Yakisoba is a classic Japanese stir fry noodles dish with pork and vegetables, and it’s seasoned with a sweet & savory sauce similar to Worcestershire sauce.
Yakisoba (焼きそば) or Japanese stir fry noodles started to appear in the 1930’s as So-su (= Sauce) Yakisoba (ソース焼きそば), and it was a poplar children’s snack at the mom-and-pop candy stores (dagashi-ya 駄菓子屋 in Japanese) in late 50’s.
Since then Yakisoba has been cooked and enjoyed at home and Teishoku-ya (Japanese diners), and became an icon for Japanese street food. As it is easy to set up an iron plate Teppan (鉄板) and find ingredients to make this recipe, Yakisoba food stalls are popular at school events, festivals, snack shops, etc.
Watch How To Make Yakisoba
Click here to watch on YouTube Channel
Childhood Memory & Variety of Yakisoba
When I was growing up in Japan, yakisoba often appeared as our weekend lunch menu. My mom and I prep the ingredients and my family used to gather around the Japanese hot plate (portable indoor griddle) and cook Yakisoba together. It was my dad’s favorite weekend lunch. It can a dinner dish as well, but personally, I always associate Yakisoba as a weekend lunch menu.
My mom often changes up ingredients used in the recipe. Instead of pork belly slices, she sometimes used Japanese sausages and ground pork, and my favorite was the combination of ground pork and squid/calamari. My mom also put Chinese chives and bean sprouts for her yakisoba, but I don’t always add them as they are not my “staple” in my kitchen.
Yakisoba is very easy to make, and you can add almost any ingredients to make it your style. Try it with seafood, or simple vegetarian style is fabulous for Meatless Mondays!
3 Tips for Delicious Yakisoba
1. Use a Big Cookware
It’s important that you have a big cooking space like a griddle or big wok so that your ingredients has contact with the hot surface. Nice char will add fantastic flavors and give it more “street food” character.
To do that, don’t put too many ingredients. You don’t want to steam up the noodles. You need to let the steam escape, so the noodles are not wet, and preferably make it dry and crispy as possible. If you prefer super crispy noodles (I prefer my noodles have some moisture), fry the noodles first and transfer them out and start cooking ingredients. That way, you don’t have to cook the noodles later on, and the noodles will still stay crispy.
2. Stir Fry Hard Vegetables First
I like my vegetables to have some nice crisp texture and not all wilted. It is important to start stir frying hard vegetables that take takes longer to cook first, before adding the softer ingredients. It’s my pet peeve to watch cooking shows, and see who put all the ingredients all at once into the pan. I believe each ingredient has a preferred cooking time for the best taste. 😉
3. Loosen Up Noodles First
Two popular yakisoba noodle brands Myojo (明星) and Maruchan (マルちゃん), both come with three packets of yakisoba noodles in each package. The noodles are already steamed, coated with oil, and packed tightly in each packet.
I recommend loosening up the strands of noodles before adding into the stir-fried ingredients. If you don’t, you will most likely break up the noodles into small pieces on the griddle or wok.
What I recommend is to loosen up noodles with your hands and getting rid of oil under warm water. Drain well, and then toss with the stir fry vegetables. Noodles will still have enough moisture, but won’t be soggy due to excess water.
Where To Get Yakisoba Noodles & Yakisoba Sauce
Yakisoba Noodles:
Many of you know “soba” means buckwheat noodles, and that’s correct. However, the word soba in Japanese can also be used to describe noodles of any type.
These particular noodles are called Mushi Chukamen (蒸し中華麺 or Steamed Chinese-style noodles). They are made of wheat flour, kansui, and water. Even though the color of noodles are yellow-ish, they are not egg noodles, and the color is the result of using kansui. Yakisoba noodles are steamed and packaged, so they’re ready for a quick reheat. The texture of these noodles is similar to ramen noodles.
You can purchase them in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese grocery stores, and they are either in the refrigerated or freezer section.
Yakisoba Sauce:
The popular Otafuku brand offers Yakisoba sauce but I actually like making yakisoba sauce from scratch (made with common condiments), so I can slightly adjust the sauce each time to make my Yakisoba taste different.
My kids told me they prefer the sauce to be slightly sweeter than my recipe below, but I’ll leave that up to you and feel free to add more sugar.
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- ½ onion
- 1 carrot
- 3 shiitake mushrooms
- 2 green onions/scallions
- 4 cabbage leaves
- ¾ lb sliced pork belly (3/4 lb = 340 g) (or your choice of meat and/or seafood)
- 2 Tbsp neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 package Yakisoba Noodles (comes with 3 servings, 16-17 oz or 454-480 g)
- 4-6 Tbsp yakisoba sauce (Recipe follows)
- 2 tsp sugar (add more sugar if you don't use Japanese Bulldog Worcestershire sauce)
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 4 tsp oyster sauce
- 4 tsp ketchup
- 4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Gather all the ingredients.
