Jap Chae is a traditional Korean dish that's a delicious cross between a stirfry of slippery bouncy sweet potato starch noodles and salad of colorful vegetables. In this modern supercharged version, we lean toward the salad side by doubling the vegetables and adjusting the sauce to make Jap Chae your healthiest hyperfixation yet. Shall we?

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What is Jap Chae?
Jap Chae, 잡채 in Korean and sometimes spelled "japchae," is a classic Korean dish of noodles and stir-fried vegetables that are dressed with a savory garlicky, slightly sweet soy-based sauce. The specific kind of noodles for japchae called "dang myun" are made of sweet potato starch and are clear when cooked similar to glass noodles and cellophane noodles.
In the traditional recipe, each of the individual components are prepped and cooked separately. Because this requires a little more work than say your standard "throw it all in a pan and stir fry," Koreans often reserve japchae for big batches for special occasions and parties.
This modern version makes japchae faster and easier to cook, so you can make japchae at home any time for one to many.
Is Jap Chae Healthy?
Yes! Jap chae is healthy, especially this modern version with amped up amount of vegetables and reduced sugar.
Depending on your health needs and dietary considerations of course. To be honest, I can't really think of a case in which this jap chae recipe would not be healthy, unless maybe you ate the entire 4 servings yourself because it tastes so good.
Dietary Considerations of Jap Chae
As printed, this Jap Chae recipe as printed is:
- 100% plant-based, vegan
- vegetarian
- dairy-free
- gluten-free
- refined sugar-free
Healthy, Modern Updates to the Jap Chae Recipe
Traditional versions of jap chae treat the dish like a noodle-heavy stir fry that includes sliced beef along with the vegetables and a seasoning sauce that has quite a bit of sugar for sweetness as well as a thick, glossy texture.
This modern recipe makes jap chae more of a salad rather than a stir fry. It omits the beef to make it vegetarian and slightly more affordable and increases the proportion of vegetables to noodles. Instead of plain sugar as sweetener, there is maple syrup or date sugar and much less of it.
Perhaps the most important update to jap chae is how it's cooked. In traditional version of jap chae, each of the vegetables is individually stir-fried in oil to account for the differing required cooking times. To make Jap Chae faster and a little easier, we cook some of the vegetables by simply blanching them in the same boiling water used to cook the dang myun noodles, and sauteing the rest of the vegetables all at once rather than in individual batches.
How to Pronounce "Jap Chae"
Personally, I think "job chae" is a better translation of the Korean characters, because it literally sounds like "job cheh," rhymes with "mob meh." But if you pronounce "jap chae" the way you read it, it might come out as "japp chay" and guess what, it's good enough that we all know what you're trying to say.
By the way, I used to be super self-conscious about pronouncing ANY non-English word Spanish Korean and otherwise and that held me back a lot from learning about cultural cuisines. How stupid was that. Now I go around and do my best, learn, do my next best and keep learning. You should too.
Ingredients You Need for Jap Chae
Fresh/refrigerator ingredients:
- Carrots, 2 large or about 4 ounces
- Spinach, 6 ounces
- Onion, ½ medium onion
- Green onions, 2 stalks
- Shiitake mushrooms, 2 cups sliced about 12 ounces
- Purple cabbage, ¼ head fine julienne
- Garlic, 2 teaspoons grated
Dry/pantry ingredients:
- Korean sweet potato starch noodles aka dang-myun, 4 ounces
- Avocado oil, 2 tablespoons
- Sesame oil, 2-3 teaspoons
- Tamari or soy sauce, 4 tablespoons
- Maple syrup or brown sugar, 2 tablespoons
- Sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons
What Kind of Noodles for Jap Chae?
The noodles used for Jap Chae are called dang-myun, which are made from sweet potato starch. The noodles start light grayish brown when dried, and cook up translucent similar to cellophane noodles and glass noodles. Dang-myun are, by nature, gluten-free.
Korean markets sell dang myun in the dried noodle/pasta section. This is the organic brand I currently have in my kitchen. This is another organic brand of dang-myun from one of my favorite Korean food brands in general.
If you can't find dang-myun, you can substitute another type of transparent noodles labeled "glass noodles" or "cellophane noodles," as long as they are about the same thickness/width. Anything thread-like will be too thin and fragile to stand up to the stirring with the vegetables.
One quick note: dang-myun noodles for jap chae are not the same as naeng-myun noodles. Both look slightly brownish gray when dried and packaged, but dang-myun are made from sweet potato starch and naeng-myun noodles are made from buckwheat.
