Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Japchae – Korean noodles Recipe
Japchae – the brilliant, vibrant Korean noodle dish made with an abundance of greens, juicy bits of marinated beef and a sesame-forward dressing. Made with candy potato noodles which have a singular slippery, chewy texture, that is type of a stir fry, type of a noodle salad, and 100% YUM!
Japchae is a well-known Korean noodle dish that I describe as type of a stir fry, type of a salad. It’s a cross between the 2 in my thoughts as a result of stir fried greens are tossed with noodles and sauce in a bowl quite than on the range, and served barely heat.
You begin by mixing the sauce in a large bowl, then pile all of the substances in a single after the opposite – the noodles, a large mound of cooked greens then lastly the seared marinated beef. Then lastly, you give it a giant toss to combine all of it collectively within the bowl. This half is admittedly satisfying, getting actually caught into it! (Simply be sure you use a actually massive bowl else you’ll be cursing!).
Right here’s what it’s essential to make Japchae. I’ve damaged it up into:
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Noodles and sauce
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Beef and marinade
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All the colorful veg!
The noodles & sauce
Right here’s what you want for the noodles and sauce:
Some notes on among the pictured substances:
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Japchae noodles – The noodles utilized in Japchae are dried candy potato noodles known as dangmyeon. They’re made out of candy potato starch and are nearly clear when cooked. It’s just like the Korean model of glass noodles! The packets proven above are bought at massive grocery shops within the Asian aisle, although you will get them cheaper at Asian shops.
Substitute with glass noodles (ie the clear vermicelli noodles). And although Korean nationals could have my head for saying this, simply quietly, you possibly can completely make this recipe with any noodles. It can nonetheless be scrumptious!
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Soy sauce – Both gentle or all goal soy sauce. However not darkish soy sauce – flavour is just too sturdy and the color is just too intense! Extra on which soy sauce to make use of when right here.
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Sesame oil – toasted sesame oil is brown and has extra flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). The default sesame oil bought in Australia is toasted, untoasted is tougher to seek out.
Beef and marinade
We’re utilizing beef brief ribs in as we speak’s recipe. Sure, it’s an uncommon choice for a stir fry – however I believe you’ll be actually impressed. It shocked me!
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Beef (decisions!) – Beef brief rib is my favorite lower to make use of in Japchae. Opposite to well-liked perception, it’s not only for sluggish cooking! When lower off the bone then thinly sliced, the fantastically marbled meat is juicy, tender and flavourful when cooked rapidly on excessive warmth – simply 90 seconds. (If utilizing beef brief ribs complete, nevertheless, they have to be sluggish cooked to interrupt down the robust fibres. Do this, this, this or this recipe).
It truly is a lot nicer to have the meat bits further tender and juicy in a noodle dish that isn’t as saucy as your on a regular basis Chinese language Beef Stir Fry. So I actually hope you give beef ribs a go! I truthfully suppose it’s higher than even pricier steaks like scotch / rib-eye.
Different choices – Scotch fillet/boneless rib eye is greatest, as it’s the juiciest. If utilizing different steak cuts like rump, porterhouse/t-bone, sirloin/strip and so on (particularly if economical), I like to recommend tenderising them earlier than utilizing within the recipe so the meat items are further tender (instructions in recipe card). Skinny strips of beef are tough to maintain juicy as they overcook in a microsecond. As talked about above, you will get away with that in saucy Beef Stir Fries. Not a lot in noodle dishes.
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Soy sauce – As above!
Greens
The greens proven under is a reasonably widespread mixture for Japchae, with a beautiful distinction of color, textures and flavour. However you possibly can actually use any stir-fry-able greens you need.
Only a be aware on a couple of of the greens:
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Shiitake mushrooms – These are Asian mushrooms with a extra intense mushroomy flavour than normal white mushrooms, brown/cremini mushrooms and so on. Nevertheless, should you can’t discover them or they’re a bit expensive, be happy to make use of extraordinary mushrooms. They’re, as you’d count on, higher worth in Asian shops.
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Child spinach – Substitute with chopped English spinach, the leafy a part of Asian greens and even kale. *She geese as Koreans begin throwing rotten tomatoes at her*
Conventional Japchae recipes name for every vegetable to be cooked individually to issue within the totally different prepare dinner occasions and protect the flavour of every. Sure, it’s cumbersome (you rely 6 greens above!).