- Whisk all the ingredients for Yakisoba sauce and set aside.
- Slice the onion, cut the carrot into julienned strips, and slice the shiitake mushrooms.
- Chop the green onion into 2 inch pieces, cut the cabbage into small bite pieces and cut the meat into 1 inch pieces.
- In a skillet or wok, heat oil on medium high heat. Cook the meat until no longer pink.
- Add the onion and carrot and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the cabbage and coo until almost tender.
- Lastly add the green onion and shiitake mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Season with freshly ground black pepper.
- Transfer the yakisoba noodles to a sieve and quickly run hot water over yakisoba noodle. Separate the noodles with hands. Add the noodles to the skillet/wok, and lower the heat to medium. It’s best to use tongs to combine the noodles with ingredients. Keep an eye on the noodles as they may stick to the skillet/wok.
- Add Yakisoba Sauce. Depending on the amount of ingredients, adjust the amount of sauce to use. Mix all together using tongs. Transfer to plates and garnish with dried green seaweed and pickled red ginger. Serve immediately.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Update: The post was originally published on April 6, 2011. It’s been updated with new images and content.
That looks beautiful 🙂 I could have this every day!
LOL about “Yakisoba again?” I had a few meals that I loved making all the time till my Hubby said the same, “Again???” 😀
Thanks Suzana! I took this picture last month when it was still dark at 6pm. Now that I learned NOT to turn on dining table light (yellow light), hopefully pictures will turn out better. I still have several posts that have yellow-ish pictures and need to be published…not so cool. I know, “again?” with that tone of voice…… Grrr!
I hear you. I have so many pictures to update that are yellow or you can see the light but I tend to forget LOL I find morning and afternoon the best for pictures, most light and nice. But not always do I get the chance to take pictures at that time 😉
Your pictures are always so beautiful!
Thank you Suzana…that’s too sweet. I know I have to work on my photo skills, but I just don’t have time to read all the photography books in English. When I read in English, I can get lost easily and I notice I was reading the same paragraphs for the past 10 minutes. Hopefully when kids are little older I can work more on photography. Right even I lose readers because of my bad yellowish pictures, I have to focus on my priority which is to write recipes… At this point, my main goal is to write recipes for me and the kids, not entirely for readers yet. 🙂
You’re a posting machine, a new post almost every day now! Go Nami! 🙂 Love yakisoba- the noodles are so versatile and I feel less guilty eating those compared to ramen. My next post uses them too!
Hi Lindsey! Haha… We were going to Japan from tomorrow, so I have worked a lot of posts before my trip… now that we canceled the trip, I can post one a day at least for one month. 😀 Looking forward to your post Lindsey! I’m glad you didn’t say you don’t eat Yakisoba too! hehee.
Oh, this looks delish! Thank you for sharing these recipes. I really haven’t tried to cook many Asian dishes even though I love the food so much. Thanks for sharing the 7 things about you too! Congratulations on the awards ~ I can see that you are very deserving.
Have a wonderful week!
Pat
Hi Pat! Thank you for your nice words. I hope you find some recipes that you like. Have a wonderful week, wait, almost weekend! Whoo hoo!
Beautiful blog.
I wish someone does the yakisoba for me and I just do the eating. ;p
Thank you Hui! I am not a good baker, so whenever I visit some baker’s blog, all I wish is just to eat those yummy sweets without baking… Thanks for coming!
Lovely Yakisoba! I love this type of 1 pot dish. And yours look great with those colourful veggie in it. Keep all the delicious posts rolling 🙂
I totally agree, Ellena. I’m always up for Donburi, noodles, one-plate kind of dishes, especially when I’m really busy with the kids.
love yakisoba!
ME TOO! 🙂
Hi Nami: I need to start making more with yakisoba noodles. Hubby and I enjoy it and I just haven’t used it enough. Mmmm – what a great meal! =)
Thank you Cristina!
I used to search high and low for a good yakisoba sauce but since most people point me to the bulldog brand, I’ve stuck with it ever since 😛 Mmmm looks like I must have yakisoba for lunch today after seeing yours 🙂 YUMS~
Hi Min! I grew up with the same brand or Kagome brand. When I met my best friend from Osaka, she told me Otafuku brand is the best, and since then I use Otafuku for Okonomiyaki & Yakisoba. I use Bulldog for Korokke. 🙂 I have SO MUCH to learn on photography from you!
I’ve been looking for a good noodle dish to have lately, and I think I just found it! I haven’t had yakisoba in a long time, and I think it’s time to make it! =)
Hi Peggy! I’d love to eat your Yakisoba…must be delicious!
This looks great Nami! I love soba!
Thanks Tiffany!
Hi Nami,
Just stumbled on your site and totally loving it.I have very less knowledge about japanese cusine.So I am looking forward to learning so much from your page.This noodle preparation are just my kind..simple and flavorful.
Would be back for more.
Hi Tanvi! Nice to meet you and I also look forward to your recipes and beautiful pictures of food. 🙂
I love Yakisoba, but I LOVE OKONOMIYAKI MORE!!!
