Japchae (Korean Sweet Potato Noodles)
When I am craving noodles and still want to get a bunch of veggies in, I love making this! I finally perfected the recipe and it tastes really delicious! You can also make this vegetarian and use tofu if you’d like.
INGREDIENTS
For the Noodles & Vegetables
8-10oz Sweet potato noodles
1 package marinated beef shortrib (~ ½ pound) from HMart, you can also make your own or use tofu seasoned with salt, garlic powder, onion powder)
1 package shitake mushrooms, sliced
½ yellow onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 5oz pack spinach
3 eggs
For the Sauce
1/3 cup light soy sauce
2 ½ tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp dark soy sauce (different from the soy sauce you are used to. It’s thicker and adds a nice brown color to the noods.A little goes a long way. Buy it HERE)
4 tsp sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
INSTRUCTIONS
Start by chopping all your veggies and set aside.
To a large skillet on medium high heat, add avocado oil. Once hot, add sliced onions and 2 cloves garlic minced. Sauté until charred and slightly softened. Set aside in large bowl.
To the same skillet, add avocado oil and sauté mushrooms. Once mushrooms have browned, add a tiny pinch of salt and little drizzle of light soy sauce to give it some flavor. Set aside in large bowl with onion/garlic mixture.
To the same skillet, add avocado oil and sauté red bell peppers. Once charred and softened, add to bowl of cooked veggies.
To a large pot, fill with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the entire container of spinach. Cook for 1 minute until wilted. Drain and rinse. Let cool and then press the water out of the spinach with your hands. Give it a rough chop with scissors and drizzle a touch of sesame oil and mix. Add to bowl of cooked veggies.
To the same skillet, heat pan over medium high heat and add avocado oil. Whisk 3 eggs in a bowl. Once pan is heated, pour eggs in and swirl the pan around like you’re making a crepe. Once the edges are cooked and the eggs look like they are setting, carefully flip the egg to continue cooking the other side. Use spatula to roll the egg into a roll and place on cutting board. Chop into 1/4” ribbons. Add to bowl of cooked veggies.
Cook the marinated meat in pan with avocado oil until charred and cooked through. Set aside. If you are using tofu, I would cut the tofu into big slices, season with salt, garlic powder and onion powder and sear in pan until golden brown with some avocado oil then chop into your desired shape.
Cook sweet potato noodles according to package. It should take around 5-7 minutes to cook. Just taste the noodles to see if they are soft and chewy. Drain, rinse and season noodles with a generous drizzle of sesame oil. I like to take scissors and cut the noodles 2-3 times to make it smaller.
For the sauce, to a small bowl, add in 1/3 cup light soy sauce, 2 ½ tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 4 tsp sugar, ½ tsp kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper. Mix to combine.
Rinse the pot you cooked your noodles in and return to stove over medium high heat. Pour in sauce mixture and stir around until bubbling. Slowly add in your noodles. I like to only start with half, mix and then add more noodles in case there’s not enough sauce. You want the noodles to be a darkish brown color otherwise it’s not going to be as flavorful. Turn off heat.
Add in your veggies and meat/tofu. Mix and enjoy!