Vegan Japchae - Korean Glass Noodle Stir-Fry

This vegan japchae is a super easy and satisfying meal. It's savory, umami, and slightly sweet, packed with fresh vegetables and chewy glass noodles that are naturally gluten-free. And only very light cooking is involved so yes, this treat is summer friendly!

Japchae literally means "mixed vegetables" in Korean - and as advertised, lots of colorful vegetables are used. However, the star ingredient is the Korean sweet potato glass noodles! They're chewy, bouncy, and semi-transparent, I like to think of them as the gummy bears of noodles ;) They're so fun to eat, add a whole different layer of texture, and are very easy to prepare.

By the look of it, you might assume they are all stir-fried in one big pot but each ingredient is actually cooked separately, it takes a little longer but this way each element gets its individual cooking time and nothing gets over or under-cooked!

If you're more of a visual person, watch the video linked below for step for step instructions, or come find me on Instagram and Tiktok.

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz Korean sweet potato glass noodles, 2 servings

6 oz shiitake mushrooms

1 medium carrot

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 bunch whole leaf spinach

1 sweet onion, thinly sliced

3 scallions, chopped

2 garlic clove, minced

Seasonings needed -

Soy sauce, rice vinegar, coconut amino sesame oil, maple syrup, salt

For the dressing -

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

TO MAKE:

- Bring a pot of water to boil, blanch the spinach for 30 - 40 seconds till just soft;

- Immediately rinse under cold water, then squeeze out the water as much as you can, cut 2 - 3 times to make them shorter;

- Transfer to a large bowl, dress with 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, and a small pinch of salt;

- In the same water pot, cook the sweet potato glass noodles according to package instructions;

- Drain and rinse cooked noodles under cold water, cut into threes with a pair of kitchen scissors;

- Transfer to the same large bowl, dress with 2 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon syrup, and 2 teaspoon sesame oil, this also prevents sticking;

- Prep the veggies, thinly slice the shiitake mushrooms, and bell peppers, and julienne the carrot;

- In a frying pan, heat a drizzle of cooking oil, fry off the 2 minced garlic cloves till aromatic;

- Add the shiitake mushrooms and cook till they start to "sweat", season with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of coconut amino, and a small pinch of salt, transfer to the large bowl;

- In the same frying pan, fry the onions till soft, then add the scallions, carrots, and bell peppers, cook till vegetables are soft but not mushy, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, transfer to the bowl;

- Mix all dressing ingredients, pour into the large bowl with all the cooked ingredients, mix together well;

- Serve with a sprinkle of white sesame seeds, enjoy!

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VEGAN BUNNY CHEF

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