Japchae
Chewy sweet potato glass noodles tossed with mushrooms, spinach, carrot and bell pepper in a glossy soy, sesame and garlic sauce. A Korean classic, fast.
- Prep
- 8 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Serves
- 2
- Per serve
- 590 kcal
Ingredients
Method
Bring a large pot of water to a boil (an electric kettle speeds this up). Meanwhile, mix the soy sauce, sugar, 1 tbsp sesame oil and garlic in a small bowl, and slice the vegetables.
Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook, stirring now and then, until soft and chewy with no hard core.
While the noodles cook, heat the neutral oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the onion and mushrooms until the onion is soft and the mushrooms are golden.
Add the carrots, bell pepper and scallions with a pinch of salt and stir-fry until just tender but still bright.
Drain the noodles, rinse briefly under cold water so they don't stick, shake dry and snip them a few times with kitchen scissors. Add to the pan with the spinach and the sauce and toss over medium heat until the spinach wilts and the noodles are glossy and have soaked up the sauce.
Take off the heat, toss with the remaining 1 tbsp sesame oil and half the sesame seeds. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with the rest of the seeds.
Tips
- Don't overcook the noodles: they should be bouncy and chewy, not mushy. Taste one at 5 minutes.
- Sweet potato noodles are naturally gluten-free, so swap the soy sauce for tamari to make the whole dish gluten-free.
- For a meatier version, stir-fry 150 g (5 ounces) thinly sliced beef or a few strips of egg omelette with the vegetables.
