Summer Vegetable Japchae (Korean Noodles) [V, DF]

This vegetable japchae celebrates all the star vegetables of summer in one delicious side dish.

Japchae is amazing. It’s a sweet and salty combination of stretchy, springy noodles and tenderly sautéed vegetables. It’s a little labor intensive to sauté each vegetable individually, thought. I may make a “cheater” version soon that’s a little simpler and see what we think!

This recipe has been adapted from Seonkyoung Longest. Japchae recipes normally include a bulgogi or other meat, but I thought with all the beautiful summer veggies that were happening that I should take advantage and make a vegetable japchae!

Local Spotlight: I got zucchini, carrots, spinach, and onions in my CSA, and a gorgeous orange pepper and mushrooms at the farmers market. I love having access to all the beautiful bounty of the summer.

They call these Korean glass noodles. They’re wonderful as an entree on their own, or as a side dish to anything else you might be serving. I hope you enjoy the springy noodles and chewy texture. It’s my very favorite part! Need more Korean recipes? Try kongguksu, dakgalbi, or galbi jjim!

xxHillary

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Summer Vegetable Japchae

This vegetable japchae celebrates all the star vegetables of summer in one delicious side dish.

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Korean

Keyword korean, vegetables, vegetarian

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 bag spinach
• 1/2 orange bell pepper
• ½ medium yellow onion
• 1 ½ mushrooms of your choice
• 4 medium carrots
• 6 oz. Korean sweet potato vermicelli
• 1/3 honey
• 1/3 low sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• ¼ t. black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Put a saucepan of water on to boil. Add in 2 t. of salt. Prepare a bowl full of ice and cold water for blanching.
2. Heat a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Drizzle 1 t. of oil onto the pan. Beat two eggs and pour in. Cook eggs on one side for 1-3 minutes, then flip for 30 seconds. Then remove from heat, fold in half, and set aside.
3. Blanch spinach for 10 seconds in the boiling water. submerge in the ice water to stop cooking. Do not remove spinach water.
4. Cut up egg, peppers, carrots, onion, mushroom and zucchini into small julienne slices.
5. Add 1 t. oil to the medium skillet used for the egg and return to medium-high heat. Saute the onion for 4-5 minutes, until mostly translucent. Remove and set aside with the egg.
6. Add 1 t. oil to the same medium skillet and return to medium-high heat. Saute peppers for 2-4 minutes. Remove from skillet.
7. Add 1 t. oil to the same medium skillet and return to medium-high heat. Saute carrots for 4-5 minutes. Remove from skillet.
8. Add 1 t. oil to the same medium skillet and return to medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms for 1-3 minutes. Remove from skillet.
9. Bring spinach water back up to a boil on medium-high heat on the stove. Cook noodles for 6-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
10. Whisk together soy sauce, honey, oil and pepper and ½ over the noodles and let them soak the sauce up.
11. Add in vegetables with tongs or clean hands, and then finish the noodles with the rest of the sauce and sesame seeds for garnish.
12. #enJOY warm or room temperature.