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    Home » Noodles and Rice

    Spicy Seafood Japchae

    Published 10/09/2017. Updated 10/03/2019

    Jump to Recipe

    This japchae is made spicy with lots of seafood. A nice change from traditional japchae!

    DSC 1882 1 e1507685648246 - Spicy Seafood Japchae

    This recipe is another variation of japchae (잡채)! I previously posted kongnamul japchae which is a variation made with soybean sprouts. This time, the japchae is made spicy with seafood! I got the idea from the spicy seafood japchae my son and I enjoyed at a Korean restaurant in NYC’s Koreatown. It had a nice and clean spicy kick which was prominent enough to wake up our palates but not overpowering. It also had a generous amount of seafood. We thought it was a nice change from traditional japchae.

    If you’re not a fan of seafood, this recipe can easily be turned into a vegan japchae by omitting the seafood. Likewise, if you don’t like spicy food, simply omit the gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes) for a mild seafood japchae.

    DSC 2494 e1507685789860 - Spicy Seafood Japchae

    Japchae noodles

    The main ingredient, of course, is sweet potato starch noodles called dangmyeon (당면), also known as glass noodles. The most common way to cook the noodles for japchae is to boil in water for a few minutes. Here, I soaked the noodles until soft, and then stir-fried in oil infused with gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes). This method yields a bit chewier and bouncier noodles. If you like softer noodles, you can boil them first before stir-frying.

    Seafood and vegetables

    For the seafood part of the dish, I used a small, tender squid (known as calamari in America), and small shrimp. The restaurant version also had small octopus (nakji, 낙지). You can simply use shrimp if you’d like.

    The vegetables I used in this recipe are pretty basic — onion, carrot, mushrooms, and scallion. Use any mushrooms you have or like. If you have leftover spinach, cucumber, zucchini or bell pepper in the fridge, any of them would be great in this recipe. You don’t need much for this recipe.

    How is japchae served in Korean cuisine?

    It’s most commonly served as a side dish (banchan), but it’s also enjoyed as an appetizer, or over a bed of rice as a main dish.

    DSC 1874 1 e1507600586162 - Spicy Seafood Japchae

    For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow  along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

    DSC 1874 1 150x150 1 - Spicy Seafood Japchae

    Spicy Seafood Japchae

    4.55 from 22 votes
    Servings: 2
    Print Recipe

    Ingredients

    For the noodles

    • 4 ounces dangmyeon 당면 (Korean sweet potato starch noodles)
    • 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
    • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
    • 1/2 to 1 tablespoon gochugaru preferably finely ground - see note

    For the seafood and vegetables

    • 1 small squid about 4 ounces
    • 8 small shrimp peeled and deveined
    • 1/4 medium onion thinly sliced
    • ⅓ small carrot cut into matchsticks
    • 2 to 3 fresh shiitake mushrooms or mushrooms of your choice, thinly sliced
    • 2 ounces enoki mushrooms - optional
    • 1 scallion sliced diagonally
    • Salt and pepper

    Sauce

    • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
    • 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
    • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
    • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

    Instructions

    • Soak the noodles in warm water until soft (about 30 to 40 minutes), and drain.
      DSC 1838 e1507599941635 - Spicy Seafood Japchae
    • Clean the shrimp and squid. Cut the squid into bite size pieces.
      DSC 1857 e1507600061273 - Spicy Seafood Japchae
    • Prepare the vegetables, and mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
      DSC 1842 e1507600012580 - Spicy Seafood Japchae
    • Add the vegetable oil, sesame oil, and the gochugaru to a pan, and heat until hot over medium low heat, stirring. Remove from the heat as soon as the oil starts to turn red and the chili pepper flakes become a bit pasty. Do not burn the gochugaru.
      DSC 1837 e1507600266594 - Spicy Seafood Japchae
    • Turn the heat to medium, and add the noodles to the pan along with 1-1/2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce. Stir-fry until the noodles are soft, 3 to 4 minutes.
      DSC 1843 e1507600325873 - Spicy Seafood Japchae
    • Remove the noodles onto a plate. In the same pan, stir fry the onion for a minute, and then carrot and mushrooms until wilted. Add a tablespoon of water if the vegetables look dry. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
      DSC 2476 e1507686496204 - Spicy Seafood Japchae
    • Add the seafood and the remaining sauce, and stir-fry until the seafood is cooked through. Follow this by the scallion and optional enoki mushrooms until the scallions are slightly wilted.
      DSC 1850 e1507600374603 - Spicy Seafood Japchae
    • Return the noodles to the pan, and toss everything well together. You can add a bit more sugar and/or soy sauce to taste.
      DSC 1858 e1507600512450 - Spicy Seafood Japchae

    Notes

    You can grind your regular gochugaru in a spice grinder. I used 1 tablespoon gochugaru for the first photo, and 1/2 tablespoon for the second photo.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @koreanbapsang or tag #koreanbapsang!

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    Comments

    1. Bob Landry says

      May 07, 2021 at 8:12 pm

      5 stars
      thank you so much for sharing, my daughter was stationed in Korea and i had the opertunity to make several trips there. not only did I enjoy the food I loved the people and culture, as she said Dad your spot on thanks to you.

      Reply
    2. Jill says

      April 23, 2021 at 11:26 pm

      5 stars
      This was great–as are all your recipes! I am so happy to have discovered your site.

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        April 24, 2021 at 12:10 am

        Thank you! I’m so happy you’ve found my site as well.

        Reply
    3. Fran says

      March 14, 2021 at 12:59 pm

      5 stars
      Oh my Goodness! This is delicious! I can’t believe how good it is! I have very little experience with making Korean food myself other than Kimchi, but this will become part of my staple. Now I can watch Korean drama while having a bowl of Korean food. Please try this, everyone!
      Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
      Greetings from Berlin/Germany

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        March 14, 2021 at 1:23 pm

        Great! Happy to hear you’re find out making Korean food is approachable. And thank you so much for letting everyone know how delicious this is all the way from Berlin!!

        Reply
    4. Stella says

      September 01, 2020 at 2:24 pm

      5 stars
      I absolutely loved this recipe as did my family! Beautifully written and clear instructions on how to make it successfully. Spice is just right! Hit all my favorite flavors, spicy, sweet, salty, savory and delicious!

      Reply
    5. Dee says

      April 30, 2020 at 3:38 am

      Can I replace the seafood with chicken or pork slices instead?

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        April 30, 2020 at 10:45 pm

        Sure!

        Reply
    6. Nuria says

      January 12, 2019 at 3:24 am

      5 stars
      I made this yesterday and it turned out very well! It was so delicious and my parents loved it! ^-^
      Thank you so much for the recipe!

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        January 12, 2019 at 11:33 am

        Awesome! Thank you so much for trying the recipe and for the great review!

        Reply

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    Hi! I'm Hyosun, and I am a Korean-American mom of two wonderful grown-up children. Here, you will learn how to cook Korean dishes the way we Koreans traditionally eat at home. Read More...

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