We should have Okonomiyaki party soon!
I know I always say this, but, All your food looks so yummy. You make me want to try everything
Hi Beth! Haha… we cook different kinds of food, and I learn a lot from you. A lot! I usually look at your site at night, and I can’t help eating a piece of cheese while looking at your dish with cheese everyday. lol…
Hi,Nami
This dish looks lush and your nice descriptive tutorial and photos make it even easier to follow I shall be giving this a go at the weekend we don’t do Japanese enough.
Thankyou
Mac
Hi Mac! Thank you for visiting my site. I hope you will enjoy being introduced to new Japanese food. 🙂
This look so tasty Nami..beautiful and delicious meal that I could eat over and over again!!!! Great tutorial as always!!!
Have a wonderful evening!!!
Thank you Sandra!
I wouldn’t mind eating this every weekend! It looks fantastic. I don’t think I’ve ever had yakisoba…one to add to my list, for sure!
Thank you Karen! I hope you will like Yakisoba.
This looks delicious! I love the flavors and the recipe seems simple too, so I definitely want to try!
Thanks Kara! I hope you will like it. 🙂
You are so good with giving us precise directions. And squid? My husband will be doing the happy dance when I make this. Now if only I can find squid around here.
Hi Sandra! I thought most people are not sure how to cook Japanese food, so the step-by-step pictures are my way of saying “it’s easy!” I hope these are helpful. Haha I’d love to see your husband’s happy dance. 😀
Thanks for sharing. I bet I would love this. Great flavor combination.
Thank you Trish!
I adore Yakisoba and would love to have it for lunch everyday. You make it seem so easy, so I am excited to try.
It was great meeting Shen at Ad:Tech and I love your blog. I’ll be back often.
Melissa
Hi Melissa! Thanks for stopping by! Yakisoba is really easy to make and we made it today’s lunch too. 🙂 We can create in many version depending on what’s in the fridge. 😉
Yummy Recipe! Everyone should give this a try. I buy the Nama Yakisoba (3 pack) and use the sauce that comes with it to make your recipe. It makes my mouth water now just to think about it. Keep up the great work — love your blog.
Thank you Helen for your feedback and I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my blog. A comment like this really keep me going. Thank you!!!!
This looks SO tasty! I need to run out and purchase some of these and will be using your recipe. Lovely photos and I hope you are having a great Saturday!!
Gorgeous updated photos!! yum
I think you could make this for me every day and I would never get tired of Yakisoba. Ja Mata, BAM
D: I`m starving! I wish I could eat from the my computer screen…♥
so you don’t boil the noodles?
Hi Maryum! The yakisoba noodles are cooked already and all you need to do is to reheat while you cook with the rest of ingredients. 🙂 However, if you use different kinds of noodles (other than Yakisoba noodles in package), please follow the instruction. Hope that helps!
I’m so glad I found your great blog! My husband is Japanese-American and I like to try to make his favorite dishes. I made your yakisoba tonight for dinner and my husband really enjoyed it. (I used chicken as we are trying to eat less red meat.) Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. Thank you!
Hi Josie! So happy to hear your husband enjoyed this recipe! 🙂 Hope he will find some Japanese recipes that he enjoys eating on my site. Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
This looks americanized the one I had in 1975 came with and over easy egg on top.
Hi Roel! This is actually a “typical” yakisoba in Japan. Each family puts different kinds of meat and veggies, but it’s pretty much the same. I guess some people/restaurants put over easy egg on top, but mostly served without it. 🙂
whats okonomiyaki
This is Okonomiyaki: https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/okonomiyaki/
I was wondering if you have a recipe for yakisoba pan? When I visited Japan years ago, I saw many types in the convince stores and they were great for a snack on the go. Thanks for any suggestions or recipes!
Hi Cait! I love Yakisoba Pan too! I usually buy a dinner roll (we call it “roll pan” in Japanese) from a Japanese market and makes the sandwich myself. You lightly toast, put butter or mayo and place yakisoba in it. Nothing really fancy… You can add more yakisoba sauce/mayo as you like too, but very simple like that. Usually Japanese Yakisoba Pan is good because the bread is delicious. I need to try making Japanese roll pan from scratch, but made the dinner rolls with bread maker. The recipe here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/dinner-rolls/
Hope that helps. 🙂
Hello Nami!