However should you jumble all of them up into one big stir fry then the flavours do are inclined to bleed into one another a bit. So I’ve compromised and cooked the greens in 2 heaps, bundling greens collectively by factoring in prepare dinner occasions and flavour “bleeding” to greatest replicate the identical end result the place greens are cooked individually. Bonus: We use much less oil.
I hope my slight short-cut technique doesn’t offend Korean nationals! 😇
Slicing beef brief ribs
As famous above, I actually suppose the most effective beef for Japchae is beef brief ribs – juiciest, greatest flavour. It’s usually bought on the bone (off the bone will not be widespread right here in Australia), so right here is methods to slice the meat.
If you’re utilizing a boneless steak as an alternative, or boneless beef brief ribs, then you definately clearly don’t want to chop the meat off the bone!
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Beef ribs – Not gonna lie. My step photograph templates use even variety of photographs and I solely had 5. So I caught this in as a filler. “Beef brief ribs. Ta da!”
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Trim extra fats – Beef ribs are inclined to have fairly a beneficiant layer of fats on them. So slice off the thick layers on the floor. Not all of it although! The fats is what retains it juicy!
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Minimize the meat off the bone just by holding the meat rib upright then slicing the knife down in opposition to the bone. It’s straightforward – the bone is straight and flat.
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Minimize in half horizontally to type 2 skinny steaks so we are able to lower skinny beef strips.
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Minimize strips – Maintain the halves stacked. Then lower into skinny 0.5cm/ 1/5″ slices.
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Voila! Tasty beef strips. You will love how juicy these are!
Cooking Japchae
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Marinate beef ~20 minutes – Place the meat with the marinade substances right into a bowl and toss to mix. Then simply put aside whilst you put together and prepare dinner all the things else, so it finally ends up marinating for round 20 minutes. It doesn’t should be marinated for lengthy as a result of the meat strips are so skinny, although it wouldn’t damage to go away in a single day.
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Combine the sauce substances in a really massive bowl. We’re going to be tossing the entire batch of Japchae on this bowl so I actually imply it after I say make it a giant one!
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Cook dinner the Japchae noodles per packet instructions. Mine says 8 minutes in boiling water.
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Noodles on sauce – Drain, rinse briefly below faucet water, shake off extra water effectively then place within the bowl with the sauce. Don’t combine – simply go away it there.
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Greens Batch 1 – Cook dinner the onion, mushrooms and white a part of inexperienced onions first, till the mushrooms simply begin to gentle. Then switch into the noodle bowl.
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Greens batch 2 – Subsequent, prepare dinner the carrot and capsicum/bell pepper first, till they’re simply cooked however nonetheless have a gentle chunk to them. ie “tender crisp”. Soggy floppy overcooked greens is unacceptable! 😂 Then add the spinach and the inexperienced a part of the inexperienced onions and toss for a minute simply till the spinach is wilted. Then switch into the noodle bowl.
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Cook dinner beef – Lastly, prepare dinner the meat! Cook dinner it on excessive warmth simply till you now not see pink – with a powerful range and good pan it needs to be barely 90 seconds. Hopefully on this time you’ll get a little bit of browning in some patches too. Then add it into the bowl.
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Toss! Add the sesame seeds, and now it’s time to toss! You used a large bowl proper, like I stated to proper at the beginning?? If you happen to didn’t, you’ll begin to cry (or swear) proper about now.
Toss, toss, toss, till the sauce is evenly distributed. Examine by trying on the color of the noodles – the sauce stains the glassy noodles a brown color.
Then tumble all of it right into a bowl, end with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and serve!
YUM. That sauce is all the things! I actually like that it’s not as candy because the Japchae sauce you get at some Korean eating places which I discover slightly too candy.