How to Use Dang-myun Noodles
- Spicy Jap Chae
- Galbi Tang, Korean Short Rib Soup
- Dak Jjim, Korean Braised Chicken
- Dak Dori Tang, Korean Spicy Braised Chicken
Additional Ingredients Notes and Resources
Avocado oil. I use this Avocado Oil as my every day neutral-flavored cooking oil. If you don't have avocado oil, use olive oil, though olive oil has quite a distinctive flavor.
Sesame oil. Use toasted, not regular, sesame oil. Toasted sesame oil is dark brown and is used as a finishing oil, not as a cooking oil. This is the Japanese brand that everyone and their mothers' have been using for years. You can usually find organic like this one in natural and higher end grocery stores.
Tamari or soy sauce. Tamari is Japanese-style soy sauce that has little or no wheat. Therefore, tamari can be gluten-free, though not always. If you eat gluten-free, make sure to read labels. I use this organic gluten-free tamari. This brand is also great, though might be a little harder to find in-store.
Maple Syrup. I use this maple syrup. If you like the deep dark color in a braised chicken dish, use a dark amber grade A maple syrup.
Sesame seeds. Use toasted sesame seeds.
All other fresh herbs and produce from either the Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Wednesday, or Whole Foods Market when I can't find what I need at the farmers' market.
Instructions for How to Make Jap Chae
Jap Chae is fairly straight-forward to make, though there are a few steps, and doing them in a specific way helps to keep the number of pots and pans you have to use and wash to a minimum.
Cook Jap Chae Noodles
Combine the sauce ingredients—4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 2 teaspoons grated garlic, 1 teaspoon sesame oil—in a small bowl.
Cook Noodles: In a large sauté pan or frying pan with high sides, bring about 6 cups of water to a boil, and cook the noodles until completely translucent and soft, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Turn off heat. Using tongs, remove noodles to a colander leaving the hot water in the sauté pan.
Rinse noodles under cold running tap water. Tap strainer to full drain noodles.
Transfer noodles to a large mixing bowl and mix noodles with 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
Pro-tip: Use a wide sauté pan instead of a deep pot when cooking noodles. You will use the same sauté pan to stir-fry remaining vegetables.
Cook Vegetables
Blanch Carrots and Spinach: Place spinach in colander in sink. Bring water in the pot used to boil dang-myun noodles back to boil. When water boils, add julienned carrots and blanch until tender, about 2 minutes.
Drain carrots into colander over spinach. Rinse with coldest water from tap. Remove carrots bowl with noodles. Squeeze spinach with your hands to remove as much water as possible then put in mixing bowl with noodles and carrots.
Sauté Onions, Green Onions, Mushrooms, and Cabbage: Wipe out sauté pan if necessary. Heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil over medium heat. Add onions and green onions and stir fry until the onions are translucent about 2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles.
Drizzle the pan with another 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Add the mushrooms and cook until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles.
Drizzle the pan with another 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Add the shredded cabbage and stir fry until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook. Cabbage tastes best when slightly crisp. Transfer cooked cabbage to the bowl with the noodles.
Pour Seasoning Sauce over noodles and vegetables.
Mix to combine. You can use tongs, but hands are actually the best "tool" to really evenly distribute all the vegetables and sauce. Taste and adjust with additional soy sauce if needed.
Garnish with roasted sesame seeds.
How to Make Optional Egg Garnish, "Jidan" 지단
Lightly beat egg until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium low heat. Pour egg and spread into a thin layer by tilting the skillet and/or spreading with a spoon.
Cook each side briefly. (Do not brown the egg.)
Remove cooked egg to cutting board, roll it and thinly slice.
Can You Cook Jap Chae in Advance?
Yes! You can cook this Jap Chae in advance! You can prepare each of the individual components of Jap Chae 1 day in advance, and then combine right before serving.
Cook the recipe as directed, then follow these steps to store in refrigerator for up to two days.
How to Store Prepped or Leftover Jap Chae
Refrigerator. You can keep leftover or pre-prepped Jap Chae in air-tight containers in the refrigerator for 2 days. Normally, a cooked vegetable dish can keep a couple of days longer, but cooked spinach has a shorter shelf life.
