Sheet-Pan Japchae

By Eric Kim

Published March 21, 2024

Sheet-Pan Japchae
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Total Time
30 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Rating
4(609)
Notes
Read community notes

Though readily available at restaurants today, japchae — the royal Korean stir-fried glass noodle dish — is traditionally a banquet affair, eaten just a few times a year at holidays and special occasions because the labor to produce it is so high. Each vegetable, among a rainbowed array, is ordinarily stir-fried individually, but in this variation, all of the vegetables roast together on the same sheet pan in color-blocked sections for ease and deliciousness. The roasted vegetables caramelize with less effort, and then need only to be tossed with the noodles and sauce, making japchae a dish within reach for any night of the week. The spinach, mushrooms and bell pepper recall key flavors of typical japchae, but you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand or prefer. Frozen spinach might not be a conventional ingredient, but it roasts beautifully and ends up tasting almost like umami-rich kale chips or roasted seaweed. You can add a drop of toasted sesame oil, if you’d like, but the toasted sesame seeds here lend enough of that quintessential aromatic nuttiness that makes japchae taste so regal.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1(10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • 8ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
  • 1orange or yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 2garlic cloves, minced
  • 2tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce, plus more to taste
  • 1packed tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • 1tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for serving
  • 6ounces dangmyeon (sweet potato noodles; see Tip)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

288 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 48 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 585 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Position a rack in the top third of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    On a large sheet pan, arrange the spinach, mushrooms and bell pepper in three separate sections. Generously drizzle all with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Roast until charred in spots, gently stirring the vegetable sections one by one and rotating the pan halfway through, 20 to 25 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, maple syrup and sesame seeds and set aside.

  4. Step 4

    When the vegetables are almost done roasting, add the noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions, then drain and add directly to the sheet pan with the roasted vegetables. Using kitchen shears, cut the noodles once or twice directly on the sheet pan for easier handling.

  5. Step 5

    Pour the sauce over and toss until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, soy sauce and sesame seeds if you like. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tip
  • Dangmyeon (pronounced DAHNG-myun) are wonderfully bouncy, chewy, translucent noodles made from sweet potato starch. Available online and in any Korean grocery store, they come in large plastic bags, as the dried noodles are long and stiff until they’re cooked. Often labeled as glass noodles or Korean vermicelli, starchy dangmyeon become slack, slippery and beautifully shiny once boiled.

Ratings

4 out of 5
609 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

Juanita

This was great. Made (almost) to the recipe. Added a pile of slivered carrots to the sheet pan and sprinkled all with sesame seeds for the last 5 minutes. I also added 1 tsp of sesame oil to the sauce. I tossed everything together in the pot where I had cooked the noodles, which seemed easier than doing all on the sheet pan. Served with chili crisp and a fried egg on top. Delicious and easy.

kq

A great easy way to make Japchae. The only thing I changed is the oil. Using olive oil doesn't work that well with asian cooking as the flavour stands out too much. Use canola, vegetable or any other neutral oil. I'm not sure why the NYTimes recos olive oil in asian food. Yes, you can taste the difference.

Margaret

In response to Annie's question, why not break the noodles before cooking (rather than cut with scissors after cooking)--because sweet potato noodles are not brittle when dry, like Italian pasta noodles made of wheat. They are sort of tough and springy, and if you try to break them you end up yanking them and twisting them and getting yourself all hot and bothered. So, you cook them first and then cut them with scissors.

Annie

If the goal is to have shorter noodles, why would you not break them in half before boiling rather than cutting them with kitchen scissors on the sheet pan (Step 4)?

Chloe

Added carrots, red bell peppers, two inch scallions, and sliced yellow onions. When i made the sweet potato noodles, I coated it in sesame oil and some of the sauce. The sauce needs sesame oil so I added a tablespoon and more soy sauce.

Nic

Added a bunch of other veggies (cabbage, broccoli) and it was great. Just used more sheet pans. Highly recommend an egg and some chili crisp too. Only suggestion I have is to dress it all in a bowl rather than the sheet pan! So so delicious and is added to the regular rotation.

Heather

I haven’t made this, so my comment isn’t directed at the actual recipe. Just a wonderful memory of one of my daughter’s friends (in her 20s) bringing a delicious handmade batch of Japchae over on Thanksgiving when I was going through cancer treatments. I had never had it before, and it remains a favorite memory to our all-American feast…the beauty and taste of the dish were unmatched!

Pogo

Solid base recipe for glass noodles! I also sometimes roast my veg separately and toss them in with the noodles and sauce towards the end. Feels like cheating. But they taste great so whatever.

diana

This recipe is absolutely delicious! I so appreciate how it makes Japchae easy to prepare. It’s one of my favorite dishes, but it’s a lot of work usually. This is easy and incredibly good. It was a big hit in my house. I will make it again and again.

