until it’s gone. Thus, any of Maagchi’s recipes you make will keep beautifully in the fridge – just keep them tightly covered. Specifically with chap-chae, be sure that you cook the noodles enough. If you undercook them, they’ll dry out & get weird in the fridge, no matter how well you cover them. Other than that, the noodles keep their consistency very well. After about 5 days the veggies might get watery – then it’s time to throw away any leftovers (leftovers?!).
Another tip, especially for “dump cooks” – don’t season the warm noodles to taste. The flavor weakens as the noodles cool. If you make the flavor twice as strong (on warm noodles), the cool noodles should be just about right. (And if it’s too strong or salty, add some strips of fresh Korean pear (or more veggies if you can’t get the pear).)
This recipe is so delicious! My entire family absolutely loves it. My daughter has an egg sensitivity so I used yellow pepper instead of egg yolk to add colour. Thank you Maangchi!! <3
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Very colorful, nutritious, and delicious!
Hi Maangchi
Super elated as i completed the mission of following your video step by step! Love the results!! Made it for my hubby..Was meticulous work but so worth it. Thank u thank u!!
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The japchae looks very colorful and delicious! Thank you for sharing the photo with us!
Hello Maangchi.
i’m Tina from Indonesia. And i love your korean recipe. It’s simple but very delicious.
And this is my 2nd try to cook japchae.
It look a bit pale. But it tasted great! Just like the ones at my favorite korean restaurant.
Thank you Maangchi.
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Hi, Tina.
Did you remember to season your noodle with soy sauce & sesame oil? Then again at the end of the process?
It does look pale and look lacking soy sauce
Ima (Indonesia)
I made this for dinner last night. It takes me forever to cut carrots into matchsticks, so I used this spiral cutter I have, instead. I cut the carrot spirals into pieces about 2 inches long. I was afraid they wouldn’t be good cut this way, but it actually made it easier to pick up and eat! I used a fork, but it would help with chopsticks, too. I love my spiral cutter. I use it to make zucchini “noodles”.
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Hi Maangchi. I finally could make japchae. Worked out really well for me! Thank you for the recipe and awesome video! Your adorable. :)
Made a whole tray for 4th of July and it looks and tastes delish! I always make a big batch as I have a big family who loves to eat.
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wow, very colorful and tasty!
I almost wanted to cry when I took my first bite of this dish… it was sooooo delicious! My first time trying japchae was at my local Korean restaurant a few years ago and I did not think it was so great… until I tried Maangchi’s recipe. Oh, my goodness. The flavors! I don’t eat meat other than seafood, so I made it with shrimp instead. This is one of my favorite dishes for sure. Thanks, Maangchi!
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“I almost wanted to cry when I took my first bite of this dish…” omg, you are like me! When my dish turns out perfect, I feel the same way! You are one of my foodie readers! BTW, your japchae looks perfect!
Oh boy, this recipe surprised me. I made it, everything smelled delicious, and then I took a bite and was disappointed. It landed flat. THEN, I realized I had forgotten the sugar in the last step. Added the sugar, mixed it around, and it became incredibly delicious!
Then I added about 2T of chili-garlic paste to my bowl to give it some heat, and it went from delicious to remarkable. This is going to be one of my favorite dishes. Thank you!
P.S. You are adorable and I could watch your videos for hours. Thanks for all your hard work and the delicious recipes!!
Just cooked for my dinner! It’s delicious ^^
May i ask, can i stir fry all the vegetables together instead of cooking them separately as mentioned in step 5-7? It seemed like all the ingredients for stir frying the vegetables are the same. In the end, all of them get mixed up with the noodles anyway.
It depends on how sensitive your taste buds are, I guess. On lazy days, I’ll cook everything together (adding onions first, because they take longest to cook, and spinach last because it only needs a few moments). However, the flavors get cooked together. Each bite of this chap-chae tastes the same and gets rather boring. If you cook each item separately (I even wipe out the pan & use fresh oil for each thing) they keep their “flavor profiles.” Each bite of this chap-chae is a surprise. One mouthful might have more spinach so you get more bitterness; the next mouthful might have more meat or carrot so you get more richness or sweetness. This variety, if you can taste it, is a major part of chap-chae’s appeal (for me, at least). If you’re as taste-sensitive (and picky) as I am, cook everything separately. If not, go the easy route! :)
Hi Maangchi,
Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe. I just would like to ask if it is possible that I replace beef with some seafood like scallop or seafood mix, and season them in the same way? Thank you so much.
Yes, marinated seafood sounds great to me.
Wow! Incredibly delicious! I am so thankful for all of your delicious recipes Maangchi.
Wow! This was so tasty!