Ive been trying out your recipes and decided to try this one, very good! although it seems to come out dry? the ginger added a nice touch 🙂
Hi Artemis! Maybe add a bit of sauce or oil which usually helps a bit. However, please note that each noodle brand has different texture. Some I tried before has drier and I had to add a little bit of water and cover with a lid to steam it. That will also help. 🙂
Namiko san, I use to be stationed on Yokota Air Base in Japan . I was always eating yakisoba every chance that I made a trip to see Ieko san on my days off of work. I use to frequently go to the LOFT COFFEE SHOP in Ikebukuro. Where I use to wait for Ieko Matsumura san to get off of work. We would have dinner there together after she got off. I was so much in love with Ieko San. That I use to arrive at the LOFT COFFEE SHOP very late in the mornings. To wait for Ieko san. I use to order YAKISOBA while I impatiently waitied for Ieko san. I use to order yakisoba, two or three times before Ieko san (Eiko San ? not sure of the spelling of her first name. That’s how I use to say her name…Ieko san) showed up to meet me. Ieko had Friends there at Loft. Their names were Michiko San and Sachiko San. The more I came to the LOFT coffee shop. We all had become Friends.
Well, to get back to the story. I use to eat yakisoba till I dreamt yakisoba in my sleep. I loved YAKISOBA! I also Loved Ieko san! After eating YAKISOBA many, many, many times. I got tired of eating it. I didn’t think that anyone could ever get tired of eating yakisoba.
Well, I did.
But, after I had just by luck found your web site. I ran across your recipee for Yakisoba. It has been 33 long years since I have had Yakisoba. Running across your recipee for Yakisoba had brought back memories of the great times that I have had in an Outstanding coffee shop in Ikebukuro, Japan. The “LOFT COFFEE SHOP). So if you ever make it back to Japan. Please visit the lofuto coffee shop in Ikebukuro. Tell Ieko that I still have feelings for her and that Ra Ru Fu San says Konnichiwa and ei shi ste ru. Also be sure to say hello to my FRIENDS, MICHIKO SAN AND SACHKO SAN there. I miss them Immensely!
So now after 33 years, I get to try eating Yakisoba once again!!!
Thankyou so very much Namiko San! For making an old man feel like he was in Japan again!
Sincerely Thankyou.
Ralph Zaehringer, USAF, RETIRED
Namiko san. I had to try your recipee for Yakisoba today. I made it just like your recipee. It was good. But, something to me is missing. The flavor doesn’t seem the same as it would be in Japan. I don’t know what’s missing. I remember Loft putting bonita flakes also for garnish. It’s just that it doesn’t seem to have the same flavor.
Also, could you tell me how to properly season a new Wok?
Sincerely,
Ralph Zaehringer, USAF, RETIRED
Hi Rarufu! I think you liked the Yakisoba Sauce flavor. Shio Koji just adds additional umami and it’s very subtle compared to Yakisoba Sauce. Maybe your version has bonito flakes (Katsuobushi) but not all yakisoba has bonito flakes on top. Usually ao-nori (green seaweed powder) is sprinkled on top of yakisoba. 🙂
Regarding the wok, I remember I did it before but forgot exactly how you do it… maybe you can Google to find out? Sorry I’m not too sure. 🙂
Hi Rafuru! Thank you so much for sharing your personal story! I’ll remember about you when I get a chance to visit this particular Loft. 🙂
Hi, i wouold like to have, a recepi of yakisoba sauce, to make or a list try how to make my own, its looks wonderfull the way how you cook yours, and i will try, so can you please help me.
Hi Hector! The homemade yakisoba sauce link is in the recipe. It’s close enough to a brand of sauce I use (I tried hard to mimic the flavor…but not “exactly” same.)… I hope the sauce tastes okay for you! 🙂
Hello,
I have always wanted to make yakisoba! But I can’t seem to find the right kind of noodle to use. Can you buy them online or through Amazon? Can someone post a link to the noodles that are appropriate for this dish? All that I see are Maruchan instant yakisoba noodles. Thanks so much!!!!
Hi Julie! I hope you enjoy this recipe!
I use this brand: http://www.marukaiestore.com/p-1440-maruchan-nama-yakisoba-3-servings.aspx
Other options:
http://www.marukaiestore.com/p-8920-myojo-jumbo-teppan-nama-yakisoba-2-servings-155oz.aspx
http://www.marukaiestore.com/p-8458-myojo-nama-yakisoba-with-sauce.aspx
http://store.mitsuwa.com/yakisoba-pan-fried-noodles-with-sauce-4-servings-p2432.aspx
I love Yakisoba. I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Christine! I hope you enjoy making it at home! Homemade yakisoba always tastes better with good quality ingredients. 🙂 Thank you for writing!
wow amazing thank u very much
Thank you nosyba! 🙂
How did I miss this post? Did you update the photos or something? It looks scrumptious!
Hey, Nami! I just made your Yakisoba recipe last night and it was DELICIOUS! I recorded it and am working on putting it on my youtube page right now, with credits to you of course. 🙂 I’m super excited that I found your blog, I love Japanese food! I can’t wait to try more recipes!
Hi Becca! I just watched your video and loved it! I have one small tip on cutting onion. 🙂 If you cut onion in half and rinse the cut part under water, your eyes won’t hurt as much. Or keep the onion in the fridge before cutting, and it helps too. 🙂 Thank you again!!
