Korean Japchae Noodles with Gochujang
Soft smooth transparent noodles made with sweet potato flour are cooked with vegetables in a sweet soy sauce and some gochujang
Ingredients
- 1 package of Korean glass noodles
- vegetable oil
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 medium onion
- 1-2 cups spinach or other leafy greens
- 1 red pepper
- 1 cup cabbage (red or yellow)
Japchae sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or agave syrup
- 2-3 tbsp sesame oil (toasted)
- 1-2 tbsp Gochujang (chili sauce)
Toppings
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds (black or white)
Instructions
Precook the noodles
- Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the dry noodles (a good handful per person) and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Use tongs to push down the noodles and detangle them as they soften.
- Bite into one noodles, the middle should be cooked but the outside still firm. Cook longer if needed or drain and place in bowl with a few tablespoon of the cooking liquid.
Prepare the vegetables
- Peel and slice the onion. Core and slice the red bell pepper.
- Peel the carrots and cut them into match sticks. Thinly slice the cabbage.
- If using frozen spinach, use 1 cup and quickly blanch to thaw off. If using fresh spinach set aside at least 2 cups as it will shrink big time!
- Chop the green onions and set aside.
Make the Japchae with Gochujang Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients and whisk the Gochujang sauce (if using). Set aside.
Putting it together
- Heat a little oil in a large frying pan. Add the sliced onion and cook for a minute, add the cabbage and red pepper with a pinch of salt and stir.
- Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan.
- In the same pan, add the softened noodles and half of the sauce. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the vegetables and the other half of the sauce. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes uncovered.
- Taste and season
- Serve immediately and top with chopped green onions and sesame seeds.