The most addicting and satisfying Yakisoba noodles are a super easy yet totally impressive answer to dinner.The secret's all in the sauce.
Today, we’re making a deliciously healthy Japanese-inspired dish of noodles, veggies, and meat. We’ll be using some lean chicken for that clean protein hit, cabbage, carrots and bell peppers to make a beautifully sweet-and-savory noodle dish bathed in a gorgeous sauce.
Yakisoba is an awesome noodle dish that you’ve probably seen, or even tried, at a Japanese restaurant. Like a lot of traditional food, it’s actually pretty simple, and fairly straightforward to make at home if you want. All you need is the right combo of protein and veggies, and you’re in the yakisoba business. In fact, the awesome sauce only needs simple ingredients. You can throw out your takeout menus, because this is sure to become one of your favorite home-cooked meals.
We’re using cabbage, carrot and bell pepper as the flavor base for this dish. The great news about yakisoba, like many Japanese noodle dishes, is that you can use pretty much any protein you like. Chicken, pork, seafood, beef, or tofu are all fair game here. Many grocery stores - particularly Asian grocers - have pre-packaged yakisoba sauce available, but we strongly recommend making it from scratch as we do here.
Ingredients
- BBQ Sauce – A critical ingredient for this yakisoba sauce. It is an absolute must for this recipe.
- Oyster Sauce – for that earthy, slightly sweet, umami flavor in the sauce.
- Soy Sauce – for some salty flavor and classic japanese taste. We recommend a light soy sauce.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar’s heavy sweetness is a perfect balance to the heavy Asian flavors in this sauce.
- Hoisin sauce - a perfect addition to any stir fry.
- Yakisoba noodles – We recommend pre-cooked yakisoba stir fry noodles. You can get them at most Asian grocers, but if you can’t find any then ramen noodles will do.
- Oil –Avocado oil’s neutral flavor and high smoke point make it perfect for this high-heat recipe.
- Chicken – We recommend bite size chicken pieces. Alternatives include skinless, boneless, chicken thighs, or you could use sliced beef, pork, pork belly or seafood. It’s up to you!
- Onions – We’re using a combination of white and green onions for flavor and color.
- Carrot – Julienned carrots are best for this. This just means they are cut into thin matchstick-like strips.
- Cabbage – Cut into 1″ squares.
- Bell pepper – For the deep flavor!
- Garlic and Ginger- For additional flavor.
How To Make Yakisoba
- First of all, make your sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Set this aside.
- Next, prep your noodles by removing them from the package and placing in a colander. Rinse them thoroughly and allow them to drain. During the rinsing process, you may have to separate the noodles by hand.
- Next, stir fry your chicken and veggies! Using a large wok or skillet, heat up your avocado oil using medium-high heat. You want it to glisten and shimmer. Once the oil has heated up, add your chicken, ensuring that there’s no pink left. You want a nice sear on your chicken. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant. Next, throw in your sliced white onion, bell pepper and carrots, cooking for two more minutes. At this point the onion should soften. You can now add your softer vegetables, like cabbage. Tossing the wok, keep cooking for another minute.
- To finish, add your yakisoba noodles to the wok, and pour your sauce over everything. Ensure that the sauce is coating all your ingredients, not just sitting on top, by tossing it with tongs. Cook for another two minutes to make sure the noodles are heated all the way through.
- You can serve this immediately as is, or garnished with sriracha sauce if you want some extra kick for your yakisoba.
FAQs and Tips
Yakisoba is a Japanese stir fry noodle dish with meat and veggies. “Yakisoba” actually means “fried noodle”!
The yakisoba noodles themselves may have a yellow hue, but they are not egg noodles. They’re made from a mix of wheat flour, kansui, and water, and designed for frying.
Ramen noodles are probably the closest substitute for yakisoba noodles. They are similar in texture and taste. Fresh ramen, or fresh chow mein, is best to use, but if that’s not an option finding dried or instant ramen noodles at your local grocery store is very easy.
This sauce is a key flavor component of this dish, so don’t forget it! It is a sweet-and-savory sauce that is surprisingly versatile and useful in many dishes.
Yakisoba Tips
- You can substitute the chicken in this recipe for just about any protein. Beef, shrimp, pork, or calamari are great options. You could even use tofu for a vegetarian alternative.
- Although we use pre-cooked yakisoba noodles for this recipe, we encourage you to try them fresh or dried. You might find that you prefer these other varieties.
- A big wok is the best thing to use for making stir fries like this. Generally, getting a nice char on your vegetables is key for unlocking the full flavor potential of this recipe.
- Be sure to rinse your noodles, loosening them up, before you add them to the pan. Noodles that stick together won’t cook properly all together, and might even break while cooking.
- You can store leftover yakisoba for one to two days if you place it in an airtight container in the fridge. If you’re making this recipe with a protein other than chicken, you might get away with an extra day or two in the fridge.
- You can store your pre-cooked noodles in the freezer for up to two months in an airtight container or freezer bag. The vegetables may not reheat to the level of crispy crunch we all love in a stir fry after freezing, however.
More Stir Fry Recipes
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Yakisoba Noodles
Ingredients
For The Yakisoba Sauce
- 3 tablespoons BBQ sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- ½ tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Yakisoba
- 1 pound 500 grams yakisoba noodles, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 pound 500 grams chicken breast, cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 medium carrot cut into thin strips
- ½ small cabbage cut into bite size pieces
- 3 tablespoons green onions sliced
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine all the Yakisoba sauce ingredients together. Keep aside.
- Remove the noodles from the package and place in a colander. Rinse and drain. Separate the noodles with your hands.
- Heat avocado oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the sliced onion, bell pepper and carrots and cook for 2 minutes or until the onion is soft.
- Add the cabbage. Toss everything together and cook further for 1 minute.
- Add the Yakisoba noodles and the sauce. Toss everything together using the tongs. Cook for 2 minutes or until the noodles heat through.
- Garnish with green onions.
- Serve immediately with ketchup or sriracha sauce.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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