Step 1

Combine your choice of meat, the soy sauce, brown (or white) sugar, and toasted sesame oil in a bowl. Mix well by hand until the sugar is well melted. Cover and let it sit for 5 minutes.Heat a skillet and cook the marinated meat, stirring with a wooden spoon for about 4 to 5 minutes until cooked thoroughly.Remove from the heat and set aside.

Step 2

Whisk the eggs and salt in a bowl, then strain into another bowl so it’s totally smooth. Discard the stringy bits remaining in the strainer.Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and swirl it around to evenly coat the skillet.Wipe off the excess oil with a paper towel. Turn down the heat to low and add the egg mixture to the skillet. Lift and tilt the skillet around so that the egg spreads into a large circle that covers the bottom of the skillet.Let it cook for a minute until the bottom of the egg pancake is lightly cooked but not brown.Flip the egg pancake and remove from the heat. Let it cook by the heat remaining in the skillet for a few minutes. Transfer to a cutting board.Let the pancake cool for a few minutes, then slice it into thin strips. Cover the strips with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.

Step 3

Combine the soy sauce, brown (or white) sugar, ground black pepper, and garlic in a bowl and mix well with a spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Cover and set aside.

Step 4

Drain the wood ear mushrooms and put them on your cutting board. Cut off the tough stems and discard them. Cut the caps into bite-size pieces and put them into the pot.Add the king oyster mushrooms, carrot, and onion to the pot.Add ¼ cup vegetable oil and ¼ cup water to the pot. Mix well everything in the pot with both hands so that all the vegetables and mushrooms are nicely coated with oil. This will not only prevent the ingredients from turning brown from the seasoning sauce, but will also keep them from burning when you cook.Spread the spinach over top in an even layer.Drain the noodles and cut them into 5- to 6-inch lengths with scissors. Place them on top of the spinach in the pot.Drizzle the seasoning sauce on top of the noodles.Cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.Open the lid and stir and gently toss all the ingredients with a wooden spoon and tongs for 1 to 2 minutes, until all the liquid has evaporated and the noodles are nicely cooked and shiny.Add the cooked meat (if using), 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Gently toss the mixture so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Transfer to a large platter.

Step 5

Garnish with the egg paper strips (if using) and sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, and serve.Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. To reheat, stir-fry in a skillet with a few tablespoons water or vegetable oil.

Step 6

Dalhia London ON joined 9/20 & has 3 commentsPosted September 7th, 2020 at 11:25 pm | Log in to reply. Because I am vegan I didn’t put need and tłok but was sooooo goodSee full size image Karapot16 USA joined 3/19 & has 3 commentsPosted June 21st, 2020 at 9:56 am | Log in to reply. Tried this today, it was soooo easy to do compared to the traditional way. Thanks for this recipe, it’s a keeper!See full size image Korfoodie Singapore joined 5/20 & has 1 commentPosted May 2nd, 2020 at 1:17 am | Log in to reply. Hi maangchi! I tried making easy japchae and here it is!See full size image lhm Honolulu joined 12/19 & has 4 commentsPosted February 13th, 2020 at 5:03 pm | Log in to reply. This recipe WAS easy and a fast one-pot meal! I made a vegetarian version by skipping the meat and adding extra dried mushrooms and sliced fresh shiitake, plus lily buds and more fungi (leftovers fm making jai for the Chinese New Year). After soaking the dried items I put them all in with the carrots & onions. The directions were spot on, and everyone at the potluck was impressed.I will say that I had to cut the noodles while I was stirring them b/c they became a big ball I couldn’t untangle. And this recipe could easily feed 4 people. lhm Honolulu joined 12/19 & has 4 commentsPosted February 13th, 2020 at 11:16 pm | Log in to reply. I had to cut the noodles while stirring b/c I didn’t read the recipe carefully! Nora Nero East Java, Indonesia joined 2/19 & has 13 commentsPosted December 10th, 2019 at 8:46 am | Log in to reply. Just wanna share some tips. To make a beautiful yellow gyeran jjidan, just add half teaspoon of mayonnaise for 2 eggs. The mayonnaise will help the jjidan to be bright sunny yellow in colour. Happy trying heathenkitties Portland, Oregon joined 2/20 & has 1 commentPosted October 19th, 2020 at 11:32 pm | Log in to reply. Oh, I wish I’d read the comments before starting my japchae. It’s cooking right now, but I will remember this tip for next time; thank you! :-) UniSushi US joined 8/16 & has 5 commentsPosted December 9th, 2019 at 3:01 am | Log in to reply. That’s the most beautiful spinach I’ve ever seen! HojuAjumma 호주 joined 12/19 & has 2 commentsPosted December 7th, 2019 at 10:03 pm | Log in to reply. Maangchi-ssi,I want to ask you a question. Dangmyeon is very long and springy and difficult to separate. Is it possible to soak them, divide them and freeze the portions? 잘 부탁드려요!호주 아줌마 sanne Munich joined 8/14 & has 235 commentsPosted December 8th, 2019 at 5:32 am | Log in to reply. Funny – the dangmyeon I usually get are only folded once resulting them to be only about double the length of the bag they come in – unlike Chinese noodles made from mungbeans.For the latter, I always used pliers originally intended to cut sheet metal. HojuAjumma 호주 joined 12/19 & has 2 commentsPosted December 25th, 2019 at 1:35 am | Log in to reply. I can’t cut them with pliers as my wrists are too weak. And dangmyeon are always just a little bit too long to store in a container. In any case, I’ve frozen some soaked noodles to experiment, so I’ll find out soon enough anyway. sanne Munich joined 8/14 & has 235 commentsPosted December 25th, 2019 at 5:08 am | Log in to reply. How about broad clips to reseal the original bag?Merry Christmas! tiamana Newton, MA joined 1/20 & has 1 commentPosted January 14th, 2020 at 9:09 am | Log in to reply. Hello HojuAjumma, I read that you had tried freezing some soaked noodles. I was wondering what the results were. How did you thaw them? Did they still taste ok?I also froze some previously soaked noodles but am afraid that they may no longer be good.Thank you for your reply. Kristineyegav Los Angeles, CA joined 5/20 & has 1 commentPosted May 14th, 2020 at 7:58 pm | Log in to reply. My first time trying to make this recipe. Totally, easy and delicious. Thank you for sharing! See full size image Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,051 commentsPosted May 20th, 2020 at 5:47 pm | I’m so happy to hear that you love this recipe. It looks so tasty! I make japchae more often ever since I developed this recipe.