Hey guys, let’s talk about noodles. If you’ve been following the Plant Paradox Program for a while, you may have just given up the search for gut-friendly noodles. Of course, there’s shirtaki noodles – and ya’ll know that we love our white rice noodles – but what else is there?
Turns out that Asian cultures – such as Korea – have been using noodles that are lectin-free for a long ass time. How long, you ask? I have no idea, I’m not a food historian – but way longer than we Americans have known about them. One of such noodles includes glass noodles, which are noodles made out of sweet potato starch. They’re usually tinted a light purple before being cooked, but they turn completely translucent after being cooked, hence the name “glass noodles.” Texture-wise, they’re somewhere in between shirataki noodles & rice noodles, as they’re decently chewy but more tender than shirataki is.
“Yeah, but they’re probably really expensive,” says the imaginary reader of this post in my head. Not at all, mental friend! One large package of glass noodles, which serves 4 – 6 people, usually costs less than $2 at Oriental markets. Although, if you go searching for this stuff at Whole Foods, you’ll probably be in shock over the price.
The signature dish of glass noodles is Jap Chae, a sweet & salty Korean noodle stir-fry. If you’ve ever made fried rice, then this will be pretty easy for you, because it’s as is simple as boiling some noodles, draining said noodles, cutting up veggies, and cooking everything together in a blazing hot wok. If you don’t have a wok, my first suggestion is to buy this one off of Amazon for $30 – you’ll use it every other day, it only takes a swipe of a paper towel to clean, and it can be used for almost everything. And no, we’re not sponsored by the company or anything; we actually really love using this wok. While you’re waiting for that to be shipped, you can use a large saucier (flat bottomed pot with curved sides) or a high walled sauté pan.
The flavors of Jap Chae are simple – the vegetables and toasted sesame oil do most of the talking, while soy sauce & sugar elevate them to new heights. Only to take matters Plant Paradox friendly, we use tamari in place of soy sauce and Swerve in place of sugar. Easy peasy swap-outs my friend.
We hope y’all enjoy this simple, Korean dinner! It’s:
- Only takes 30-Minutes & 2 pots/pans
- A perfect stay-home dinner for two
- Lectin-free, vegan, sugar-free, and grain-free
- Savory, lightly sweet, and simply seasoned
- Chewy, crisp, and tender
If you like what your taste buds are tellin’ ya, leave behind a nice rating, share your thoughts with us in the comments, or show us your creations by tagging @noeggsorham on Instagram.
Go Forth & Twist it Like a Stir-Fry,
Ryan
Vegan Jap Chae / Korean Glass Noodle Stir-Fry (Plant Paradox-friendly, gluten-free, sugar-free)
Chewy sweet potato starch noodles, prepared simply with fresh vegetables, and sweet tamari.
Ingredients
- 6 oz Sweet Potato Starch Noodles (aka Jap Chae or Glass Noodles)
- 3 oz (about 5 large) shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 large yellow onion, cut into wedges
- 1/8 large green cabbage, thinly shredded
- 1/2 large carrot, cut into thin matchstick pieces*
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large handfuls of baby spinach
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 c tamari
- 2 tbsp Confectioner’s Swerve or 3 tbsp erythritol
- 10 grinds (about 1/4 tsp) black pepper
- pinch of salt
Directions
- Cook noodles according to package’s instructions. If instructions aren’t in English, cook noodles in a pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes, stirring a few times, then drain into a colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Heat a large wok (or high walled sauté pan or saucier) over high heat. Once hot, add in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil plus carrots, cabbage, onion, and a pinch of salt.
- Cook, tossing & stirring frequently, until the onions just begin to turn translucent; about 4 minutes.
- Toss in sliced shiitakes & garlic and cook – still stirring frequently – until onions & cabbage are lightly browned around the edges; about 3 more minutes.
- Rinse cooked noodles thoroughly with warm water then drain. Add to the wok, along with the spinach, tamari, Swerve, black pepper, and second tablespoon of sesame oil.
- Cook, tossing & stirring often, until noodles are heated thoroughly and all of the ingredients are mixed well; about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately! Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat with a splash of oil in a wok over high heat until hot.
*We used the matchstick insert on a mandolin to cut our carrots, however, you could simply cut the carrots into thin slices on the bias if you don’t have one.
NO EGGS OR HAM 
I made it and loved it. I’m embarrassed to say I ate the whole recipe in one sitting… ❤️
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We’re so elated you enjoyed it! And hey, there’s no shame in that – this dish is sooo light in calories being that it’s made from glass noodles instead of rice or wheat noodles. So, if anything you’re getting a healthy dose of antioxidants and fiber. Hoo-rah!
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I am brand new to the lectin-free lifestyle and I stumbled across this blog yesterday. I’m not a great cook and I was worried about two things. 1) could I make this without screwing it up? 2) would it really taste as delicious as it looked on here?
The answer to both questions was a resounding YES!
I deviated from the recipe a little bit because I wanted more veggies. One variation was that I bought a bag of cabbage and carrot coleslaw-type mix (it also had a little kale, brussel sprout, and broccoli in there) so that I wouldn’t have to chop so much and the second was that I added bok choy. The bok choy didn’t work out and the family picked it out (haha), but the mix was close enough to the recipe and made it so easy to make. Next time, I’ll add a few more shiitakes instead of bok choy.
This is a truly exceptional recipe that I would never have thought of myself, not in a million years. It totally satisfied my need for noodles in a lectin-free way. I will be trying a lot more of the recipes here soon. Thank you!
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Looks really good. I look forward to trying this.
Thank you!
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