It is a massive batch recipe so it’s a superb one for taking leftovers to work. It can preserve for 3 days within the fridge. Simply flippantly heat it – or serve sizzling if you need. Although truthfully, it’s additionally superb at room temperature too! – Johnsat x
Ingredients
- 600g/1.2lb bone-in beef short ribs *RECOMMENDED* (300g/10oz boneless)
- 300g/10 oz boneless beef short ribs *RECOMMENDED*
- 300g/10oz scotch fillet / boneless rib eye or other steak, recommend tenderising (Note 1)
- 2 tsp soy sauce , all-purpose or light soy (Note 2)
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 2 tsp finely minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup soy sauce , all-purpose or light soy (Note 2)
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 1/2 tsp finely minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 250g/ 8oz sweet potato noodles (dangmyeon), dried (Note 3)
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil (or other plain oil)
- 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt , divided
- 1 onion , peeled, halved, sliced into 6mm/1/4″ wedges
- 3 green onion stems , cut into 5cm / 2″ lengths, white & green parts separated
- 200g/7oz fresh shiitake mushrooms , stem removed, cut into 5mm/1/5″ slices (Note 4)
- 2 carrots , peeled, cut into 3mm / 1/8" batons
- 1 red capsicum/bell pepper , cut into 0.5cm / 1/5″ slices
- 4 1/2 cups (tightly packed) baby spinach
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut beef into strips that are ~ 5mm thick, 1cm wide and about 5cm long (1/5" x 2/5" x 2"). If using shortribs, trim excess fat, cut the meat off the bone. Then cut each piece in half lengthwise (to form 2 "steaks") then slice into 5mm thick. (See step photos in post or video at 0.11s, Note 6)
- Marinate – Put beef in a bowl. Add marinade ingredients, then mix. Set aside marinate while you proceed with recipe, ~15 – 20 minutes is all it needs. (Note 5)
- Sauce – Mix the Sauce ingredients in a very large mixing bowl.
- Noodles – Cook sweet potato noodles per packet directions (normally 8 min in boiling water). Drain, briefly rinse under tap water then shake off excess water well. Add noodles into the bowl with the dressing. DO NOT MIX.
- Batch 1 – Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick pan (30cm/12") over high heat. Cook the brown onion, white part of green onion and shiitake mushrooms with 1/2 tsp salt for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, just until starting to soften but not going golden. Pour on top of the noodles – don't mix yet!
- Batch 2 – Using the same pan still on high heat, heat 1 tbsp oil then cook the carrot and capsicum for 1 1/2 minutes, constantly stirring. Add spinach, green onion and the final 1/2 tsp salt. Keep cooking for 1 1/2 minutes until the spinach is wilted. Transfer into the noodle bowl – still don't mix!
- Cook beef – In the same pan, heat the final 1 tbsp of oil still on high heat. Add beef and cook for 1 1/2 minutes until very lightly golden and just cooked through. Add to the noodle bowl. Don't mix!
- Mix! Add most of the sesame seeds (reserve some for topping). NOW you can mix! Toss, toss, toss.
- Serve – Transfer into a serving bowl, sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds. This is meant to be eaten warm, not piping hot. Eat!
Notes
1. Beef quality matters here because the strips of beef are so thin they will overcook in a flash.
Beef short ribs when sliced thinly is excellent for fast-cook stir frying – superior flavour, juicy and tender. Only needs to be slow cooked to “fall-apart-tender” when it’s served whole!
Next best option in my opinion is scotch fillet/boneless rib eye.
Other steak cuts – rump, porterhouse/t-bone, sirloin/strip etc will work but if using economical cuts, consider tenderising them before using in the recipe so they are soft and tender to eat using the Asian “velveting” technique – read about this here. To do this, slice per recipe, toss with 3/4 tsp baking soda (bi-carb), set aside for 20 minutes. Rinse in colander, pat dry, then marinate per recipe.
2. Soy sauce – Use all purpose or a light soy sauce. Not dark soy sauce, colour and flavour is too intense.
3. Korean noodles that are sweet potato noodles called “dangmyeon” sold in dried form that looks a bit clear, like glass noodles. Sold in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores here in Australia, cheaper in Asian stores. Cooked by boiling – follow packet times.
Substitute with glass noodles (“bean thread noodles”) or vermicelli noodles. Or any other very thin noodles.
4. Shiitake mushrooms – Asian mushrooms with a more intense mushroomy flavour than standard white mushrooms, brown/cremini mushrooms (though feel free to sub!).
5. Marinating – No need to marinate overnight though you can.
6. Beef cutting – Aim for thin strips so you get plenty dispersed throughout the noodles.
7. Leftovers make great lunch! Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Not suitable for freezing.
Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.
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