Until about a month ago, I never would have considered making japchae at home. It seemed too exotic, an endeavor that would require a trip to the Asian market, only to potentially return with the wrong ingredients (or the right ones, only to mess it up anyway). What I’ve learned recently, however, thanks to Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking, is that there’s nothing exotic about japchae’s makeup: it’s noodles + veg & meat + sauce. I did have to make a trip to the Asian market for the noodles, but I had all of the other seasonings on hand: soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, and sesame seeds. And guess what? Making Japchae, Maangchi’s way at least, is incredibly easy.
Maangchi’s Japchae
As noted above, to make japchae, the only ingredient you’ll need to seek out are the dangmyeon noodles, which are made from sweet potato starch (making them gluten-free). Your local Asian market likely will carry them, or you can order them online. Some recipes call for boiling dangmyeon, but here, you’ll simply soak them in cold water for 40 minutes, during which time, you’ll prep everything else. Typically, Japchae is made stir-fry style. Maangchi herself previously called for stir-frying, both in her first book and on her YouTube channel. But in her new book, she simplifies the process, employing a completely different method — it’s almost like an un-stir fry. Rather than sauté the vegetables one by one in an uncovered hot pan, she layers everything into a cold pan: first the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and scallions, then the spinach, then the noodles, and finally the sauce. Once the layering is complete, she covers the pan, and sets it on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Ten minutes later, she uncovers the pot, sprinkles in some sesame seeds and sesame oil, gives it a stir, and calls it done! It’s incredibly easy, and incredibly tasty, and whether you know the dish or not, I think you’ll love it. PS: You can read more about Maanghi’s latest cookbook and four others over here, where I’m giving away a copy of it as part of my annual cookbook chat with Margaret Roach. Here’s the play-by-play: Find yourself some dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles). Your local Asian market should carry them. Soak the noodles in cold water for 40 minutes. Slice up some mushrooms, garlic, and onions; slice scallions into 2-inch lengths: Thinly slice carrots: You can do this with a mandoline (left) or knife (right). Stir together a simple sauce: soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, and pepper: Place the mushrooms, scallions, onions, and carrots in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot: I love my 5-qt Le Creuset braiser for this. Toss vegetables with 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup water: Top with a half pound of spinach: Cut the soaked, drained sweet potato noodles into 6-inch (roughly) lengths: Place on top of spinach and drizzle sauce over top: Place pan on the stovetop, cover, and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes: Open the lid, and give it a stir: Add sesame seeds and sesame oil: Toss! Serve! Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking: 4.9 from 14 reviews The recipe below is a vegetarian (vegan actually) version of the recipe in Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking. I’ve not only omitted the meat, but also the wood-ear mushrooms, because Maangchi listed them as optional. Know that you can adapt this recipe in countless ways: with meat or without, with mushrooms or without, with any number of vegetables you like. The only hard-to-find ingredient here is the dangmyeon. I found a very reasonably priced large bag at the Asian market in Albany, and I would imagine most Asian grocery stores would carrying them. You can also order online: Dangmyeon (Sweet Potato Starch) Noodles. I have Carrots: I like to use my mandoline for this, but a knife works just as well. Mushrooms: A mix of mushrooms is nice: shiitake, oyster, maitake, enoki, crimini.
