Springy Japchae (Stir-Fried Glass Noodles) for Holidays
A holiday japchae with fish cake and mushrooms in place of meat for chewy texture, stir-fried so the noodles stay springy even after cooling.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
This japchae uses plenty of fish cake and mushrooms instead of meat for a clean, chewy texture. Boiling the sweet potato glass noodles and stir-frying them separately in a soy sauce and oyster sauce seasoning keeps them springy without getting soggy, even when reheated. The natural flavors of the various ingredients harmonize beautifully, making it perfect for holiday spreads and family gatherings.
- Servings
- 10 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Not spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Sweet potato glass noodles (dangmyeon)500 g
- Fish cake (eomuk)2 sheets (4 sheets, for gimbap)
- Onion2 (medium)
- Baby oyster mushrooms200 g
- Dried wood ear mushrooms30 g
- Yellow and red bell pepper1 each
- Scallions (jjokpa)2 handfuls
Noodle seasoning
- Cooking oil5 tbsp
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang) (or brewed soy sauce (yangjo-ganjang))5 tbsp
- Oyster sauce2 tbsp
- Sugar2 tbsp
Finishing seasoning
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang) (or brewed soy sauce (yangjo-ganjang))2 tbsp
- Toasted sesame oil5 tbsp
- Toasted sesame seeds5 tbsp
- Ground black peppera little
- For the green color, you can use water dropwort, garlic chives, or green bell pepper instead of scallions.
- Soak the dried wood ear mushrooms in water for about 30 minutes to rehydrate.
Steps
Prepare the ingredients
You can pick whatever ingredients you like or what is in season for japchae.
The sweet potato glass noodles are a 500g bag.
Instead of meat, I prepared plenty of fish cake and mushrooms for a chewy texture.
Here are 2 sheets of fish cake for gimbap (= 4 rectangular fish cakes), baby oyster mushrooms, dried wood ear mushrooms, bell peppers (yellow and red), onion, and scallions.
I used scallions for the green color, cut to a similar length.
Water dropwort, garlic chives, or green bell pepper work well too.
Cut the ingredients
Cut all the vegetables for the japchae to a similar thickness and length.
Separate the baby oyster mushrooms into individual strands with your hands, and slice the onion not too thinly.
Cut the fish cake into 2 or 3 pieces, and seed the bell peppers and cut them to a similar length.
Prepare the wood ear mushrooms
Soak the dried wood ear mushrooms in water for about 30 minutes to rehydrate.
Lukewarm or warm water can shorten the soaking time.
They expand to more than 4 times their size, so add plenty of water and soak them until they become voluminous and soft.
Once they have expanded sufficiently, they often have lots of debris attached, so rub them gently with your hands and rinse several times.
If you look closely at the center of the wood ear mushroom, the base of the root looks like this.
Trim it off with a knife and cut into bite-sized pieces.
Stir-fry the ingredients
When stir-frying the ingredients, you can cook them one by one, but stir-frying ingredients with similar textures or colors together preserves their original flavor while saving effort.
For unseasoned ingredients, add a very tiny pinch of salt as you stir-fry so they get a light base seasoning.
In a pan with cooking oil, add the onion and a little salt, stir-fry until slightly wilted, then transfer to a plate to cool.
Add cooking oil, add the bell peppers and a little salt, and stir-fry until slightly wilted.
Add the fish cake together and give it a quick stir-fry.
Add salt to the baby oyster mushrooms and stir-fry until slightly wilted...
Add the wood ear mushrooms; they cook quickly, so just stir-fry them together for under 1 minute.
Stir-fry the scallions just until slightly wilted.
Boil the glass noodles
Boil the sweet potato glass noodles in rolling boiling water according to the package directions.
Take them out 1 to 2 minutes earlier to account for the stir-frying time.
Rinse in cold water to remove the heat, drain well in a strainer, and cut into easy-to-eat lengths.
Stir-fry the glass noodles
Add 5 tbsp cooking oil, 5 tbsp regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang), 2 tbsp oyster sauce, and 2 tbsp sugar, and bring to a brief simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved...
Add the sweet potato glass noodles and toss so they are evenly coated in the seasoning color.
When the noodles turn translucent and springy, they are well stir-fried.
Combine ingredients and add finishing seasoning
Add the vegetables and noodles together and mix roughly...
Add the final seasoning.
Add 2 tbsp regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang), 5 tbsp toasted sesame oil, 5 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, and a little ground black pepper, then mix evenly.
Do not add all the soy sauce at once; taste and adjust.
I almost skipped it, but I topped it with yellow and white egg garnish to complete the japchae.
Serve
I make japchae often, but when loaded with plenty of ingredients for a special day, it feels so much more luxurious and delicious.
The harmony of various ingredients creates an explosion of texture and savory umami.
Even without special seasonings, japchae tastes wonderful because of the flavors released from each different ingredient.
Ppunwife's tips
- Boil the sweet potato glass noodles in rolling boiling water according to the package directions, but take them out 1 to 2 minutes earlier to account for the stir-frying time.
- When doing the final seasoning, do not add all the soy sauce at once; taste and adjust.
FAQ
Is there a trick to boiling the glass noodles so they do not get soggy?
Boil them in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes less than the package instructions, rinse in cold water, drain, and stir-fry them in seasoning to keep their springy texture.
Can I use another vegetable instead of scallions for the green color?
Besides scallions, you can substitute water dropwort, garlic chives, or green bell pepper cut to a similar length according to your preference.
How do you prep dried wood ear mushrooms?
Soak them in water for about 30 minutes until fully expanded to over 4 times their size, rub and rinse them under running water, trim off the tough root base with a knife, and slice before use.
