Jap Chae Noodles

[Akiko]

I was in the Korean grocery store yesterday, examining all the noodles on the shelves. I was happy to find many noodles (I've found out recently that I'm allergic to wheat and have been looking for tasty substitutes) make of buckwheat and potato starch. Are these what Jap Chae is made out of? If not, what do you use these for?

[Jason Perlow]

Sweet Potato Starch, usually. I've also seen it made with cellophane noodles which I think are made out of mungbean. Both Korean Jap Chae and Cellophane noodles come out translucent when cooked, which is what you want for Jap Chae.

[chezcherie]

may be a dumb question, but...as they are made with sweet potato starch, do they have an orange-pinkish hue? my son used to have a ramen-type dish at a friend's house, when he was 8 or 9, and he really loved it. no ramen we've tried is "it", so i wonder if this is the elusive after school snack? thanks!

[eunny jang]

No, they are milky-clear.

What was the ramen dish like?

[chezcherie]

he says they had a pinkish broth (which may have colored the noodles a bit), that was spicier than "grocery store" ramen. he's 20 now, and used to eat this snack at a friend's house 8-9 years ago, and hasn't forgotten it. (if it narrows things down, ramen-wise, he thinks the friend was korean, but isn't certain on this point...)

i would sure love to track this down for him, as he's kept it in his "mind's palate" all this time. of my three kids, he's the "foodiest", and it would be great to provide him with this treat from his childhood. thanks for any help you can provide!

[viaChgo]

he says they had a pinkish broth (which may have colored the noodles a bit), that was spicier than "grocery store" ramen. he's 20 now, and used to eat this snack at a friend's house 8-9 years ago, and hasn't forgotten it. (if it narrows things down, ramen-wise, he thinks the friend was korean, but isn't certain on this point...)

i would sure love to track this down for him, as he's kept it in his "mind's palate" all this time. of my three kids, he's the "foodiest", and it would be great to provide him with this treat from his childhood. thanks for any help you can provide!

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There are many Korean-brand ramens that are spicy w/the red broth & fit this description. I'm thinking it may have been Neoguri ... a spicy, seafood-flavored ramen.

[jschyun]

I've also had some thai and vietnamese noodle cup things that fit chezcherie's description too. did it come with its own fork? I think only the thai ones do. Was it sour and spicy, or just spicy? What kind of stuff was floating in there?

The sweet potato starch noodles (dang myun) that Jason talked about, are clear when dry and cook up clear too. If there was an orange-pinkish hue, and the noodles were dang myun or dang myun-like, the color was probably from the soup flavorings.

[torakris]

I just picked up jap chae noodles yesterday!

They ones I have always seen are more of a brown-gray color, though they cook up translucent.

this brand is sort of grayish (it is made out of sweet potato starch)

[chezcherie]

I've also had some thai and vietnamese noodle cup things that fit chezcherie's description too.  did it come with its own fork?  I think only the thai ones do.  Was it sour and spicy, or just spicy?  What kind of stuff was floating in there? 

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oh, this is FUN! he does not remember a fork, altho he points out that it was (a) half his life ago and (b) he was a fairly unobservant 8 yr. old, so maybe there coulda been a fork.

he just had a flashback, as we were talking about it---he remembers a spice packet, with what appeared to be tiny, dessicated radish slices. BUT, he said, they had a spiral from the edge to the center, very uniform, which caused him to believe that they were "faux" veggies!

also, maybe the package was red...

we are having fun with the search, and appreciate the help you all are providing!

i will peruse the local korean market tomorrow!

[jschyun]

he remembers a spice packet, with what appeared to be tiny, dessicated radish slices. BUT, he said, they had a spiral from the edge to the center, very uniform, which caused him to believe that they were "faux" veggies!

also, maybe the package was red...

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well, it's clear to me that this is not chapchae or dang myun related but definitely some type of ramen. I was confused because some of the thai ramen bowls have clear noodles, just like chapchae except thinner and that's what i thought you wanted. rereading the post makes it clearer to me.

that spiral radish thingy actually sounds like it might be dessicated fish cake. I can't for the life of me remember which one of those things have fish cake and which not. Perhaps someone else can jump in.

[mrbigjas]

put me in the 'it's probably neoguri' category. if the packet was red instead of orange like in that pic viaChgo posted, it could have been the spicy version. it seems to me that about 10-15 years ago when i first ate it, neoguri used to have those colored fish cakes in it, and it doesn't now. but i could be wrong. mmmmm neoguri.

