Every now and then you come across a dish that immediately earns a permanent place in your cooking repertoire.
For me, Japchae was exactly that.
Not because it's exotic or trendy, but because it solves a surprisingly common problem: what do you cook when you want something interesting, generous enough for several people and delicious both freshly made and later in the evening?
Japchae is a Korean noodle dish built around sweet potato starch noodles, vegetables and usually a little beef. The flavour is subtle rather than bold. Slightly sweet, savoury, nutty and incredibly moreish.
It is also much easier to make than many Korean recipes would have you believe.
You probably already have most of the ingredients
Don't let an unfamiliar ingredient list put you off.
Authentic sweet potato noodles are easy to find online and in many Asian supermarkets, but even if you can't get them, good glass noodles will still produce a very enjoyable dish.
Everything else is straightforward.
Easy substitutions for Northern European kitchens
| Korean ingredient | Easy substitute |
|---|---|
| Sweet potato noodles | Glass noodles |
| Shiitake mushrooms | Brown mushrooms |
| Korean spinach | Baby spinach |
| Korean pear | An apple |
| Rice syrup | Honey |
| Korean soy sauce | Any naturally brewed soy sauce |
The only ingredient worth buying specifically is toasted sesame oil. It gives the entire dish its characteristic aroma.
Japchae recipe (4–6 servings)
Ingredients
For the beef
- 250 g beef sirloin or flank steak, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp honey
- Freshly ground black pepper
Vegetables and noodles
- 250 g sweet potato starch noodles (dangmyeon)
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1 onion, sliced
- 150 g mushrooms
- 1 red pepper
- 100 g baby spinach
- 3 spring onions
- carrots and bell peppers can be added to your taste.
Sauce
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Method
Mix the beef with soy sauce, garlic, honey and pepper and leave it for 15 minutes.
Cook the noodles according to the package instructions and toss them with a little sesame oil.
Quickly stir-fry the vegetables, keeping them slightly firm.
Cook the beef separately.
Mix all the sauce ingredients together.
Finally, combine everything in one large pan, toss for another two or three minutes and finish with sesame seeds and spring onions.
That's all there is to it.
One dish, two completely different ways to serve it
This is probably my favourite thing about Japchae.
You can prepare the entire dish before guests arrive and simply put a large serving bowl in the middle of the table.
But it also works beautifully as a shared cooking experience.
Prepare bowls of sliced vegetables, marinated beef and cooked noodles and finish everything together outside.
If you have a tabletop cooker, even better.
If you have a terrace and a grill nearby, even better.
Some people associate Korean food exclusively with barbecue, but dishes like this remind you that Korean dining is often about interaction as much as flavour.
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