Ted

I really appreciate the sheet pan hack. This innovation made the dish achievable on a weeknight.

mb

this kind of noodles its easier - they dont tend to snap easily

Georganne

Added grated ginger to the soy/maple syrup prep for more depth of flavor. I'd do that again! This one will become part of my regular rotation! I, too, added slivered carrots and one sliced sweet onion for more vegetables when roasting. I think almost any vegetable would work with this.

Jeff

Serves four? That means each person gets 2 oz of mushrooms, 1/4 of a pepper, 2 1/2 oz of spinach, 1 1/2 oz of glass noodles, and some sauce. Maybe that's why I can't lose weight. Is that what you people call dinner? I added bok choy, carrots and scallions and my wife and I easily finished the whole thing. And, if I pushed, I could have eaten the whole thing myself. If it was good that is. It wasn't. The greens were overcooked and had the consistency of Kale chips.

kathy

I enjoyed making this after recently making the labor intensive way. Next time I will double the sauce and add a bit of heat. I added stir fried slivered carrots and snow peas. The frozen spoilage idea works well.

A Reader

I agree, and would suggest sesame oil instead in Asian dishes.

DRK

Please add to your comments how long was your preparation time and cooking time. That will really help those of us who are apparently all thumbs and sluggardly. I really cannot chop and slice all the items in this recipe in 5 minutes as the recipe states. More like 15 or 20. What am I doing wrong?

Elizabeth

Good, but the sauce was too sweet. Next time, I'll skip the maple syrup and cut the brown sugar in half. I'll also marinate some tofu and roast it along with the veggies.

Lindsay from LA

Love this dish! Great for a weeknight. We had to sub in vermicelli rice noodles based on what was avail in store, but still turned out great. Only rec is to double the veggies if you can since they really cook down. Delicious and easy.

Sue

This was very easy, very good, very inexpensive and seems pretty healthy, too. It's all vegetables and mushrooms, and those sweet potato noodles make you feel like you've had a solid meal. I did what others did, and drained the noodles put them back in the pot and added the sauce and veggies.

Alex

Really good! Appreciate the high veggie to noodle ratio. However, this did not make 4 servings… Will perhaps up the noodles to 8oz next time and add tofu.

Rhea

This was very good. I doubled and added tofu to the pan. And also added sesame oil to sauce. I found olive oil was not overwhelming at all, flavor was very good. And I use one that is pretty strong. Might make more sauce next time, and will try fried eggs on top, as another cook suggested. For a sheet pan dinner, there was more mess than I would have liked... but might be my own exec function issue LOL.

Rob

I made this recipe as written, although I forgot to drizzle the vegetables with oil (so they stuck to the foil a bit). Overall, I didn't care for the dish much. Someone else noted you should watch the noodles so as not to overcook them, but I ended up draining them a minute or so too early and they were chewy. The sauce is overly sweet, and I didn't think the spinach was an appropriate flavor for the dish. I won't try to improve it on a second go. Just not my thing.

Peter

I mean this worked and it tasted good, but the recipe left me with so many questions… How big are your sheet pans, people? Why olive oil in Asian food? And who is cutting their wet hot noodles with scissors?! LOL. Use a pot to mix, use sesame or vegetable oil, and just eat the noodles as they come. Oh, and if you get flustered like I did by the time it takes to defrost the spinach, use your microwave. I might experiment next time with mirin and fresh spinach.

Kim

I added about 2 T. minced ginger root and 2 T. of mirin to the sauce. I had extra fresh asparagus and ramps that I added halfway through the cooking time.

Lawrie

Love the instruction, "Meanwhile". Very cinematic, and so essential.

Question: Could Fresh Spinach Work?

Wondering how fresh spinach would do in the oven instead of the frozen stuff

Julie

I'm sorry, but I don't understand the sheet pan thing. I can stir fry the veggies in 5 minutes in my wok, and then add the noodles and sauce. Also, no messy sheet pan to scour.

Marla

Would bean thread noodles work in this recipe?

JSS

Super delicious and definitely a weeknight dish. I doubled the recipe (except for the sauce, as I don't like things too salty or sweet), and it fed three people for two days.

Joe

This was great. I added shaved carrots to give it some color and bulk up the vegetables. I used coconut aminos rather than soy sauce to reduce the sodium content, and omitted the brown sugar because the aminos already add some sweetness that soy sauce doesn't provide. The recipe got rave reviews at our kitchen table.

Private notes are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.

More From Vegan Pasta and Noodle Recipes

Trending on Cooking

Cooking Guides