Scott’s garden yielded a bucket of sweet potatoes and my raised beds finished the Spring growing season sputtering out the last of the kale and swiss chard. Summer is when we put the raised beds to rest – it’s just too darn hot to grow anything except hot chile peppers and okra (which sounds kinda good together too!)

We decided on making one of Korea’s most popular dishes, Japchae, or Glass Noodles. If you have friends or family on this or that diet, this is a dish that just might please everyone (well, except for meat-only eaters).

So what are dang myung noodles??

Dang Myung noodles are made from sweet potato starch, so they are vegan, gluten-free, paleo-friendly, dairy-free, soy-free and peanut-free. The back of every package that I’ve found at the Asian market states that the only ingredient is Sweet Potato Starch. I’m not so sure of that. There’s got to be some other ingredient in these noodles – can anyone confirm?

The noodles are stretchy, neutral flavored (duh!), slightly chewy and springy in texture. What they are great for is soaking up all of the flavors in the dish. Not much seasoning is needed because the noodles really act like a sponge.

FOOD FIGHT!!!

The other thing these noodles are fantastic for is FOOD FIGHT! Because they are so elastic, you can flick your wrist and SLAP your opponents face with a tangle mess of stinging wet noodles. Watch the recipe video…and at the end and see how well this works. I let the boys go at it with each other!

But beware….10 Minutes of food fighting fun, 40 minutes of cleanup. But the boys said it was all worth it. My camera lens….not so happy. I got hit too!

Korean Japchae Noodle Recipe Video

Korean Japchae Glass Noodles Recipe - Super Foods Version!

The key to this recipe is adding each ingredient separately - in the video, the sweet potato takes the longest to cook, so it goes in first.

Feel free to customize! Add mushrooms (add with the onions); matchstick carrots or fresh spinach leaves (add them the same time as the kale/swiss chard).

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 6 oz dried Korean glass noodles (sweet potato)
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 4 big handfuls kale and swiss chard
• 1 onion
• 1 stalk green onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil

Instructions

 

PREP INGREDIENTS:

• Boil a pot of water (about 2 quarts). Turn off heat and add in the glass noodles. Let sit for 10 minutes.
• Kale/Swiss Chard: Fold leaves in half, tear away the leafy part from tough stem (discard stem). Cut or tear leaves into bite sized pieces.
• Dice the sweet potatoes into 1/2" dice (the smaller you dice, the quicker it will cook)
• Onion: Slice onion into thin slices.
• Green Onion: chop.
• Finely mince the garlic
• In bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil.
• If 10 minutes have passed for the noodles, drain the noodles.

COOK:

• Heat wok with cooking oil over medium heat. Add in the sweet potatoes and cook for 3 minutes each side. The sweet potatoes should be lightly browned, darker orange and just nearly cooked through.
• Turn heat to medium-high and add in the onions. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, until onions become translucent.
• Add in the garlic and green onion. Toss well and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add in the leafy vegetables. Use tongs to toss well and cook for 1 1/2 minutes or until the vegetables are wilting.
• Add in the noodles and pour in the sauce. Toss well again to combine everything. Finish off with sesame seeds.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!