I didn’t have access to all the sauce fixings so I improvised a sauce of 1 part honey, 2 parts sake, 4 parts soy sauce, 4 parts mirin and 4 parts water and following the recipe the rest of the way, which turned out a wonderfully warm, slightly-sweet variation of this recipe.
Hi Taylor! Glad to hear you could create wonderful yakisoba sauce with substitution! Thank you so much for your feedback! 🙂
I was stationed on camp schwab in Okinawa for a year in 1998. I remember getting yakisoba at this little trailer right off base, it was so delicious. this brings back so many memories, thanks for the recipe.
Hi Dave! Happy to hear you have good memories in Japan! Hope you try this recipe at home! 🙂
Hi Nami 🙂
I’m new to your website and so very thankful for it!
My friends and I made chicken yakisoba tonight for the superbowl party! Everyone loved it! We more than quadrupled the recipe and there weren’t any leftovers!
Thank you for posting such an easy and tasteful recipe! We made the homemade yakisoba sauce and it tasted wonderful and not too salty!
Looking forward to trying your other recipes!
Esther
Hi Esther! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe along with the homemade yakisoba sauce! Hope you enjoyed the superbowl party! Thank you very much for your kind feedback and I hope you enjoy other recipes on my site. 🙂
Thanks for this recipe, I love yakisoba street-food style! I have the ready made yakisoba sauce but unfortunately we don’t have a japanese market in my area but we do have a decent asian section in stores. I don’t want to use dehydrated ramen noodles and we don’t have fresh noodles here.
I would love to make it as close to authentic as possible. Can you please list a few options to use for the noodles?
Thank you!
Hi hfriday! Yakisoba is really thin noodles and I don’t really find anything similar to it. Fresh ramen noodles or egg noodles would be something close? But without having a decent Asian section in stores…this might be very difficult… Oh! I also know you can make ramen noodles with spaghetti noodles. I think it’s not perfect, but maybe it’s the closest thing?
http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/10/baking-soda-ramen-noodle-spaghetti-hack.html
I made this dish last night and my wife and I enjoyed it very much.. I’m new at making authentic Asian dishes so I’m still trying to figure out all the noodles, etc., for various dishes.. I used Hakubaku soba buckwheat noodles and the dish came out really yummy.. I made the sauce according to your directions and we loved it..
I am more and more becoming convinced that the correct sauce is the key to Asian dishes.. I am amazed with the wonderful flavor of correctly made Teriyaki sauce vs store bought..
Happy I have found this site…Thank you..
Hi Ross! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this dish! If you have any questions about ingredients, etc, let me know. And I also can update my Pantry page too (https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/). Glad to hear soba noodles worked for your yakisoba. If you find this noodles in the grocery shop, try using it for yakisoba next time. 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/yakisoba-noodles/
I’m glad to hear you enjoy trying out Japanese food at home! Teriyaki sauce in a bottle is quite different from authentic Teriyaki sauce we make in Japan. 😉 Thank you for your feedback!
Yummy!!! I will try for sure!!!
Funny…there’s a few dishes that my husband tell me I could cook every week…
Hope you and your husband enjoy this dish Denise! 🙂
Thank you, looking for something quick and easy for lunch!
Hi Dani! I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
I tried this for supper tonight and it was really tasty. I did have to make a couple changes because I have a broken foot right now so I can’t drive and I didn’t have any cabbage on hand and I used the noodles from two packages of Ramen. Also I didn’t quite have enough faith in the sauce so I went heavier with the soy sauce but I could still taste the underlying flavors of the yakisoba sauce (I made from scratch from your recipe for that) and I wish that I had just stuck with the sauce as written since the underlying flavor was delicious, too.
I can’t wait to try this again with the cabbage, proper yakisoba noodles and making the sauce like you suggest. I’m so happy to have found your blog. I love Japanese food but finding a good cookbook in English is hard to do. I bought your ebook to get me started and plan on going through many many of your recipes. Thanks for sharing them.
Hi Lesley! Thank you for purchasing my eBook and trying this recipe! I hope your foot will recover quickly! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Hey Nami,
We use your recipes. Never regretted !
My question is that could I use yakisoba sauce with udon noodles?regretably in our grocery stores Asian items are very limited , so I can only make homemade yakisoba sauce.
Thanks,
Hi Anna! I think I responded to your question but maybe it was during my blog design update and somehow my response is not showing here. You can use yakisoba sauce with yaki udon. 🙂
Dear Namiko,
do you happen to know a recipe for the Kizami Shoga that you use for Okonomiyaki, Gyudon etc.? I was thinking about trying to make my own but I couldn’t find any recipes online. All I could find out was that it is made with plum vinegar.
Thanks for your help and all the amazing recipes!!! I love your blog! 🙂
Lena
Hi Lena! I put your request in list of recipes to share. I’ve been waiting to get Shin shoga (young ginger root) to make it. I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. Thank you for your kind words!
Hi, I’m a big fan of this website. I have found some great recipes here.
I wanted to use this recipe for Yakisoba, but I was unsure of one of the amounts.
