''Japchae'' () is a savory and slightly sweet dish of stir-fried

glass noodles Cellophane noodles, or fensi (), sometimes called glass noodles, are a type of transparent noodle made from starch (such as mung bean starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, tapioca, or canna starch) and water. A stabilizer such as chitosan ...

and vegetables that is popular in

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine reflects a complex interaction of the natural envi ...

. * ''Japchae'' is typically prepared with ''

dangmyeon Cellophane noodles, or fensi (), sometimes called glass noodles, are a type of transparent noodle made from starch (such as mung bean starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, tapioca, or canna starch) and water. A stabilizer such as chitos ...

'' (당면, 唐麵), a type of

cellophane noodles Cellophane noodles, or fensi (), sometimes called glass noodles, are a type of transparent noodle made from starch (such as mung bean starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, tapioca, or canna starch) and water. A stabilizer such as chitosan ...

made from

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

starch; the noodles are mixed with assorted vegetables, meat, and mushrooms, and seasoned with

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

and

sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. O ...

. Once a royal dish, japchae is now one of the most popular traditional celebration dishes, often served on special occasions, such as weddings, birthdays (especially '' dol'', the first birthday, and '' hwangap'', the sixtieth), and holidays. It is also popular at banquets, parties, and potlucks, due to the ease of bulk preparation and flexible serving: ''japchae'' can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold from the refrigerator, and can be eaten freshly made or the day after. ''Japchae'' is commonly served as a ''

banchan ''Banchan'' (, from Korean: ) or bansang are small side dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. As the Korean language does not distinguish between singular and plural grammatically, the word is used for both one such dish or ...

'' (side dish), though it may also be eaten as a main dish. It is sometimes served on a bed of rice: with rice, it is known as ''japchae-bap'' ().

Etymology and history

The

Sino-Korean word Sino-Korean vocabulary or Hanja-eo () refers to Korean words of Chinese origin. Sino-Korean vocabulary includes words borrowed directly from Chinese, as well as new Korean words created from Chinese characters, and words borrowed from Sino-Japane ...

''japchae'' (; ) consists of two syllables, ''jap'' (; ) meaning "mixed" and ''chae'' (; ) meaning "vegetable". According to ''

Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty The ''Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty'' (also known as the ''Annals of the Joseon Dynasty'' or the ''True Record of the Joseon Dynasty''; ko, 조선왕조실록 and ) are the annual records of Joseon, the last royal house to rule ...

'', the name originally referred to a stir-fried

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

and

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

dish, first made in the early 17th century by Yi Chung (1568‒1619) for

King Gwanghaegun Gwanghae-gun or Prince Gwanghae (4 June 1575 – 7 August 1641), personal name Yi Hon (Hangul: 이혼, Hanja: 李琿), was the 15th ruler of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. As he was deposed in a coup d'état, he did not receive a temple name. ...

's palace banquet, related to the Fujianese dish of cha̍p-chhài (雜菜), of which the

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

Cap Cai Cap cai, sometimes spelled cap cay, () is the Hokkien-derived term for a popular Chinese Indonesian and Peranakan cuisine, Peranakan stir-fried vegetable dish that originates from Fujian cuisine. Various vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, ...

is a variant. The king liked the dish so much that he rewarded Yi by promoting him to a high-ranking position, equivalent to the position of

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

, and ''japchae'' became a fixture of

Korean royal court cuisine Korean royal court cuisine (''Joseon Wangjo Gungjung yori'') was the style of cookery within Korean cuisine traditionally consumed at the court of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910. There has been a revival of this cookery s ...

. Cooked without noodles or meat at the time, ''japchae'' was considered a luxurious and elegant dish served to the royal family and high-level officials.

Cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

s, radishes, and

shiitake mushroom The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a medicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional medicine. Tax ...

s were among the vegetables used in this period. ''Japchae'', like other royal dishes, was eventually adopted into the cuisine of common people. Its popularity increased later in the 20th century when cellophane noodles made from sweet potato starch were introduced to Korea from China. The noodles have since become an integral and primary ingredient of ''japchae''. Beef and other meats have been added to the noodle dish, while experimentation and adaptations have led to many noodle-less variations made with

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

peppers Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

bean sprouts Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth. In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...

, and other ingredients.

Ingredients and preparation

Dangmyeon Cellophane noodles, or fensi (), sometimes called glass noodles, are a type of transparent noodle made from starch (such as mung bean starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, tapioca, or canna starch) and water. A stabilizer such as chitos ...

