Korean Jap Chae

@seattlehanddoc
Father of 5, Orthopedic Surgeon, Chief of Ortho Surgery Swedish Med Center, Board Director Proliance Surgeons, Orthopedic Specialists of Seattle
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Updated: 7/8/2025
45 minutes Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 25 minutes
Serves: 6 Save

Ingredients (15)

  • 1 pound dried Korean sweet potato noodles

  • 5 teaspoons sesame oil, divided

  • 1 pound spinach
  • ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • 8 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • ½ cup thinly sliced onions

  • 4 carrots, cut into matchsticks
  • 10 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 5 stalks green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms (shitake, wood ear, or rehydrated from dry) 

  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 3 cups cooked rice
  • 1½ cups kimchi

Directions

  1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add sweet potato noodles and cook until tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Immediately drain noodles and rinse with cold water.
  2. Toss noodles with 2 teaspoons sesame oil in a bowl. Use kitchen shears to cut noodles into shorter pieces, about 8 inches in length.
  3. Bring a pot of water to a bowl. Cook spinach in boiling water until color changes and leaves wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze out all the liquid. Chop spinach once in half. Sprinkle salt over chopped spinach; add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix well.
  4. Mix soy sauce and sugar together in a bowl.
  5. Heat a wok over high heat; add cooking oil and swirl to coat. When the cooking oil is hot but not smoking, cook and stir onions and carrots until just softened, about 1 minute.
  6. Add garlic, green onions, and mushrooms to carrot mixture; cook for 30 seconds.
  7. Stir spinach into mushroom mixture.
  8. Transfer spinach-mushroom mixture into a bowl.
  9. Add the soy sauce-sugar mixture and the noodles into the wok on high heat; cook until the noodles are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
  10. Spoon veggies into the wok; cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
  11. Remove wok from heat, toss with sesame seeds and the remaining 2 teaspoons sesame oil.
  12. Serve with rice and kimchi.