Going to Korean BQQ would always be my favorite. They had a variety of side dishes you can eat with the main course, which was meat. My favorite side was the Jap Chae Korean Noodles. The hint of sesame oil coating the sweet potato starch glass noodles, are inseparable. My recipe is made with a variety of vegetables, tofu, coconut aminos and some sesame oil. Soon this Jap Chae Vegan Korean Noodles will be your favorite stir fry recipe to make! This dish is crazy amazing and when I finished it, I dreamed of more.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
This might be the best vegan dinner recipe yet!
History Of Jap Chae
This was interesting to know. While researching this recipe online to practice cooking this dish, Jap Chae was a noodle-less dish. This glass noodle dish were made for festive events like the New Year and Korean festivals. Jap Chae is the literal definition of the dish, “mixed veggies”. The glass noodles were added in, because originally it was just mixed veggies. What I love about cooking is to learn about different cultures.
If you like spicy definitely add some spices you prefer to add in dishes.
What noodles are used for the Jap Chae Vegan Korean Noodles?
The noodles that are used for this recipe is called glass noodles (Cellophane noodles) made from sweet potato starch. These noodles are best found in your local Asian Market. They are a light to dark grey color when uncooked, and a translucent light grey color when al dente. It is best to cook it al dente because we need to stir fry the vegetables with it.
When cooked they are translucent and slippery. These glass noodles can be appetizing when chilled and hot. That is the best of these glass noodles, they are versatile. What makes Jap Chae Korean Vegan noodles so great is the taste of the sesame oil covering these sweet potato starch glass noodles. There is an absolute difference between these noodles and wheat noodles. These glass noodles are as addicting as wheat noodles. The plus side of using sweet potato starch noodles, is that they are low calorie. For one cup they are about 160 calories. the calories for wheat noodles are about 192 calories per cup. The difference of 32 calories per cup is significant!
What a stir fry of goodness…
Other Asian Recipes for you
Thai: Vegan Peanut Tofu Noodles
Chinese: Vegan Fried Rice
Japanese: Vegan Tofu Sushi
How to make this vegan stir fry
1st
Boil the noodles in a big pot or the wok used for the stir fry. On high heat, boil water first and cook for 8-10 minutes depending how high the heat is. Every house hold has different sized gas stove appliances so check on the noodles last 5-3 minutes.
2nd
Rinse and wash the vegetables and cut to the size you would like to have in the stir fry. Since this dish is mainly glass noodles it is best to cut the vegetables into a lengthy shape. A julienne cut is the best approach for preparing the vegetables.
3rd
When the glass noodles are done for the Jap Chae, rinse the noodles with cold water to prevent from cooking. Strain and let it sit. On medium to high heat, fry the tofu. The outcome for the tofu does not have to be a perfect shape for this recipe. If it crumbles, it makes it better so that in every bite there is tofu. There is a cooking standard when using sesame oil. I used avocado oil and some sesame oil for frying the tofu and it came out delicious. I don’t know what it is but this is by far one of my best vegan Asian recipes.
4th
For the stir fry sauce, I used teriyaki coconut aminos and tamari but if you have one of them you can use that. Tamari is easier to get so what I did differently is to use 6 tablespoons of tamari and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup or sugar to act as the replacement of the teriyaki coconut aminos sauce. This is a sweet and savory dish so the sugar or maple syrup helps compliment the sesame oil.
5th
When the tofu is done add the onions and garlic to sauté for 2 minutes. Following, add the veggies to cook for 5 minutes. We don’t want to cook the veggies for to long so it has a nice crunch and obtains there organic color.
6th
Finally, add the noodles and sauce and cook for a few minutes. I had to cook the noodles for a little more so I added more sesame oil. I prefer my noodles a little softer instead of just al dente. So depending what stage of the noodle, cook to satisfy your needs! 🙂 Even if a recipe calls for al dente noodle’s, I want to eat the food the way I like it. So always taste test 🙂
Then your done! Finish off with sesame seeds, everything seasoning for bagels, or green onions. Enjoy the Jap Chae!
Here’s the Jap Chae Vegan Korean Noodles Recipe!
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On to the Jap Chae Vegan Korean Noodles Recipe!
Jap Chae Vegan Korean Noodles
Equipment
- cutting board
- measuring cups and spoons
- wok
- knife
- spoon
- tongs
Ingredients
Sauce
- 6 tbsp. sesame oil or toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp. teriyaki coconut aminos OR 1 tbsp. of maple syrup and 2 tbsp. Soy sauce
- 4 tbsp. tamari gluten free soy sauce or continue with the coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
Vegetables
- 1 bell pepper green or red
- ½ yellow onion or white
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 carrots medium sized
- 4 cups broccolini
- 2 cups bok choy
Frying the tofu
- 7 tbsp. oil avocado oil
- 14 oz. extra firm tofu
Noodles
- 500 grams korean sweet potato starch glass noodles about half the bag.
Instructions
- In a wok, add in water enough that it covers most of the noodles. Boil the water on high or medium heat. When it bubbles, place the noodles carefully into the wok. Best to cover with a lid to keep the heat inside. Cook for about 8-10 minutes. Later on we will cook them a little more if they need to be. Set aside and strain with cold water.
- Shred the carrots on a shredder or cut julienne style. Cut the bell pepper thinly. Cut the onions into a diced size. Cut the garlic mince. For the bok choy and broccolini cut each leaf/individual 2 to 3 times depending on the size.
- Mix the sauce components into a bowl. Set aside for later.
- In a wok, on medium heat add the frying oil into the pan (avocado oil, can add a little sesame oil if you would like) to fry the tofu for about 10-15 minutes. Don’t worry if the tofu crumbles.
- Throw in the onions and garlic to sauté for 2 minutes. Next add the bell pepper, carrots, broccolini and bok choy to cook for an additional 5 minutes. Mix together so that the oil coats around the vegetables. Next, cover with a lid.
- On low to medium heat, add in the noodles. Add in the sauce. Mix and cover it with a lid to cook for another 5 minutes. Once the noodles are cook to your satisfaction, it is done and ready to serve with some sesame seeds on top or any of your traditional garnishes!
Notes
- Go to any Asian market to buy the Korean glass noodles that is a pack of 1 kg. It looks like this here.
- Coconut aminos is for those who don’t like soy sauce or is on a soy free diet.
- The difference between toasted sesame oil and regular sesame oil is that the flavor is one is toasted and one is raw. Don’t use toasted sesame oil for frying since it will be rich in a burnt flavor. That is why I used avocado oil for the tofu. I used the regular sesame oil for frying my tofu before and it turn out just fine!
- My portion sizes are big because I meal prep and I have a big family. Please let me know when you want a meal for 2 people.
- The portion for the broccolini is basically a bunch sold at a grocery market. One bundle of them.
- For most of my recipes, I like to use the whole vegetable or try to.
Nutrition
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This looks so delicious. I love anything with noodles. And seems simple enough to whip up. <3
Thank you! I’m surprised these glass noodles are gluten free! They are so versatile and just drop down delicious! 🙂
I’m such a sucker for noodles. Like, anything noodles I enjoy lol. I’ve never had Jap Chae vegan Korean koodles before but this looks so tasty!
I am too! I had rice more than noodles when growing up and noodles now are my favorite! Especially when they are gluten free as well! Thank you!
This looks amazing! I love noodle dishes.
Thank you!
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