Have You Eaten? Japchae (잡채 or Stir Fried Glass Noodles and Vegetables)

Welcome to a very belated edition of Have You Eaten, featuring one of Korea’s delicious celebratory foods, Japchae.

Japchae literally translates as “mixed vegetables” , “jap” (잡) meaning “mixed” and “chae” (채) meaning “vegetables”.

Japchae is a popular Korean dish which is a must for celebrations such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduations and traditional festivals (Chuseok and Seollal). It is also popular as an everyday food; it is a versatile dish which can be eaten warm, at room temperature or straight out of the fridge, and may be eaten as a full meal or as banchan (side dish).

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A Brief History of Japchae

According to the records of the time, originally that was all the dish contained when Yi Jung first served it at one of King Gwahaegun’s banquets in the early 1600’s. It is said that he loved the dish so much he promoted Yi Jung immediately.

The dish became a regular menu item at the palace as King Gwahaegun loved it. Various iterations were on the menu, named for their contents which varied depending on availability. During this period the common ingredients that would feature included radishes, cucumbers and shitake mushrooms, they were thinly sliced, stir fried and seasoned with a special sauce. As it was only served to royalty and high ranking officials the dish was seen as luxurious and elegant.

Eventually this dish made its way onto the tables of the common folk but it wasn’t until over 300 years later in the 1900’s that the dish started transforming into the dish as we know it today.

In 1919 a dangmyeon (당면 or sweet potato noodle) factory opened in Sariwon, but it wasn’t until the 1930’s that it became a more popular addition to the recipe. It was also around this time that the sauce changed and became sweeter with the addition of sugar and the use of Japanese style soy sauce rather than Korean.

Over time the amount of dangmyeon used in the recipe increased to being the main ingredient. Advances in farming practices and global trading influenced the range of produce that was typically used.

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Common Varieties of Japchae

Royal Varieties

Japchae belonged in the namul (나물) section of the side dishes served at the main meals of the day (sura / 수라). Although it generally only contained vegetables and mushrooms, on occasion beef, meat jellies, melon, and dangmyeon were included.

  • Gyeojachae (겨자채) - this is a summer dish which contains cold thinly sliced vegetables and a mustard dipping sauce

  • Jokchae (족채) - contains shredded jokpyeon (족편 or cow trotter jelly) and vegetables

  • Juksoonchae (죽순채) - contains bamboo shoots and vegetables

  • Tangpyeongchae (탕평채) - often eaten from late spring to summer, this form of japchae contains nokdu muk ( 녹두묵 or mung bean jelly), beef, mung bean sprouts, dropwart, and various seaweeds, it is seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar. It was invented during King Yeongjo’s reign in order to resolve conflicts between four distinct parties. Tanpyeong literally translates as “Harmony and Mediation”, King Yeongjo considered the Tangpyeon Policy to be his greatest achievement.

  • Wolgwachae (월과채) - is a warm summer dish that contains Wolgwa (월과 or oriental pickling melon), beef, various mushrooms and chapssal bukkumi (찹쌀부꾸미 or pan-fried glutinous rice cake).

Modern Varieties

  • Japchae (잡채)- Contains assorted vegetables which are individually stir-fried. Typical inclusions are, carrot, spinach, onions, green onions. Meat (usually beef or pork) and mushrooms are also commonly used. Once cooked they are mixed by hand with dangmyeon which has been prepared and seasoned in a sauce which typically is made up of soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and sugar. The dish is usually served garnished with sesame seeds. Inclusions will vary depending on personal preference and inclusions may also vary based on region. Different versions of japchae may be named according to the ingredients used e.g. haemul-japchae (해물잡채) which includes seafood (해물 or haemul).

  • Japchae-bap (잡채밥) - Japchae served with rice.

Other

Nowadays, you can get all kinds of japchae flavoured or filled snacks such as japchae hotteok, japchae dumplings, japchae ramyeon, instant japchae the list goes on.

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Memorable Scenes in Korean Dramas Featuring Japchae

Reply 1994 (2013)

If you’ve watched any of the Reply series you’ll know about the ongoing joke of the main mother overdoing it in the kitchen. In Reply 1994 she is running a boarding house so has even more mouths to feed. The opening scene of episode 3 was particularly memorable as she served up mountains of food. One of these heaping piles was some fairly bland looking japchae. Na Jung stuffs her face with noodles and is criticised by her parents for her unladylike behaviour as she tells the tenants to take charge and seduce some Seoul girls by throwing them on their backs. They tell her to take off her back brace so she doesn’t get indigestion and talk like a lady. As usual her and her dad end up arguing, yelling ensues. Her mother tells them to quit it and go wake her brother but Dad has to have the last word.

Start Up (2020)

After SamSan Tech’s success at the Demo day Do San’s parents are putting together a mini celebration but don’t want to appear like they are doing so and make their son feel uncomfortable. They decide to put away the Japchae as it is a dish for celebrations. Little do they know their son has entered the house and is listening in as they discuss his choice in CEO and whether he should cross the line as his father has. Do San announces his arrival after loudly closing the door and tells his father to share his skills. Overjoyed, his parents decide it is an occasion for japchae after all.