Freezer. You can freeze Jap Chae for about 2 months. The way that works best for how I maintain my freezer is portioning the Jap Chae directly into freezer-safe quart-sized bags, squeezing out all the air, sealing, and laying flat in the freezer until it freezes. Then I stand the bag or multiple bags up and line them up like thin books on a bookshelf. If you're looking to reduce single-use plastic, these are re-usable ziptop bags.
To re-heat Japchae: defrost frozen japchae overnight in the refrigerator then sauté in a little bit of oil over medium heat on the stovetop, adding a few tablespoons of water if the pan dries out.
Ingredient Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few suggested substitutions for some of the slightly harder-to-find ingredients, as well as suggested additions, and variations. I have tried all of these and the family truly does love all of them!
Dried Shiitake Mushrooms for Fresh. If you want to use dried shiitake mushrooms, soak dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Or use any other full flavored mushroom like oyster mushrooms or hen of the woods mushrooms in the same amount.
Kale. Substitute nutrient-dense kale for spinach, or substitute out half the spinach for the health benefits of both kale and spinach in Jap Chae.
Green cabbage or Napa cabbage for the purple cabbage.
No Tamari. Substitute with regular soy sauce.
Jap Chae, Korean Glass Noodle Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Korean potato starch noodles dangmyeon, 당면
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 carrots about 3 ounces
- 6 ounces fresh spinach
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or other neutral flavored cooking oil
- ½ medium onion, sliced preferably sweet variety, (4 to 5 ounces)
- 2 scallions
- 2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms about 12 ounces
- ¼ head purple cabbage, fine julienne
Jap Chae Seasoning Sauce
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or brown sugar You can use a little less if you want.
- 2 teaspoons grated garlic
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine the sauce ingredients—4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 2 teaspoons grated garlic, 1 teaspoon sesame oil—in a small bowl.
- Cook Noodles: In a large sauté pan or frying pan with high sides, bring about 6 cups of water to a boil, and cook the noodles until completely translucent and soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Turn off heat. Using tongs, remove noodles to a colander leaving the water in the sauté pan. Rinse noodles under cold running tap water. Tap strainer to full drain noodles. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and mix noodles with 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
- Blanch Carrots and Spinach: Place spinach in colander. Bring water back to boil. When water boils, add julienned carrots and blanch until tender, about 2 minutes.
- Drain carrots into colander over spinach. Rinse with coldest water from tap. Remove carrots bowl with noodles. Squeeze spinach with your hands to remove as much water as possible then put in mixing bowl with noodles and carrots.
- Sauté Onions, Green Onions, Mushrooms, and Cabbage: Wipe out sauté pan if necessary. Heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil over medium heat. Add onions and green onions and stir fry until the onions are translucent about 2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles.
- Drizzle the pan with another 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Add the mushrooms and cook until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles.
- Drizzle the pan with another 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Add the shredded cabbage and stir fry until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook. Cabbage tastes best when slightly crisp. Transfer cooked cabbage to the bowl with the noodles.
- Pour Seasoning Sauce over noodles and vegetables, Mix to combine. You can use tongs, but hands are actually the best "tool" to really evenly distribute all the vegetables and sauce. Taste and adjust with additional soy sauce if needed.
- Garnish with roasted sesame seeds.
Optional Egg Garnish
- Lightly beat egg until smooth. Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium low heat. Pour egg and spread into a thin layer by tilting the skillet and/or spreading with a spoon. Cook each side briefly. Do not brown the egg. Roll it and thinly slice.
Notes
Nutrition
Jap Chae Shares
Homemade vegetarian jap chae with egg garnish:
Vegetarian jap chae with red and green bell peppers for color:
Traditional style jap chae with mostly noodles:
Anonymous says
Did you have to take a picture of the bones? That looks pretty disgusting. It's like showing us a carcass after eating a roast chicken.
sarah says
lol! i thought it was so interesting that my mom simmered the broth so long that the meat fell off the bones so cleanly! sorry if it grosses anyone out :)
lily says
todaly
e d b m says
oh man that looks so good sarah. especially when you're hungover. do you ever make gum ja tang with the huge pork bones and potatoes? i always get it at the food court in the Ktown Galleria (olympic/western).
Eddie Lin says
Sarah,
I can't believe you ate oxtail!! Isn't that on the funky side for you? I for one am glad you took a photo of the dust dry oxtail bones because now I can vicariously experience the marrow sucking that you must've done to get dem bones in that pristine condition. Sluurpityburp!!
Now I want to go to K-town this weekend and have a bowl then get piss drunk at a karaoke bar. There, you just planned my weekend! Thanks!
