This Vegan Japchae (잡채) recipe is a delicious gluten free and vegetable packed dish ready in under 30 minutes!
Hey everyone! First, I just wanted to welcome you to my new and re-branded food blog! You can read more about Okonomi Kitchen, the story behind it and what to expect moving forward but for now, let’s dive into todays delicious recipe: Vegan Japchae. I think as of today, I only have one Korean recipe on the blog which is the Korean BBQ Jackfruit Bowls using my Sugar-Free Korean BBQ Sauce. That needs to change because I LOVE Korean food! Bibimbap, jajamyeon, kimchi, ddukbokki, banchans (korean side dishes)… you name it. SO GOOD!
What is Japchae?
Japchae is a super popular Korean noodle dish you will find at any Korean restaurant. It’s popular for good reason, Japchae uses glass noodles made from sweet potatoes. They have this unique bouncy texture which works perfectly with the crunchy texture from all the vegetables. Typically, meat is used as the protein source but it can easily be replaced with tofu for a vegan or vegetarian version . You can find glass noodles in Asian markets in the Korean aisle, or where they sell all kinds of Asian noodles. They’re also very inexpensive to buy, making this dish really budget friendly!
Korean Cooking
Watching my Korean friends parents cook, I learned that it is very common to prepare and cook each ingredient separately. This may sound like a lot of work but if you have the time and patience, it’s totally worth it! You can ensure each ingredient is cooked properly and seasoned well so that nothing is undercooked or over-cooked.
How to make Vegan Japchae
However, if you’re like me (lazy and always in a hurry) you can get away with cooking the vegetables in one pan as you go IF you know how to time each vegetable correctly. I learned to time each vegetable by first cooking each ingredient separately so I highly recommend doing the same so you know what Japchae is suppose to taste like. The perfect Japchae has bouncy noodles, vegetables that retain their structure with a well balanced flavours of sweet, salty and nutty.
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Vegan Japchae
- Total Time: 25
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
Description
This Vegan Japchae (잡채) recipe is a delicious gluten free and vegetable packed dish ready in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 package sweet potato noodles (250g)
- 1 package smoked firm tofu (300g)
- 1 medium zucchini (200g)
- 1 small carrot (130g)
- 1 medium onion (150g)
- 3 scallion stalks
- 3 garlic cloves
- 6 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated
- large handful of spinach
- sesame seeds
Sauce
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook sweet potato noodles following the directions on the package. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Add 1 tsp of sesame oil to coat the noodles, and then use scissors to cut the noodles (around 3-4 times). In the same pot, add in the spinach and blanch for 30 seconds. Rinse with cold water and squeeze the excess liquid out using a towel. Chop the bundled up spinach in half.
- Slice all the vegetables into match stick sized pieces. They should all be relatively the same size. Cut the tofu into thin rectangles.
- Put all the sauce ingredients into a small bowl and stir.
- In a large wok, over medium high heat fry the smoked tofu with a little bit of sesame oil just until lightly browned on each side. Transfer into another bowl and set aside.
- In the same wok, fry onions and garlic for 1 minute. Then add in the shiitake mushrooms and carrot and fry for another minute. Add in the zucchini and scallions and fry for one more minute. Slightly turn down the heat and add in the noodles, spinach tofu and sauce. Toss and cook until all the sauce is all soaked up.
- Serve and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Notes
Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Entree
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 484
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Protein: 16g
SAVE IT FOR LATER!
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Really good. I added mung bean sprouts and used oyster instead of shitake because that’s what I had. Also had to use hot sesame oil because I was out of roasted- which worked out awesome- I love Japchae, but always love heat! I even doubled up on the veggies to be healthier!
Got the sweet potato glass noodles off of amazon as they aren’t sold where I live. This recipe was a huge hit at my work. Didn’t have smoked tofu so just pan fried the tofu with a little liquid smoke and it worked perfectly. I’ve never had japchae before and this was absolutely delicious.
So so delicious, and accessible! I was easily able to sub in the vegetables that I had on hand, and I was so proud and pleased that I was able to cook something that tastes just like from a restaurant. I will absolutely be sharing this recipe with friends, family, and hope to incorporate it into my regular cooking routine.
Absolutely recommend!!! 🙂
Delicious and easy to make! I made this for dinner when I was short on time & it did not disappoint. Everything came together quickly and the flavor was spot on. I didn’t have smoked tofu, so I just sautéed my tofu pieces with a tiny drop of liquid smoke mixed into the sesame oil to get that smokey flavor & it seemed to work really well.
Quick and simple recipe that’s really versatile. It’s easy to substitute any veggies that you may have languishing in your fridge. I recently used peppers as my “green” since I was out of spinach. I’ve made this japchae with rainbow chard and collards before too. All delicious substitutions!
I made this tonight. So easy and so delicious! Thank you for sharing how to make it.
Amazing ans easy recipe! This will definitely
Be a staple in my
Weekly cooking! Thank you 🙏🏽
Such a easy yummy recipe! Will definitely become a weekly staple. Served it for my friend when she came over for dinner and she begged me for the recipe. She’s a picky eater and she LOVED it.
I made this and it was delicious. I added Oumph instead of Tofu & to the sauce I also added garlic, pepper and Mirin to the sauce as well.
I love Japchae & this version is quick and tasty!
Made this and as always it absolutely hit the spot!
Simple and very delicious, will definitely make it again as requested by my partner 🤣