Japchae – Sweet Potato Starch Noodles with Vegetables November 12, 2007

Japchae is a sweet potato starch noodle dish with a variety of vegetables, mostly commonly with onion, spinach, carrots, and mushrooms. It is a special occasion dish made for parties, family gatherings, and holiday celebrations. This time it was one of my coworker’s birthday. (Happy Birthday Johnson!)

There is usually a little bit of marinated beef in japchae but I made mine with the vegetables only with the addition of red peppers. The onion, carrots, red peppers, and shiitake mushrooms were sliced thinly and sauteed separately in a combination of canola and sesame oil. The spinach was blanched and squeezed well to rid it of its excess water then marinated with a touch of sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds. When the noodles were done cooking (seven minutes in boiling water), I rinsed it in cold water and drained it.

Then it was time to bring everything together. I sauteed the drained noodle in sesame oil for few minutes then added all the vegetables and soy sauce and sesame seeds to taste. It’s quite festive, colorful and delicious.