Run On (2020)

It is established early in the drama that japchae is Seon Gyeom’s favourite food. When he departs a family meal early after arguing with his father and is given a lunchbox of japchae. Later on Mi Joo makes him japchae, but it’s not the best and everyone knows it. He tries to convince her he’s enjoying it but she’s unconvinced. He asks if she made it to comfort him and ends up opening up to her about why he needs comforting. It’s a nice moment between the couple.

Be Melodramatic (2019)

While contemplating what to do for her next project Eun Jung considers a cooking documentary but despite lacking cooking skills she wants to explore the mindset of a chef so she sets herself to making lunchboxes for her brother and his coworkers. In the process she thoroughly destroys the kitchen rendering it a loss. She then delivers them to her brother’s workplace. His unsuspecting co-workers are excited but he and his partner, Moon Soo know better. Shortly after lunch is served it is confirmed that they are indeed lunchbox bombs. Someone tries to escape, a plot to ruin another person’s lunch is hatched and lunch continues. Hyo Bong tries the Japchae looking substance and finds it awfully fishy. Eun Jung admits messing up the recipe. Moon Soo sees the bright side, obviously experiencing her cooking before. Threats are made, the escape is dragged back, lunch is enjoyed. Eun Jung is pleased with herself.

Uncle (2021)

Joon Hyuk calls up his sister to ask her to bring him some japchae home from work, she tells him it’s a popular side dish and is already sold out. He asks her to make him some, she asks him if he thinks he can milk his injury this far and jokingly threatens to cut him before hanging up. Only she is caught by her neighbour Joo Kyung Il who is shocked to see a different side to her. They pick up the ingredients for japchae and he offers to carry them, she’s worried what people will think, he tells her not to worry as the rumours are already out that he likes her. He asks if she is making japchae after all, she confirms she is but she’s charging him for it. He asks if he can have some. She says he can, for the same price. He invites her to the beach, without her brother, as he had promised Ji Hoo.

As she makes japchae Ji Hoo dwindles down the number of wishes he owes his uncle by hand feeding him leftover veggies. Joon Hyuk tells his sister she should have jumped at the opportunity. Cute family teasing ensues.

Jewel In The Palace (2003)

My final memorable scene may not actually be japchae, but bear with me as there definitely was japchae in the drama. Early on in the drama Lady Jung falls into the position of head court lady of the royal kitchen. In celebration all the kitchen staff come together to eat a celebratory meal. A kitchen maid sits at the head of the table. Lady Jung questions who she is and why she is there. Lady Choi tells her that it is Geum Young who has taken that place since the last head lady as she has a perfect palate. Lady Jung decides to test her, asking her about the contents of a dish. After tasting the dish she rattles off a list of ingredients. Lady Jung asks everyone to taste the dish and if everyone agrees. A little voice calls out “It is ripe persimmon, not sugar”, it is Jang Geum. Lady Jung asks her why she thinks that, she can’t explain it other than that is what she tastes. Lady Jung laughs and congratulates her on being correct. She tells Geum Young to return to her spot next time and explains her philosophy to the group. It turns out she may not be the puppet they thought. This scene is parodied in the opening scene of Dae Jang Geum is Watching as Jang Geum’s descendants gather for a meal.

What Japchae scenes did you find memorable?

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What Experiences Have You Had Making and Eating Japchae?

I love love love japchae! The first time I tried it I didn’t really know what I was ordering, just that it had some kind of noodles in it. It was so delicious but I struggled so much to eat a few noodles with my chopsticks as the noodles were so slippery. So I reluctantly asked for a fork, little did I know the struggle would continue! It took a while to get through my lunchbox but it was worth it and with it a love of a new dish was born.

After this I set to learning how to prepare it and found out it was quite a bit of effort. So I enlisted my family members to help julienne the vegetables and we were on our way. Thankfully it was delicious and worth the effort. The next time I made japchae was at the cooking class I did in Busan and I felt secretly confident having made it before!

From here on out I cooked and ate japchae many times and will continue to do so.

I’m also a fan of japchae filled and flavoured foods. While A Business Proposal was airing I decided I needed to give some love to Bibigo and picked up some japchae mandu, damn they are addictively delicious. At the moment I am in the process of doing a cook along with Dae Jang Geum is Watching and one of the recipes was japchae ramyeon, it’s super quick and delicious so it has been added to my recipe rotation.

Have you ever tried japchae? Did you make it or buy it? Share your experiences in the comments!

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Next Course

It's been 16 months since my last post! So, I wont pretend that something is coming soon. I started writing this in January and have a few other I have started dribs and drabs of so hopefully sometime in the not too distant future they will appear. But life is busy and there are so many dramas to watch and delicious foods to eat (also work).

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