'' are pale grey, semi-transparent, chewy and elastic noodles made from

starch. They are also known as "glass noodles", "cellophane noodles", or "sweet potato vermicelli". The noodles may be soaked in water before cooking. Noodles are sometimes soaked in hot water and then stir-fried. The assortment of vegetables in ''japchae'' may vary, with typical ingredients including

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

and

scallions Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...

. Commonly used mushrooms are

wood ear Wood-ear or tree ear (, Korean: 목이 버섯), also translated wood jellyfish or , can refer to a few similar-looking edible fungi used primarily in Chinese cuisine; these are commonly sold in Asian markets shredded and dried. * ''Auricularia he ...

shiitake The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a Medicinal fungi, medicinal mushroom in some forms of tradition ...

, and

oyster mushrooms ''Pleurotus'' is a genus of gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely eaten mushrooms, '' P. ostreatus''. Species of ''Pleurotus'' may be called oyster, abalone, or tree mushrooms, and are some of the most commonly cultivated edib ...

. Both beef and pork are commonly used for ''japchae''. Each ingredient is stir-fried separately before being mixed with boiled and drained noodles, and seasoned with soy sauce, sugar, chopped garlic and sesame oil. The dish is usually garnished with toasted

sesame seeds Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

and

chili thread ''Sil-gochu'' (), often translated as chili threads, chilli threads, or chili pepper threads, is a traditional Korean food garnish made with chili peppers. Gallery Gyeran-jang-jorim.jpg, ''Gyeran-jang-jorim'' (soy-sauce-simmered eggs) topped ...

s, and served hot or cold.

Varieties

Royal court dishes

* ''Gyeoja-chae'' () * ''Jokchae'' () – made with shredded ''

jokpyeon ''Jokpyeon'' () is a dish in Korean cuisine prepared by boiling cow's trotters and other cuts with high collagen content, such as cow's head, skin, tail and pig's head in water for a long time, so that the stewing liquid sets to form a jelly-lik ...

'' (trotter jelly) and vegetables * ''

Tangpyeong-chae ''Tangpyeong-chae'' * (, 蕩平菜) or mung bean jelly salad is a Korean dish that was part of the Korean royal court cuisine. It is made by mixing julienned ''nokdumuk'', mung bean sprouts, watercress, stir-fried shredded beef, thinly shredde ...

'' () – made with ''

nokdu-muk ''Nokdu-muk'' (, 綠豆- ; "mung bean jelly",) is a Korean '' muk'', or jelly, made from mung bean starch. In its most commonly encountered form, it is also called ''cheongpo-muk'' (, 淸泡-), which literally means "clear froth jelly," owing t ...

'' (mung bean jelly), beef, mung bean sprouts,

water dropwort Water dropwort is a common name for several genera of plants and may refer to: * ''Oenanthe'' (plant) * ''Oxypolis ''Oxypolis'' is a small genus of North American flowering plants in the carrot family known as cowbane, water dropwort, dropwort ...

, and

mugwort Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus ''Artemisia.'' In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species '' Artemisia vulgaris'', or common mugwort. In East Asia the species '' Artemisia argyi'' i ...

* ''

Wolgwa-chae ''Wolgwa-chae'' () is a variety of ''japchae'' (stir-fried vegetable dish) made with Oriental pickling melon, called ''wolgwa'' in Korean. This summer dish was a part of the Korean royal court cuisine. Ingredients and preparation In modern Sou ...

'' () – made with

Oriental pickling melon Oriental pickling melon, called ''wolgwa'' (; ) in Korean language, Korean, and ''shirouri'' (; ) in Japanese language, Japanese, is a group of nonsweet Cucumis melo, melon cultivars used in Asian cuisines. Use The melon is used as a vegetable ...

, beef, and vegetables * ''Juksoon-chae'' () - made with

bamboo shoot Bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of many bamboo species including ''Bambusa vulgaris'' and ''Phyllostachys edulis''. They are used as vegetables in numerous Asian dishes and b ...

s and vegetables

Other dishes

* '' Gochu-japchae'' () – made with shredded green pepper and vegetables * ''Buchu-japchae'' () – made with garlic chives * ''Kongnamul-japchae'' () – made with soybean sprouts * ''Haemul-japchae'' () – made with seafood and vegetables * ''Beoseot-japchae'' () – made with mushrooms * ''Gungjung-japchae'' () - made with high-grade ingredients and royal vegetables

References