English: Yakisoba (焼きそば):
Welcome to the sizzling world of Yakisoba! This iconic Japanese dish, whose name translates simply to "fried noodle," is a celebration of flavor and texture. It features Chinese-style wheat noodles (chuuka soba), stir-fried with thinly sliced pork or chicken and crisp vegetables, most commonly cabbage, onions, and carrots. The entire dish is coated in a thick, savory-sweet Yakisoba sauce, which is similar to Worcestershire sauce but with a distinct Japanese twist. Often garnished with aonori (seaweed powder), beni shōga (pickled ginger), and mayonnaise, Yakisoba is the perfect quick meal or substantial side dish.

While the name contains "soba," a noodle typically made from buckwheat, Yakisoba actually uses wheat noodles, tracing its origins back to the Chinese dish Chow Mein. It became widely popular in Japan in the post-World War II era, around the 1950s. During this time of scarcity, ingredients like flour were expensive. To make the meal more affordable and filling, vendors creatively bulked it up with large amounts of readily available, inexpensive cabbage. When the water from the vegetables diluted the flavor of the original seasonings, the potent, tangy Worcestershire sauce was adopted as the primary seasoning, cementing the flavor we know and love today.

Fun Fact: Yakisoba is a street food star! You’ll find it sizzling on teppan (iron griddles) at nearly every Japanese summer festival (matsuri) and fair. Furthermore, a unique and popular variation called Yakisoba-pan is a carb sandwich, where a serving of the noodles is stuffed into a sliced hot dog bun, making it a favorite school lunch item across the country.

Serves

For 1 Persons Preparation Time ca. 20 Minuten

Ingredients

• Yakisoba Noodles 120g
• Carrots 40g
• Cabbage 70g
• Small Shrimp
• Bacon 50g
• A little pickled ginger
• [Seasoning] Black Pepper 1 tsp
• [Seasoning] Yakisoba Sauce 2~3 tbsp
• [Seasoning] Cooking Oil 1 tbsp

Instructions

• Boil the Yakisoba noodles in boiling water for 1-2 minutes and rinse them in cold water. Cut the vegetables and bacon into bite-sized pieces.
• First, stir-fry the bacon and shrimp together in a pan. When the shrimp are half-cooked, add the carrots and other vegetables, stir-frying them in the order of meat→vegetables.
• Add oil to a frying pan and season with soy sauce or salt. Also, warm up the Yakisoba sauce. This tastes much better.
• Set the above pan ingredients aside for a while, heat oil again, then add noodles and stir-fry. When the noodles are sufficiently cooked, stir-fry the previously cooked vegetables and meat in a pan and season with Yakisoba Sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
• Top with katsuobushi and mayonnaise if you like.