Homemade Japchae
- Madeline Yang
- Feb 8
- 2 min read
Japchae (잡채) is one of my favorite Korean foods of all time. The dish consists of bouncy sweet potato noodles, savory mushrooms, spinach, crunchy bell peppers, green onion, and sweet carrots, tossed together in a delectable sauce to create a masterpiece of contrasting textures and flavors. Luckily, japchae is super easy to make, and is super flexible with different vegetables and protein sources like beef or air-fried tofu. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3.5 ounces Korean sweet potato vermicelli
3/4 cup thinly sliced bell pepper
4 cups spinach
1/2 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup julienned bell pepper
8oz thinly sliced tofu
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown rice or maple syrup
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Directions:
Preheat your air fryer or oven to 400°F and coat your thinly-sliced tofu in a little bit of sesame oil. Cook your tofu for around 15 minutes in the airfryer, and flip midway through to allow crispiness on both sides.
In a large pan, boil spinach for one minute, or until it turns bright green. Drain and squeeze out excess water from the spinach.
In the same pan, stir-fry all of your veggies. Start with the carrots, as they take longer to cook, then add the bell peppers, and lastly the mushrooms. Cook until the veggies have soften, around 5-7 minutes.
Cook your noodles by boiling them in a separate pan for around seven minutes, or until they are al-dente.
Add the noodles, spinach, and tofu to the cooked vegetables.
In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown rice/maple syrup, sesame oil, and black pepper, and add it to the noodles and vegetables.
Toss the noodles, veggies, and sauce together, and garnish with the green onion. Optionally, add the sesame seeds.
Serve as a side dish or meal with your other Korean favorite.
Bon Appétit!
