Yakisoba (Japanese Stir Fried Noodle) 焼きそば　

It is so hard not to fall for Yakisoba when you hear that sizzling from the delicious fruity sauce poured over noodles on a hot plate. Yakisoba is stir fried noodles cooked with a tangy signature sauce and vegetables.

Why You Will Love Yakisoba

It’s easy to make the popular Japanese street food authentically! Bring the atmosphere of a Japanese street market into your kitchen with the irresistible aroma and sizzling sound of this classic noodle dish. Why not try it because all you’ll need is a frying pan to achieve this at home!

What is Yakisoba?

Yakisoba is a classic and popular stir-fry Japanese noodle dish cooked on a huge iron plate and typically sold as street food. It is a dry noodle type of dish so it does not have a soup or broth like other types of Japanese noodle dishes.

Yakisoba is now a well-known Japanese word in English speaking countries, but just in case you don’t know what it is: Yaki = grilled/fried and Soba = noodles. Although it’s called Yaki “Soba”, it is actually made from ramen noodles, not soba noodles. The origins of the dish are from China but it was adapted into Japanese cuisine and made popular in Japan when it appeared in street food stalls after the second World War. Check other Japanese food terminology here.

Ingredients

There are lots of creative ways you can make this savoury stir-fried noodle dish. Here is a bit more information about what I used.

Noodles: Which type of noodle best suits Yakisoba?

There are many different types of noodles out there, and you may be confused about which noodles to use for making Yakisoba. The noodles we use in Japan are wheat-based noodles. They might look the same as egg noodles but they are not made the same way. They look like they contain eggs because of the addition of an alkalising agent called “Kansui,” which is water that is rich in sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate.

If you are interested in knowing more about Asian noodles, read SBS’s “Know your noodle:The ultimate guide to Asian noodles.” Because Yakisoba is a very common dish in Japan, you can easily buy Yakisoba noodles at the supermarket. They are usually sold as steamed noodles in Japan and are quick and easy to heat.

Proteins and Vegetables

The great thing about it is that you can really add any ingredients you like. The noodles are most often grilled along with pork, chicken, beef, egg, seafood such as shrimp and squid.

Commonly used vegetables are cabbage, capsicum, onion, and scallions. However, all this can be adapted to suit your flavour palette. You can add more vegetables to make it healthier or you can make it with only vegetables to create a vegetarian version.

Yakisoba Sauce

The sauce elevates this dish with an undeniably delicious umami flavour. I love Yakisoba Sauce by Otafuku., which is specially made for seasoning Yakisoba. However, if you would like to make your own sauce, which is based on Worcestershire sauce, follow this recipe.

Garnishes

These are my favorite ways to garnish yakisoba.

• Beni Shoga: a type of red pickled ginger that adds flavour and pretty colour to the brown dish.
• Bonito Flakes: add flavour and texture.
• Aonori Flakes: seaweed flakes give even more of a flavour kick to an already delicious stir-fried noodles.

Where to Buy Ingredients For Making Yakisoba at Home

Yakisoba noodles and the garnishes can be found at Japanese supermarkets or online. Here is a bit more helpful shopping information about each of the types of ingredients I used.

• Yakisoba Noodles: Do not buy soba noodles, these are made from buckwheat and are not used for yakisoba (despite the name). You need to buy yakisoba noodles which can be found at Japanese grocery stores, online, or you can use ramen noodles.
• Fillings: You can really use whatever proteins and vegetables you like so you can choose what you like from your supermarket.
• Yakisoba Sauce: Nowadays you can find this sauce more frequently outside of Japan. If you are in Australia, I actually saw this recently at Woolworths. Otherwise, you can make it yourself or find it at a Japanese supermarket or on Amazon.
• Garnishes: Beni Shoga, Aonori Flakes, and Bonito Flakes can be found at Japanese supermarkets. (Or click each link to find them online.)

How To Make Yakisoba

All of the steps are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here is a quick overview of how you’ll make this stir-fried recipe.

The first step is to do all your food preparations. Cut up the vegetables and protein and cook your noodles.

Now you are ready to stir fry the noodles. When they are finished, set the noodles aside and stir fry the protein and veggies next.

Then, place the noodles back in the frying pan and combine it with the protein and vegetables. Finish it all by adding yakisoba sauce on top and fry them all over high heat.

3 Tips To Make Perfect Yakisoba!

We want to make the same Yakisoba that you can buy from street food markets that are cooked on a huge iron plate (called “Teppan”). I will give you 3 tips to achieve street-food-like Yakisoba at home with your frying pan!

1. Stir Fry the Noodles First Till They Are Browned

Stir fry the noodle first till it is browned: Loosen the noodles by pouring hot water over them. Using a pair of chopsticks or by your hand, loosen it and drain water in a sieve. Stir fry the well-drained noodle over medium to high heat in a frying pan first, push the noodle with an egg flipper to brown the noodles. Turn the heat off and set aside the noodles in a bowl.

2.  Steam Cook the Cabbage with Noodles Placed Over the Cabbages

After you cook and brown the pork, add the cabbage and capsicum and cover the vegetables with already cooked and browned noodles. Use the noodles as a lid to steam cook the vegetables for a few minutes over medium heat.

3. Cook on High Heat

We don’t want to make soggy Yakisoba. I have a 10 inch (26cm) frying pan and I cook one noodle packet at a time (above photo I cooked for two) to make NOT soggy Yakisoba and cook it over high heat and as fast as I can after pouring the sauce.

Shortcut 

Sounds great so far?  Wouldn’t it be great if the noodles and sauce come in one packet together? Japanese people are known for their great customer service and it’s the same in the food industry too! You can purchase two or three noodle balls and sachets of powdered sauce in one packet. You can buy Japanese style noodle with Sauce from Japanese/Asian grocery stores or online stores.

FAQ

Related Recipes

• Yakisoba Pan 焼きそばパン
• Yakisoba Sauce
• Sobameshi the Ultimate Japanese street food ソバメシ
• Udon Noodles – the fun way to make it
• Yaki Udon

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• To alter the serving size click on the serving number and move the slider left or right to adjust the quantity. 
• As you move the slider the quantities of the ingredients will adjust accordingly in both imperial and metric measurements.

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