It might just be because I live in Britain and am not familiar with this measurement, but if you could tell me how much 1pkg is in grams or ounces that would be great.
Hi Harry! It’s 17 oz (480 g) package. I hope that helps! Thank you so much for following my blog. I am happy to hear you enjoy it. 🙂
Arigatou it’s a nice recipe I have a plan to put some japanese foodcarts in the philippines thank you for more info!
Hi Jonalyn! You’re very welcome! Good luck with your business! 🙂
Hi,
I have never made yakisoba before, but while I was on a trip I recently bought a packet at Wal-Mart. (An odd find for such a place, I think. But when I read “yakisoba” in Japanese on it, I knew I had to give it a shot.)
I had it for lunch the other day as a quick-fix, while my boyfriend decided to eat pizza rolls. Well, he also ate quite a lot of my yakisoba! He would like to have it again, and I knew it would be simple to make, so I came looking for it here on my absolute favourite recipe site. 😀
Now, here’s my question:
You used a pre-cooked bag of noodles. The noodles in the packet I bought at Wal-Mart were not cooked, and looked a lot like a typical dry ramen block. I DO have dry soba noodles that I use for one of my favourite things ever, zaru soba. So can I use the dry soba noodles (after cooking them)? Should I use the noodles from a ramen pack? I’m not sure what I should do for the best results. XD
Hi Kai! Wow Wal-Mart sells Yakisoba? I guess that’s a cupnoodle style where you pour hot water, and then drain all that water and add in sauce and mix? We have those cupnoodle (but Yakisoba) in Japan.
Anyway, it’s a hard choice to be honest. This type of dried noodles is not meant for stir fry. I don’t know how the texture will be after you cook it. Without seeing the actual product, I’m not 100% sure, but I assume you have to boil it first to make the noodles tender, and then you can stir fry. I feel like the noodles will break into small pieces…
If you use soba (buckwheat) noodles… it’s not really Yakisoba as the noodles are completely different types.
Can you find fresh noodles at Asian (Japanese, Chinese, Korean) grocery stores? One of my readers highly recommended this brand for ramen and yakisoba for those who don’t have an access to fresh noodles:
http://www.pacificeastwest.com/011152206929.html
If there is a Japanese grocery store nearby, I highly recommend to get Yakisoba noodles in noodle section (could be frozen section if they don’t sell volume).
Hope this helps! 🙂
Wouldn’t the meat be severely overcooked since you don’t start cooking the veggies and adding noddles until meat is cooked through?!?
Hi Skott! If you use pork belly, it doesn’t become tough. It gives enough time for fat to render from the meat, so less oil is used. You can definitely adjust the timing to put veggies depending on a different type of the meat. 🙂
Dear Nami,
I just bought a package of soba noodles at an asian store and it is rather grayish in color. Your noodles look so bright and yellow! Do you need some kind of special soba noodles for frying? Since buckwheat is green-brown, I assume what I bought were really soba noodles… so I’m confused 🙂
HI Alina! Yes, you’re right – you got buckwheat noodles (soba). 😀 My noodles are specifically for fried noodles (yaki soba). Do you have an Asian grocery store or Japanese supermarket nearby? It’s in refrigerator section. 🙂
It looks like this:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/yakisoba-noodles/
Hi Nami,
ehhh it’s not that easy with Japanese products here… In fact, it’s almost impossible. I often have to substitute them with the Chinese ones. There is absolutely no chance I will find chilled yakisoba noodles in the asian supermarkets… 🙁
So did I understand you correctly? I cannot fry the soba noodles I bought?
Hi Alina! I see… In Japan we don’t stir fry soba noodles, but outside of Japan, I’ve seen some people do it… but I’ve never tried it so it’s hard for me to say how it is like as “yakisoba”. It’s a bit strange to see stir fried soba noodles, but if you have no other choice, then I guess it’s worth a try? There are many fusion dish like that too.
I did stir-fry them in the end… 🙂 Turned out perfectly fine. I think when it comes to aisian noodles Europeans don’t see that much difference 🙂
I must say though I liked yaki udon more. The mentsuyu taste is just brilliant!
Hi Alina! Haha, that’s great!! And I agree, mentsuyu is amazing with yaki udon! 🙂
I live in a rather small town, and can’t find packaged yakisoba anywhere; do you know of any good homemade yakisoba recipies?
Hi Erin! I don’t have a homemade yakisoba noodles recipe (yet) but I hope to work on making noodles one day for the blog. Thanks for your request, Erin.
Now as for the noodles, have you checked Japanese grocery stores online like Mitsuwa?
https://store.mitsuwa.com/yakisoba-pan-fried-noodles-with-sauce-3-pieces-p2431.aspx
Hope that helps!
Nami,
I didn’t think much about the wonderful foods I enjoyed during a 20 year Navy career. This included a 3 1/2 year tour in Okinawa that I completed In 1983, along with a number of visits to Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines. After becoming landlocked in Ohio I began to hanker for some of the old flavors and set out to make the Okinawan-style Yakisoba that I bought hot from the Soba House in Awase.
