When we have fresh vegetables from our garden, we always look for simple ways to bring them to our table.
This time, we made Japchae with fresh Korean chives and Korean green peppers from our garden. We also used onion, carrot, bell peppers, and mushrooms to make a colorful and filling dish.
Japchae is a popular Korean dish made with chewy glass noodles (dangmyeon) and vegetables. It is often served at family meals and special gatherings, but we also enjoy making it on an ordinary day when we have plenty of vegetables to use.
What we like about japchae is its flexibility. We can change the vegetables based on what we have in the refrigerator or garden.
For this batch, our garden Korean chives and Korean green peppers were the stars.
Why We Like Using Garden Vegetables in Japchae
Our Calgary growing season is short, so we like to make good use of vegetables when they are ready to harvest.
Korean chives are especially useful because we can harvest them several times during the growing season. Instead of letting a large amount of Korean chives grow past their best stage, we can cut what we need and use them in different Korean dishes.
The fresh Korean green peppers add a light crunch and a fresh flavor to the japchae. They are not as heavy as meat, but they give the dish another layer of texture.
We also like using whatever vegetables are available. Japchae does not have to look exactly the same every time we make it.
Ingredients
For the Japchae
- 200 g glass noodles (dangmyeon)
- 5 Korean green peppers
- 2 small onions
- 1 carrot
- ½ red bell pepper
- ½ yellow bell pepper
- 1 handful Rehydrated wood ear mushrooms
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked
- Fresh Korean chives, about 1 handful
- Cooking oil
- Salt
- Soy sauce
- Sugar
- Sesame oil
- Sesame seeds
- Ground black pepper
The amount of Korean chives can be adjusted to your taste.
We also like to add meat sometimes. Thinly sliced beef works especially well if we want a more filling japchae.
Prepare the Vegetables
First, we wash all the vegetables well and cut them into thin strips.
We remove the stems and seeds from the Korean green peppers and slice them into thin pieces. We also slice the onion, carrot, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper.
For the dried wood ear mushrooms, we soak them in water until they become soft. Then we wash them well and tear them into bite-sized pieces.
We soak the dried shiitake mushrooms until they become soft. After removing the stems, we slice the mushrooms thinly.
We do not throw away the shiitake stems.
The stems can be used to add flavor to doenjang jjigae or other soups. They are too tough to enjoy in the japchae itself, but they still have plenty of mushroom flavor.
If we use fresh shiitake mushrooms instead, we remove the stems and slice the mushroom caps.
Stir-Fry the Vegetables Separately
One of the things we do differently when making japchae is to cook the vegetables separately.
We heat a little cooking oil in a pan and start with the onions.
We add a small amount of salt and stir-fry them until they become soft but still have some texture.
Next, we stir-fry the red and yellow bell peppers with a little salt.
Then we cook the carrots with a small amount of salt.
For the Korean green peppers and fresh Korean chives, we work quickly.
We add a little oil and salt, then stir-fry them only until they just begin to soften.
We do not want to cook the Korean chives for too long. Fresh Korean chives have a nice green color and fresh flavor, so we try to keep that quality.
We place all the cooked vegetables in a large bowl and let them cool slightly.
Cook the Mushrooms
After the vegetables are finished, we cook the mushrooms.
We add a little cooking oil to the pan and stir-fry the wood ear and shiitake mushrooms.
We add a small amount of soy sauce for flavor.
We do not add too much soy sauce at this stage because the noodles will also be seasoned later.
Once the mushrooms are cooked, we add them to the bowl with the other vegetables.
Cook the Glass Noodles
Now we cook the dangmyeon, the Korean glass noodles.
This is an important part of our method.
We put about 1.5 liters of water into a large pan or pot and bring it to a boil.
Then we add:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
When the water comes back to a boil, we add the 200 g of glass noodles.
We cook the noodles for about 6–8 minutes, or until they are cooked to the texture we like.
We usually taste one noodle before draining them.
If the noodles need more flavor, we add a little more soy sauce or sugar to the cooking water.
Why Do We Add Soy Sauce, Sugar, and Oil to the Water?
We do this for two simple reasons.
First, the soy sauce gives the noodles a light brown color and seasons them while they cook.
Second, the small amount of oil helps keep the cooked noodles from sticking together.
The sugar also gives the noodles a gentle sweetness that works well with the vegetables.
Once the noodles are cooked, we drain them in a colander.
We do not rinse the noodles with cold water.
We simply let the extra water drain away.
Why Do We Cook the Vegetables Separately?
We could put everything into one pan, but we prefer to cook the vegetables separately.
Different vegetables release different amounts of water and need different cooking times.
Cooking them separately helps us keep the vegetables colorful and prevents them from becoming too soft.
It also lets us add just a little salt to each vegetable instead of making the entire dish too salty.
This takes a little more time, but we think the final texture is worth it.
Mix the Japchae
We add the hot noodles to the bowl of cooked vegetables.
The noodles will still be very hot, so we mix everything carefully.
We add:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Then we gently toss the noodles and vegetables together.
We taste the japchae.
If it needs more seasoning, we add a little soy sauce.
Finally, we sprinkle sesame seeds over the top.
Our Garden Harvest Japchae Is Ready
We like to serve japchae while it is still warm, but it is also delicious at room temperature.
The chewy noodles, soft mushrooms, colorful vegetables, fresh Korean chives, and crunchy Korean green peppers give every bite a slightly different texture.
For us, this dish is more than just another noodle recipe.
When we look at the finished japchae, we can see vegetables that came from different places.
Some came directly from our garden. Others came from the refrigerator or grocery store.
That is one reason we enjoy home cooking so much.
We do not always start with a perfect recipe.
Sometimes we simply start with what we harvested that day.
Easy Ways to Change the Recipe
One of the best things about japchae is that there is no need to use exactly the same vegetables every time.
We can use vegetables such as:
- Spinach
- Green onions
- Mushrooms
- Bell peppers
- Carrots
- Asparagus
- Green bean
- Onions
- Korean chives
- Korean Green peppers
If we want a meat version, we can stir-fry thinly sliced beef separately and mix it with the noodles and vegetables.
For a simple vegetable japchae, we can leave the meat out completely.
This makes japchae a useful recipe when we have a small amount of different vegetables that need to be used.
A Small Garden Harvest on Our Dinner Table
Growing vegetables in Calgary teaches us to appreciate every harvest.
Our garden does not produce the same vegetables at the same time, and the growing season is short. When the Korean chives and Korean green peppers are ready, we want to enjoy them while they are fresh.
This japchae was one of those meals.
The fresh Korean chives added a mild green flavor, while the Korean green peppers gave the noodles a pleasant crunch.
We enjoyed it as a family meal, but we also saved some for later.
For us, that is the fun of growing food at home.
We grow it, we harvest it, and then we find a way to bring it to our Korean table.
More Recipes from Our Garden
We often use the vegetables from our garden in simple Korean home cooking.
If you enjoy vegetable-based Korean dishes, you may also like our recipe:
Simple Stir-Fried Zucchini: A Small Side Dish for a Korean Meal
This zucchini side dish is another simple way we use fresh vegetables in our everyday Korean meals.
Final Tip from Our Kitchen
The most important thing when making japchae is not to overcook the vegetables or the noodles.
We want the vegetables to keep some texture, especially the fresh Korean green peppers and Korean chives.
We also recommend tasting the noodles before draining them. Every brand of glass noodle can cook a little differently, and we prefer to adjust the seasoning while the noodles are still in the cooking water.
Once everything is mixed, a little sesame oil and sesame seeds bring the dish together.
That simple combination gives us the familiar taste of homemade Korean japchae.
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