Yakisoba (Japanese: 焼きそば) or stir-fried noodle is a Japanese dish in which boiled noodles, vegetables, and meat are stir-fried. Soba is made from buckwheat, but the noodles used for yakisoba are made from wheat flour, so they are similar to udon noodles. This dish first appeared on food stands in Japan in the early 20th century. Yakisoba is often eaten as a staple food or side dish in Japan, and there is also a dish called Yakisoba Bread, which is a hot dog bun with yakisoba and then mayonnaise and pickled ginger topped with garnish. Yakisoba bread is also a food that can be easily found at local festivals and convenience stores. On the other hand, there is a dish called yaki udon, which is made by replacing yakisoba noodles with udon noodles. It is a dish commonly eaten in Kitakyushu and Kokura in Fukuoka Prefecture.

The prevailing theory is that it was created to replace soba, a noodle made from buckwheat, after Japan was defeated in World War II and the economy collapsed. The original soba was noodles made of buckwheat, but during the war, soba milled with buckwheat was scarce, so Chinese noodles made of wheat were used. Unlike soba, where noodles are dipped in seasoning, it was reborn by frying noodles and seasoning together, and in this process, a large amount of vegetables were added to increase the quantity.

Serves

For 1 Persons Preparation Time ca. 20 Minuten

Ingredients

  • yakisoba noodles 120g
  • carrots 40g
  • cabbage 70g
  • shrimp small
  • bacon 50g
  • A little bit of pickled ginger
  • [seasoning] black pepper 1 tsp
  • [seasoning] yakisoba sauce 2~3 tbsp
  • [seasoning] cooking oil 1 tbsp

Preparation

  1. Boil yakisoba noodles in boiling water for 1-2 minutes and rinse in cold water. Cut the vegetables and bacon into bite-size pieces.
  2. Fry the bacon and shrimp together in a pan first. When the shrimp are half cooked, add the carrots and other vegetables and fry them in the order of meat→vegetables
  3. Put oil in a frying pan and season with soy sauce or salt. Preheat the yakisoba sauce as well. It tastes much better.
  4. Remove the above stir-fried ingredients for a while, heat it again with oil, and then add noodles and stir fry them. When the noodles are sufficiently cooked, stir-fry the previously stir fried vegetables and meat in a frying pan and season with yakisoba sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
  5. Top Katsuobushi and mayonnaise if you like it.