Japchae, That Japchae

The Taste of Japchae Enjoyed After Chuseok!

One of the small topics this Chuseok was the ‘Standard Ancestral Table’ announced by Sungkyunkwan University. The idea was that keeping it simple without having to cook jeon (Korean pancakes) is actually more in line with etiquette, aiming to resolve conflicts caused by preparing excessive food. However, purely from the perspective of the food itself, the abundant Chuseok dishes are also one of the few special meals eaten throughout the year.

One of those special dishes is Japchae. This is because it requires more effort than other dishes and is difficult to store for a long time, making it hard to eat anytime. If you look up recipes, the necessary ingredients alone include glass noodles, onions, carrots, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, pork, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, pepper, minced garlic, sesame seeds, and more?over 10 ingredients. Moreover, the meat needs to be seasoned, requiring a lot of care. So, it has probably become a dish not often made in everyday life.

However, the growth of the K-meal kit market has been fierce, and there was no dish it couldn’t conquer. It has become a world where you can naturally purchase Japchae that can be easily eaten just by microwaving it. Although Chuseok has passed, we selected and tasted some easily accessible Japchae that are delicious anytime.

Ottogi Old-fashioned Japchae

The first contender is an instant Japchae made by Goddoki Ottogi, which produces everything from gourmet to exotic dishes. It looks exactly like ramen, and the cooking method is the same as the brothless ramen we think of. The plating is oily and hard to make look pretty because it needs to be mixed well before eating.

But isn’t the taste the most important? The advantage is that you have to boil the noodles yourself, so you can control how much the noodles are cooked. Overcooking makes the noodles mushy and prone to breaking, which some may dislike, so this freedom is a plus. However, the soy sauce flavor in the liquid sauce was very strong. Since it is a low-calorie food with 225 calories, it seems the flavor base comes from the soy sauce.

However, the quantity is small. Therefore, if you add rice and make Japchae rice, it could be a hearty meal. The toppings seem to be almost the same as ramen toppings to match the price, so keep that in mind.

GS25 Traditional That Japchae

The product that started this content is the traditional ‘That Japchae.’ It is topped with plenty of pork, containing over 500 calories. But those who often eat convenience store food know well that the expensive and hard-to-store ingredients are not meat but vegetables. This product also has almost no vegetables except for carrots.

You can say the product consists of 1/4 meat, 1/4 egg, and 1/2 glass noodles.

This is how it looks right after microwaving. The downside is the noodle condition because it is sold at convenience stores in a ready-to-eat state just by microwaving. As you can see in the photo, the noodles are close to being swollen rather than just plump. Personally, among the three Japchae I tried this time, this was the most disappointing.

PEACOCK Five-color Feast Japchae

The Five-color Feast Japchae is a frozen product that includes two packs of Japchae and two packs of sesame oil, and you can eat it just by microwaving. Unlike the products above, it has a slightly heavier price point and carries the shape and taste of Japchae we usually think of.

The most commendable part of this product is the cooking method. You don’t need to open the bag or anything; just microwave it as is and then add sesame oil afterward, which shows a good understanding of the needs of people who buy such food.

You can also feel the overwhelming difference in the amount and size of the toppings. However, due to the nature of microwaving, the chewiness of the noodles inevitably suffers. If you want that chewy texture or want to eat it as Japchae rice, Ottogi Old-fashioned Japchae might be the best choice. But overall, the most balanced taste was the Five-color Feast Japchae, which generously includes vegetables. You could call it ‘Japchae, that Japchae’...

Photo by Seo Jeongjun