Homemade Japchae Recipe, Korean Glass Noodle Stir Fry, Gluten Free, Vegan, Paleo Option

I love when there are foods from around the world that are naturally gluten free, that I don't need to make any substitutions to make them suitable for me. Japchae, Korean glass noodle stir fry, is one of them and has become one of the favorites in my family. Literally meaning mixed vegetables, it is sweet and savory and typically made with starch based noodles, like sweet potato noodles, but you can also make it with other starch based noodles, like bean thread noodles, or rice vermicelli. Starch noodles are more or less see through and are more chewy and stretchy and hardy than the rice vermicelli though.

While I wrote this recipe using these specific vegetables, feel free to play around and use whichever vegetables you like.

Traditionally in japchae, each ingredient is stir fried separately, then mixed together and seasoned, but I stir fry it all together, to make it easier and less time consuming.

You can eat japchae cold, warm, or hot. It is delicious all those ways. And while I made this just with vegetables, you can add whatever protein you like- animal proteins, tofu, tempeh, whatever, just cook them first.

This recipe is naturally vegan, allergy friendly, and is gluten free if you use gluten free soy sauce. You can make this paleo by using sweet potato noodles, coconut aminos, and paleo approved sweeteners. But no matter what your diet, it's delicious.

Homemade Japchae Recipe, Korean Glass Noodle Stir Fry, Gluten Free, Vegan

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons oil of choice
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 carrots
1 box fresh mushrooms
1 red pepper
3 leaves and stems of swiss chard
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar or other sweetener of choice
5 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce or coconut aminos
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)
1 package sweet potato, bean thread or rice vermicelli noodles
Salt to taste
1-2 scallions (optional)
Hot pepper flakes to taste (optional)

Instructions:
1. Chop your onion and your garlic and grate your ginger.

2. Heat your oil in a wok or large sauce pan and add your onion, ginger, and garlic. Mix until starting to lightly brown.

3. Meanwhile, soak your noodles in boiling water to soften.

4. Chop up your carrots and add them to your wok/pan. Once the carrots are soft, chop up the mushrooms, peppers, and swiss chard and add them to the wok/pan as well.

5. Add sweetener, soy sauce, and sesame oil to the wok/pan.

6. Strain your noodles and add them to the wok/pan. Mix well. Salt to taste.

7. Chop up scallions and add them to the wok/pan, along with sesame seeds and hot pepper flakes, if using. Mix until uniform.

8. Serve hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Note: If adding proteins, chop up and marinate in a bit of soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, then saute it until cooked. Once cooked, add it to the japchae right before adding the noodles.

Have you ever had japchae before? What was in yours? Does this look like a recipe you'd try? If you are familiar with other Asian noodle dishes, which ones are you familiar with?