The first thing I discovered is that there’s just not many Yakisoba recipes out there. I tried a few that (miserably) failed to capture what my memory held so dear. With your recipe and a little advice from Anthony Bourdain’s Okinawa episode… I am so very close.
What I learned from my early mistakes: 1) It’s gotta be Pork Belly. Nothing else brings the texture and flavors that I remember. Get it cut in the style of thick-sliced bacon, and cut those into 1″ squares. 2) Add some Mirin and Brown Sugar to the mix. 3) I use Sun Okinawa style Soba Noodles, which is similar to a thick-cut egg noodle.
Fortunately, I have a great Japanese market that is not far away and my family is tolerating my tests. This recipe has become my go-to for any potluck, and I’m getting rave reviews,
My wife was most fond of a dish from the Awase Soba House they called “Okazu”. This was essentially fried vegetables, pork rib, ham, Kamaboko and rice, Still, another elusive flavor I haven’t been able to capture. I didn’t learn that Okazu meant “side dish” until much later… so the name wasn’t quite as helpful as “Yakisoba”
Thank you for helping me rediscover this! Now how about a recipe for Meat Jun?
Hi Bob! I apologize for my late response. It’s so nice to hear from you! I’ve never had a chance to visit Okinawa (I wish!!!) and I wish I know how Okinawan Yakisoba tastes like! I heard food is quite different from Honshu (the main island) so I’m always curious to experience the food there. I should definitely watch Anthony Bourdain’s Okinawa episode! I feel like I haven’t been a good help much, but thank you for your kind word.
Meat Jun is a Hawaiian food (which I have never heard of before until you mentioned, thank you!) and I am not familiar with how to make it authentically… Sorry I can’t be a good help!
I love yakisoba! I usually add a little bit of oyster sauce to bulldog’s yakisoba sauce for my preferred taste. If I want it spicy, what can I add? Cheers!
Ho Joseph! Any of your favorite chili sauce or Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese 7 spice) or Ichimi Togarashi (Japanese chili) would be great!
I want to make this but I only have tonkatsu sauce. Can I use the tonkatsu sauce and add more ingredients? (maybe more sake, more worchestershire sauce or something) Or should I just make it from scratch like in your recipe for home made yakisoba sauce?
Hi Emy! The main difference is that yakisoba sauce is less sweet compared to tonkatsu sauce. And it’s thinner so you can mix well with noodles. I haven’t tried making yakisoba sauce from tonkatsu sauce, but I think it’s possible. The recipe I shared is to make the exact (or I should say “similar”) taste to that Yakisoba Sauce brand. Maybe I’ll try making the recipe from Tonkatsu sauce one day (since that’s easier to find in a store). 🙂
This might be a silly question but what type of cabbage do you use? It looks like lettuce to me in the photo so I got a bit confused :/
Hi Emy! No, not a silly question! 🙂 It’s regular cabbage. 🙂 Maybe it’s not the most outer layers so the color of cabbage is fairly light color. 🙂
Hi! I love yakisoba. I am not always able to get the refrigerator or freezer ones. What can I substitute for yakisoba noodles?
Hi Lele! I heard from my reader that this brand of dried ramen noodles is good. Maybe not as same texture as the fresh yakisoba noodles, but maybe it’s close…
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/ramen-noodles/
i think your great I am part japaneese and mom is full japaneese and we are very proud of that and your food is great
Hi Cindy! I’m happy to hear you are keeping Japanese heritage! 🙂 My kids are “half” too, and I hope they will keep some part of Japanese culture with them when they grow up. 🙂 Thank you for your kind words!
I am so happy to have found your website! My husband and I are Japanese cuisine fanatics and for the longest time every attempt to make anything has been a disaster 🙁 I made your yakisoba tonight (had to use the homemade sauce too since our local grocery doesn’t have yakisoba sauce) and it was absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try your other recipes as well 🙂 My wok will finally have it’s work out in from now on 🙂 Thanks again!
HI Arielle! I’m so happy to hear you and your husband enjoy Japanese food and liked this recipe. Thank you very much for your kind feedback. Hope you try other recipes and let me know if you have any questions. 🙂
おつかれ さま です Nami
were i live i could note find any fresh Yakisoba noodles.
all i could find is a dry soba noodles, can i use it for the same recipe and how ?
thanks
Hi Yousef! ありがとう！ What kind of soba noodles – are “soba noodles” you’re talking about “chuka (meaning Chinese style) soba noodles”, or buckwheat noodles? You can use Chinese noodles that are similar kind. In Japan, we do not use buckwheat noodles for stir fry (never seen it), but Americans use them for stir fry noodles…. so I guess that is ok. It is just a bit strange for us. 🙂
very nice, very easy i got it
thanks n we appreciat u
Hope you enjoy, Dost!
Thank you for sharing! This looks absolutely delicious! By the way can I substitute soba noodles for shirataki noodles instead? Just wondering.
