Go Back
kimmie

Easy Japchae Recipe

This is a simplified version of traditional japchae (잡채)—a savoury Korean dish made with sweet potato noodles, vegetables, and meat. Instead of cooking everything separately, you cook it all in one pan for a quick, easy, and delicious meal.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: korean
Calories: 1240
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g Sweet potato noodles (dangmyeon ) 50g - one Portion
  • 120 g Pork thinly sliced or ground pork
  • ⅔ Onion a medium size
  • ⅓ Carrot a medium carrot
  • 80 g Mushrooms brown, shiitake, oyster, or king oyster mushroom
  • 100 g Fresh spinach
Sauce (Mix in advance)
  • 5 tablespoons Soy sauce
  • 1.5 tablespoons Sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon Sesame oil
  • a pinch Ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Toasted sesame seeds

Method
 

How to prepare the Ingredients
  1. Ingredients
  2. Onion: Slice into thin strips (julienned) from root to tip.
  3. Carrot: Peel and julienne into matchstick-sized pieces.
  4. Mushrooms: Thinly slice if using shiitake or king oyster; tear into strips if using oyster mushrooms.
  5. Pork: Slice thinly against the grain into bite-sized strips (or use ground pork for convenience).
  6. marinaded the pork for 10 mins with 1 tablespoon soy sauce , 0.5 tablespoon sugar , a pinch of black pepper and a bit of minced garlic.
  7. Spinach: No need to cut—use whole leaves if small, or cut once across if large.
Preparing sweet potato noodle
  1. In boiling water, put the noodles for 8-11 minutes until soft, then rinse with cold water and drain well.
Stir-fry vegetables
  1. Heat a pan with a little oil and add the onion and carrot over medium-high heat, stir-frying for about 1–2 minutes, just until they begin to soften.
  2. Then add the mushrooms and continue stir-frying for another 1–2 minutes
  3. When the vegetables begin to soften, add the fresh spinach and stir-fry for about 30 seconds more, just until wilted.
  4. Once cooked through, remove from the pan and set aside.
Cook the pork
  1. Use the same pan, add a bit more oil in the pan and stir-fry the pork until cook through
  2. Once cooked through, remove from the pan and set aside.
Combine and stir-fry with sauce.
  1. Pour the prepared sauce into the pan over low-medium heat.
  2. Add the boiled glass noodles.
  3. And mix well with the sauce.
  4. Cooked pork and the vegetables back into the pan. And stir-fry everything together for 2–3 minutes, mixing well.
  5. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
  6. Turn off the heat. Add a drizzle of sesame oil (about 0.5 tablespoon) and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Tips for Perfect Japchae

  • Cut everything into similar thin strips so the ingredients cook evenly and mix well.
  • Fresh spinach can be added raw—it cooks quickly and saves prep time.
  • Use a large skillet or wok for easier tossing and stir-frying.
  • If the noodles stick while stir-frying, add a splash of water or extra sesame oil.
  • You can also add other vegetables ( red pepper, fish cake, beef ...)