1-Pan Vegan Japchae
Servings: 1 bowl
Calories: 595kcal
Cost: $2.64 per bowl
Japchae is a Korean stir-fried dish featuring bouncy sweet potato noodles, sliced carrots, plenty of scallion, all lightly coated in a sweet and savoury sauce.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- Wok or skillet with high sides (with a lid)
Ingredients
- 3 oz glass noodles, soaked in cold water for 4 hours (see Note 1)
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked 4 hours
- ¼ cup dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked 4 hours
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 scallion
- ½ carrot
- ½ yellow onion
- 1 cup spinach
Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine or mirin
- 2 cloves garlic or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup mushroom-soaking water
Toppings
- ½ tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Drain the soaked noodles and mushrooms. Squeeze excess water out of the mushrooms and slice them into strips. Reserve 1 cup of the mushroom-soaking water for the japchae sauce.
- Prepare the vegetables: Chop the scallions into 2-inch pieces. Slice the carrots (julienne) into matchsticks. Slice onions thinly. If you're using baby spinach, no need to cut them further; if using large spinach leaves, chop them into smaller pieces.
- Add 1 tbsp oil to a wok on high heat. Sauté the onion, scallion, and carrot briefly (around 30 seconds to 1 minute) until aromatic.
- Meanwhile, mix together the japchae sauce ingredients.
- Into the wok, add the sliced mushrooms, spinach, and drained noodles. Pour over the sauce mixture and give it a quick mix. Ensure that most of the noodles are covered by the sauce mixture.
- Cover the wok and let it come to a simmer. Then remove the lid and cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Divide into bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds and sesame oil. Japchae can be served hot or cold.
Notes
- Dried sweet potato noodles take anywhere from 10 minutes (using hot water) to 4 hours (using cold water) to soak. The texture of the noodles is best when soaked with cold water—super bouncy and chewy. However, if you are in a rush, you can use the following quick soak method:
- Boil the shiitake and wood ear mushrooms for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Set mushrooms aside to cool before slicing.
- Pour the boiling hot mushroom water over the noodles and let them soak while you proceed with the other ingredients.
Nutrition
Calories: 595kcal | Carbohydrates: 104g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 1879mg | Potassium: 739mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 11294IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 142mg | Iron: 6mg