I didn’t have any spinach or red pepper, and I didn’t really read the recipe super carefully on all the sauces, but it ended up well :D Are the noodles supposed to be a little bit chewy though? Maybe I overcooked them :)
Dear Maangchi,
I discovered your website a few weeks ago, and love it. I’ve uploaded the photos of my japchae that I learnt how to make in Gangwon where I spent some time. It is very similar to yours, and I’ve been making it for years now….one of my favourite dishes, for sure. I am very excited to try out some of your recipes now. I think that I am going to start with ojingeo-tonggui, it looks absolutely amazing.
Best wishes and warm regards from Toronto, Canada. :)
I used to live in Toronto! Nice meeting you and good luck with your making delicious squid!
Hi Maangchi,
I finally made this delicious recipe. I used pork and only fresh mushrooms along with all the other ingredients and it turned out amazing. I made it all waiting ready without the meat. When i heard my husband open the garage door i started frying the slivered marinated pork that was waiting in the fridge. Once the meat was cooked I just added it to the veg/noodle mixture, checked for seasoning and served along with you eggplant side dish and voila! I am a star because of you. We could eat fast and rush off to the movies. thanks so much for explaining your recipes so well and anticipating if we only had pork or didn’t eat meat etc. I will always return to your channel and see “whats cooking” thanks again..
a big fan from Toronto….
After reading all the reviews my mouth is watering!! Can’t wait to try this! I have one problem though, I didn’t read carefully and bought fresh shitake mushrooms instead of dried. I noticed many of your recipes call for dried Shitake. 1) Can I use fresh shitake in this recipe? 2)What is the reason to use dried over fresh in any given recipe? Hopefully I will make this tomorrow!
For japchae, fresh shiitake mushrooms are ok to use. Just slice them and use. “2)What is the reason to use dried over fresh in any given recipe? ” Dried shiitake mushrooms are usually used to make good broth.
maangchi thank’s it was really delicious!!!!! i try yesterday, love it!!!
good news!
Hi Maangchi!
I’ve been following your recipes for a long while now and absolutely love every one of them! Your japchae is one of my favs but for some reason when I store it even in air tight containers in the refrigerator, the next day the noodles dry and and get a bit crunchy T-T How do you keep your japchae? Thanks!
Oh wait I just noticed the comment below mine lol :P If I try that I’m sure it’ll taste amazing again! XD
Hi Maangchi,
How long can japchae be stored in the fridge for?
Love from Australia!!
You can refrigerate it up to 2 days. When you are ready to serve, reheat it in a skillet with a few drops of cooking oil until the noodles become translucent again. When you stir-fry it, you may have to add some water (just a little bit about 1 or 2 tablespoons) Good luck!
I didn’t the fresh shiitake has a very strong smell. Is there any way to get rid of it.? I ask my sister grab the dry one but hit the fresh one instead.
yes, skip the shiitake mushrooms and add more white mushrooms.
Thank you for this great recipe. I made it this morning and cannot stop eat even my stomach already full 😛 I will try your bokchoy recipe tomorrow, if I don’t have doenjang, can I use Japanese miso?
I’m happy to hear that you made good japchae! “if I don’t have doenjang, can I use Japanese miso?” yes, I would use it if I were you.
Yes Maangchi..you are the greatest source for Korean recipe. Daebak! I try the bokchoy today, and it happened again! I can’t stop! Hahahahah… I will gain my weight for sure :)) can I have another question? For the black sesame porridge can I use milk instead water?
What if i don’t have dried shtick mushroom, just regular white ones?????
yes, use more white mushrooms or other mushrooms.
Hello Maangchi!
Thanks a lot for your awesome videos, really changed my cooking experience :)!
I wanted to know if it was possible to freeze japchae and for how long? You see I’m quite the lazy specimen and it would be extremely practical to keep it in the freezer
Thanks,
Cami
I wouldn’t freeze japchae. The noodles will turn mushy when you reheat it.
Hello Maangchi!
I just found your YouTube channel a week ago (searching for how to make rice cakes) and subscribed right away! I then saw your website and had to sign up. Your videos are so much fun to watch and your instructions are so clear–you are a good teacher!
When my sons were young (decades ago) they were in Tae Kwon Do and at one of the Christmas parties one of the mothers brought this delightful noodle dish–japchae–and I loved it. Over the years I have tried to recreate that dish but it was never as good as I remembered it.
Imagine how happy I was when I found the Japchae recipe on your site! I picked up some sweet potato starch noodles at my local Asian market (I had most of the other ingredients) and this afternoon I made Japchae to have for dinner tonight when my husband gets home. It smells so good and tastes perfect–just like I remember! It will be difficult to save some for my husband ;)
To make things a little quicker for myself, I used some pre-shredded carrots and a bag of spinach as my store didn’t have bunches of fresh spinach. The bagged spinach was pre-washed and that saved some time too.
Thank you so much for sharing your love of cooking with us :)
“Imagine how happy I was when I found the Japchae recipe on your site!”
Nice meeting you through my website. I feel your passion for cooking!
Yes, japchae is one of the most popular dishes for a party. It’s not spicy at all, so everybody loves this dish. Good luck with your Korean cooking!