Japchae: Tangled Delight
By Namhee Cho
It is hard to find a Korean person who is against noodles. Last year, South Koreans ranked number one in the world in terms of instant noodle consumption per year according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. From the Korean staple ramyeon, to rice noodles and everything in between, we are truly living in the kingdom of noodles.
In the hierarchy of Korean noodles, japchae stands on the top. The royal dish is always present on the scenes of Korean birthday parties, wedding receptions, and 60th birthday parties, which hold a special significance.
In the diaries of Gwanghaegun, the king of the Joseon Dynasty in the early 17th century, we read that he was allured by the taste of japchae created by one of his lieges, Yi Chung, and consequently rewarded him by promoting him to the position of hojo panseo, equivalent to the Secretary of the Treasury.
At the time, the original japchae did not resemble what we are now familiar with. As stated in Umsikdimibang , the first Korean recipe to be written by a woman in East Asia, japchae was made out of thinly shredded vegetables and mushrooms, such as cucumber, daikon radish, and shiitake mushrooms. In 1912, dangmyeon, glass noodles made from sweet potato starch, were adopted from China and a manufacturing factory was built in Pyeongyang by a Japanese resident. Since then, the versatile noodles have been the primary ingredient in japchae.
A single serving of glossy noodles with a colorful mix of vegetables and sesame seeds sprinkled on top contains all five essential nutrients, making it nutritionally rich and healthy. It is a pity that there are no japchae specialty restaurants in Gwangju. Do not be disappointed, however; we still consider japchae a royal food, even though we have put it aside on the table. Look for japchae at side dish specialty restaurants in your neighborhood. Once you get used to conventional japchae, try other variations that replace the noodles with vegetables such as green chili pepper, Korean chives and soybean sprouts and see if you can feel the regality of this classic dish.