When I ask people what their favorite Korean food is, they usually answer three things. Bulgogi. Bibimbap. and Japchae. Japchae {pronounced as job chay} is becoming more and more popular here in America. I had no idea how popular it was until just recently when one of my friends who is not familiar with Korean cuisine at all told me that she tried Jap Chae and loved it. I’ve been seeing a lot of Jap Chae recipes on food blogs lately too, which proves to me that Jap Chae is one of the most famous Korean food around the world.
I love Japchae, too. Jap Chae is more of a “party food” in Korea. Whenever there was a get together or some kind of a big party, there was a huge bowl of Jap chae on the table. It’s not really a everyday food so you know you’re gonna have some yummy jap chae if you were invited to a Korean party like baby’s first birthday parties or someone’s 70th party.
Jap Chae is usually not a quick or easy dish to make. Traditionally, you are supposed to make each vegetable and meat toppings separately and then mix everything together with the noodles in the end. Let me tell you. Time consuming! I always tell people this. I’m lazy. Especially when it comes to cooking. I don’t like to spend too much time standing in the kitchen in front of the stove or the oven. Too hot. Too tiring.. especially during Summer like this. So I knew there was no way in heck I was going to cook all the veggies and meat separately.
So I will tell you a secret.. I cheat and make all the vegetables and meat together in one skillet. Done within 30 minutes. Super quick and easy! So I call this recipe a skillet jap chae. My husband loves Jap Chae, too. He always prefers mine to any of the ones at Korean restaurants. Homemade Jap Chae is also great because you can add or omit any of the things that I don’t like much. If you like your Jap Chae a little sweeter, you can add more sugar, salty? Add more soy sauce. More meat? Add more meat. Vegetarian? Skip the meat. I usually add some carrots in my Jap Chae but I didn’t have any in my fridge so I just added more spinach and mushrooms.
Jap Chae uses “Dang Myeon” which is a kind of glassy noodles, sometimes called cellophane noodles, sometimes potato noodles. The noodles are slightly sweet and the texture is definitely different from the other types of noodles.
To make Jap Chae, first cook the noodles in boiling water until cooked.
Prepare Shiitake mushrooms by slicing them thinly.
Prepare beef: You can pretty much use any types of meat for Jap Chae. I do recommend more tender meat, such as rib eyes or tritips. Cut the meat small and thin and marinate it in Japchae sauce.
Heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and the marinaded beef and stir together until the beef is browned.
Marinade the noodles in the noodle sauce.
Add the marinaded noodles to the skillet and stir well.
Add about 3-4 handfuls of baby spinach to the skillet. Cover and cook, until the spinach is wilted.
When the spinach is wilted, stir well with the noodles and the other ingredients in the skillet.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Whisk two eggs together in a bowl until well mixed. Grease a flat pan with oil or cooking spray and cook the egg mixture until cooked. Thinly slice the cooked eggs.
Place some sliced eggs on top of the Jap Chae and ta-da! All ready to be eaten!
- 24 oz Cellophane (yam) glass noodles (or 1 package)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 yellow onion, sliced in strips (optional)
- 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 3-4 handfuls baby spinach
- 1 cup beef (preferably ribeye or tritip), cut into thin strips or in small cubes
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Sesame seeds
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- For the meat marinade: 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- pinch of salt, pepper, and sugar
- 1 teaspoon rice wine
- For the noodle marinade: Olive oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- Bring water to boil. Add the noodles and let it boil about 6 minutes. Drain water and squeeze the water out of the noodles. In large bowl, drizzle olive oil over noodles and stir constantly with chopsticks to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Add the noodle marinade and set aside.
- Marinade the beef; in small bowl, stir the beef in the beef marinade. Set aside and let it marinade about 20 minutes.
- In large skillet, add the sesame oil over high heat. Add meat, mushrooms and onions (if you’re using any) and stir about 3-4 minutes. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, and apple cider vinegar, stirring occasionally. Add the marinaded noodles to the skillet and stir to mix. Add the spinach, and continue to cook, covered, for about 4-5 minutes or until the spinach is wilted. Add the salt and pepper and sugar to taste or add more soy sauce if it needs it. Continue to stir well with chopsticks or tongs until well mixed. Remove from heat.
- Pour the beaten eggs onto a griddle or a flat pan over medium heat. (You will want to cook the eggs slowly rather than fast. The texture will be better if it is cooked over medium heat.) When the eggs are cooked, remove from heat and slice it into ½-inch strips.
- Top japchae with sesame seeds and sliced egg strips and serve.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Japchae is DEFINITELY one of my favorite korean dishes! I get so happy when I get a little plate of japchae as a side dish when I go to a tofu soup restaurant. Sadly, it`s rare something like that happens.
This looks so good!!! I would definitely try to make these if I had all the ingredients!
Japchae is one of my favorite noodle dishes! I love this easy version – makes me want to make it right now so I can eat it at midnight!
I like how quickly this version of japchae can be put together. This looks delicious!
That is one of my favorite dishes too…thanks for breaking it down for novices like me who have never tried to make it!
Oh, delicious! Have just got back from holiday – nothing in the fridge. But I do have some steak and cooked spinach in the freezer, and some dried shiitake in the cupboard, and we always have sweet potato noodles as I LOVE them, so I think I can approximate this for dinner tonight. How wonderful, I hope I do it justice.
Thanks for another inspiring recipe!
Just reporting back to say we had this for dinner tonight – delicious! The only tiny change I would make is a tsp of soy in the omelette for seasoning, but it was so tasty! Will make with fresh shiitake and spinach next time I get the chance!
My boys love japchae but I hate spending that much time in the kitchen! Will be trying this recipe very soon. Thanks so much!
I like adding red peppers too.
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