Eddie Lin says
Sarah,
I can't believe you ate oxtail!! Isn't that on the funky side for you? I for one am glad you took a photo of the dust dry oxtail bones because now I can vicariously experience the marrow sucking that you must've done to get dem bones in that pristine condition. Sluurpityburp!!
Now I want to go to K-town this weekend and have a bowl then get piss drunk at a karaoke bar. There, you just planned my weekend! Thanks!
sarah says
you know, i've never made gam-ja tahng before, and i'm pretty sure i've never eaten it before, either. it's so weird how certain things you just never eat all your life because it's not something you ate with your parents. like, one of my friends just never eats dahk-wahng (the bright yellow pickled radish) b/c she never ate it when she was little. weird.
eddie - are you kidding me!??! oxtail isn't weird, lol! that's like OG korean style. deep end dining is very relative, huh? lol! okay, but your octopus tentacles just ain't right in any cuisine. ;)
JC says
I love the korean oxtail soup! I simply call all korean, clear beef soup korean pho. I usually go to this place near the intersection of wilshire and western (near the M Grill on wilshire) Anyway, thanks for the information. I am going to check out ggori gook at Jinju.
sarah says
korean pho?!?! i just might be offended by that...but then again, i have started to develop this strange taste for pho AS LONG AS NO ONE PUTS THAT NASTY SOAP-TASTING CILANTRO in it...something about steaming hot clear broths. in fact, i am coughing pretty badly today and pho sounds perfect!
James from lostseouls.com says
there are restaurants here in Seoul that leave seoullung tang and ggori-gum tang bubbling in giant vats for days on end.
They put the vats by the huge windows for passers-by to admire.
Tis pretty cool.
sarah says
hey james...cool site name! it's been a long time since i've been to korea, but seeing those vats would make me crazy hungry!
bitstreamer says
That oxtail soup looks great! I've decided that I'm gonna have some for dinner tonight (canned :( ).
sarah says
bitstreamer: sometimes, you can't be picky though. if you gotta have oxtail, you gotta have oxtail.
sarah says
bitstreamer: sometimes, you can't be picky though. if you gotta have oxtail, you gotta have oxtail.
halfkoreanstudmuffin says
I just had a entire pot full of this to feed my cold...so tasty.
Jackie says
wow i just love ox-tail soup. being sick was practically celebration time because i knew mom would start on the soup right away. mmm... the onions and garlic... a little bowl of rice. salting the meat. my mom made it for me last time i went to visit with my boyfriend and he was completely horrified and disgusted by the premise. i think the fat scared him. now i can show him your website and confirm that ox-tail soup and spam is just how we koreans roll. i love your site and will be checking it frequently. i am so glad i found it while looking for duk bok ki recipe. i hope you post more korean-related food stuff. THANKS!!!!
Jackie says
wow i just love ox-tail soup. being sick was practically celebration time because i knew mom would start on the soup right away. mmm... the onions and garlic... a little bowl of rice. salting the meat. my mom made it for me last time i went to visit with my boyfriend and he was completely horrified and disgusted by the premise. i think the fat scared him. now i can show him your website and confirm that ox-tail soup and spam is just how we koreans roll. i love your site and will be checking it frequently. i am so glad i found it while looking for duk bok ki recipe. i hope you post more korean-related food stuff. THANKS!!!!
yangster says
Wow, was thinking about making some ox-tail soup cause we're having a cold spell here in Atlanta. Haven't had any in at least 15 years. Mom used to use to take half of the meat, season it with soysauce, sesame oil and other things. Then she would ad it back our bowls right before she served it. Does this sound familiar? Looking for that recipe, but I'm sure it's pretty easy.
yangster says
Wow, was thinking about making some ox-tail soup cause we're having a cold spell here in Atlanta. Haven't had any in at least 15 years. Mom used to use to take half of the meat, season it with soysauce, sesame oil and other things. Then she would ad it back our bowls right before she served it. Does this sound familiar? Looking for that recipe, but I'm sure it's pretty easy.
fawn says
Looks Perfect, one of my favorites!
Do you give Korean cooking lessons in L.A.?
If not would you consider it?
Dlhawkboy says
so i made ur recipe tonight it was good but the color could of been browner . it was easy to make . thanks daniel
Tasting Korea says
Your recipe has been feature on Tasting Korea, "Korean Food is Not Peasant Food, But Comfort Food." http://tastingkorea.blogspot.com/2012/01/korean-food-is-not-peasant-food-but.html