[jschyun]

shin ramen is also in a red pkg, but I forget if it has little fish cake things.

[Akiko]

That is a very unusual 8 year old who has neoguri for the first time and loves it. Unless your 8 year old (at the time) had an especial liking for very spicy food.

Neoguri is spicy. Although, I did love it as an 8 year old. I also grew up eating kimchi.

[viaChgo]

Also Neoguri had a piece of dried seaweed that was fairly thick & was characteristic of Neoguri.

[jschyun]

the nongshim shin ramen is really spicy and it doesn't really have that much of the seafood element like neoguri.

Kimchi ramen is not as spicy though, and might have stuff in it like that spiral fish cake. actually this would be my guess.

[Akiko]

sweet potato starch noodles (dang myun

Actually, my packet of buckwheat and potato starch noodles says dangmyun on it.... does dangmyun cover off a larger group of noodles?

[Fat Guy]

My friend Sean and I have been marinating beef for bulgogi since yesterday. In thinking about side dishes, I suggested jap chae with vegetables. Not that I've ever cooked jap chae. We're in Danbury, CT, where there aren't a lot of Asian markets, but there is one, Atlantic Market, and they seem to have just about everything. I grabbed this package of what I'm pretty sure are jap chae noodles (or at least noodles made from potato starch of some kind):

The thing is, everything on the package is in Korean (not that I even know for sure), and I don't speak that language (or whatever language it is). So what I need to know is how to cook the noodles. Google has yielded divergent advice, ranging from boil for 5 minutes to soak for 20. What's the deal?

(edited to clarify)

Edited August 15, 2009 by Fat Guy (log)

[heidih]

Those do not look like the ones I use. Mine have a slight beige tint to them and have that wiry look to them like bean thread (glass) noodle skeins and are impossible to just break apart. They are also more clear like bean thread. The English says sweet potato thread. Yours look really symetrical. I would break a bit off and do a light simmer for a few minutes. If they remain opaque then I think they are maybe a rice or tapioca starch. Get the texture you want, and dress like jap chae. Maybe not authentic, but it will still accompany the grilled meat nicely. Just be careful to keep a good "tooth" on them. Good luck and let us know.

[Fat Guy]

Whatever these noodles are, we boiled them for 5 minutes, drained and tossed with sesame oil. Then we added julienne cooked shiitake mushrooms and the green outside parts of some zucchini as well as steamed broccoli cut into very small florets, garlic, scallions and onion. Mixed all that with some soy, mirin, hot pepper sauce and sesame seeds. I have no idea what we created but it's tasty. Will serve at room temp in about an hour.

[heidih]

Sounds good. Did the noodles end up remaining white or did they go clear?

[Fat Guy]

They became translucent.

[Domestic Goddess]

If they became translucent it is probably rice noodle. Korean potato noodles are brownish in color (uncooked) and will turn golden brown-translucent when they are done (cooking). They have a nice elasticity to them, which makes it hard to cut with your teeth, you would have to eat the whole strand.

To fix japchae noodles, soak the bunch in warm water for about 5 minutes. Drain and add to your wok. Add about a cup of water and cook until all the water gets absorbed and keep adding water if it doesn't look like it's enough. You can also boil it before stirfrying but the lazy wife version is just to simmer in the wok/pan that you are using until they are done.

Will post pics of japchae noodle packs later for clarification.

[Domestic Goddess]

Here's a pic of the japchae noodle packs. They're usually about 2 feet in length (ok, maybe 1 1/2 ft). You can see most them on the right side of the pic, with yellow on their packaging.

I think the koreanword for it is "Dang Myeon". Myeon means noodle in Korean.

[jkim]

To fix japchae noodles, soak the bunch in warm water for about 5 minutes. Drain and add to your wok. Add about a cup of water and cook until all the water gets absorbed and keep adding water if it doesn't look like it's enough. You can also boil it before stirfrying but the lazy wife version is just to simmer in the wok/pan that you are using until they are done.

Fatguy,

That isn't dang myun. They are japanese rice noodles.

Domestic,

I think I've seen it done a bit differently - place in a bowl of cold water for 1 - 2 hours, then cook directly in the wok/fry pan with the meat, veges and sauces.

Not a fan of jap chae so i don't make it myself.

Dang myun means "starch/glucose/carb" "noodles".

[Hiroyuki]

It's a Japanese product called Malony. Here's the official website of the manufacturer:

http://www.malony.co.jp/

It's made of potato starch and corn starch. It's good in salad and in nabe.

Edited September 8, 2009 by Hiroyuki (log)