Doomo Arigatoo
Aimee????
Hi Aimee! I think so people (especially watching on carb) do that. As you can imagine, the texture and taste is very different but it is possible! 🙂
Can I use dry soba nodes? And how
Thanks
Hi Yousef! Many people use soba (buckwheat noodles) for stir frying but in Japan we never use it. So it’s a bit strange concept for us, but if you don’t eat soba just in traditional way and I think you can use it. 🙂
Thanks for the lovely recipe..I love your new Product page…In the past I’ve purchased many of your utensils etc. 🙂
Hi Lyn! Thank you for your kind words! Aww! If I find some new cool tool that I would like to recommend, I’ll update the page. 🙂
Wow, that looks yummy. I currently don’t have any cookware that large. : C I’ll probably just cook in batches.
Also my mom is trying to go gluten free and I was wondering if there are any gluten free noodles I could sub in.
Hi Erin! Yeah cook in batches or cook in 2 pans will do! Just don’t put too much, and the noodles get too soggy by “steaming”.
I’ve tried gluten free noodles from Kobayashi Seimen. Have you tried this company’s noodles?
http://www.kobayashiseimen.jp/english/
Great recipe. We loved the sauce. Never added worcestershire sauce to any dish in this amount but it worked great.
Thank you
Thank you Linda! So happy to hear you liked the sauce. Haha yeah, usually not that much in other recipes. Japanese Tonkatsu sauce and Yakisoba Sauce have this sauce as a base. 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback!
Glad I am Back after a couple of years away Nami, hope you remember me. I had the Donabi Pot that was over 50 years old
Glad to be back
Hi Dennis! Welcome back! Hope all is well with you. Let’s get cooking! 😀
Hi Nami!
Yakisoba’s one of my family’s favorite lunch items too! I highly recommend investing in a large wok about 30cm or bigger for stir-frying big portion servings without worrying about ingredients falling out of the pan! ????
Hi LayLee! That reminds me – I finally got a carbon steel wok but haven’t season yet… Not sure about the size, but I bet it’ll be delicious cooking in there! 😀
Love noodles! Never met one I didn’t like. 🙂 This is a wonderful dish — loads of great flavors, plus noodles! Perfect. Thanks!
Is it safe too assume that 3 packets are approx. 15oz? I ask because I’m using substitute noodles (Hong Kong pan fried noodles) as I can’t find yakisoba at our local Asian store.
Hi Peter! Two brands are different but they are about 16 to 17 oz (454 to 480 g). I’ll add this info in the recipe. Good call, since people need to know the amount of noodles. Thank you!
My little brother and sister served LDS missions in Japan. Both got home recently and we decided to have a Japanese dinner with my family. Everyone was assigned a recipe. I’m sure all of them came from your website. I really appreciated that you had a video, tips and the recipe. It was nice to see it being made before we actually made it. We loved the dish. Thank you, Nami! 🙂
Hi David! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. I am honored to know your family use my blog to make recipes. 🙂 Thank you!!!!
I made this tonight, using bacon, instead of pork belly. It was delicious! My whole family loved it. We’ll be making this again. Such a quick, easy & tasty meal! Thank you!
Hi Kimberly! So happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe! Thank you very much for your kind feedback. 🙂
Hi Nami, Delicious yakisoba dish! The yakisoba sauce is very different as I have never used so much Worcestershire sauce at one time. I definitely agree with your kids that it needs sugar to balance out the other flavours.
Hi Darlene! Mr. JOC and I tasted and recreated the homemade sauce based on the Yakisoba sauce brand we have. Please feel free to adjust as you like. 🙂
Hello, Nami! Just to let you know that I’ve tried your recipe and it’s delicious!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Regards,
Fabrício
Hi Fabricio! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂 xo
Hi, Nami-san. I’m from Japan and live in San Diego. Thank you for providing such a fun website. I really enjoy it. Last week I bought a package of Yakisoba, but without a sauce packet by mistake. Then I found your Yakisoba recipe. Should I use Worcestershire sauce or I could sub with Japanese ウスターソース？Thank you.
Hi Junchan! Aww thank you for your sweet comment! I’m happy that you check my site (while you can check Japanese websites). 🙂
ウスターソース is fine too if you have it. It should be similar – even Worcestershire sauce has some variation depends on brands. Hope you enjoy the sauce recipe. I stopped using MSG packed sauce that comes with the yakisoba noodles… I think it’s more fun to create your own sauce – free to adjust my recipe. 🙂
P.S. I LOVE San Diego… I’m jealous you live there. 🙂
Looks GREAT I’m making something like it tonight.
You confirmed my plan thank you!!
Hi Todd! I hope you enjoy(ed) Yakisoba at home! 🙂
I made this this evening with beef and shrimps. It worked really well! I must admit that when I saw the sauce recipe I thought “…that’s a lot of Worcestershire sauce,” but it was absolutely delicious 🙂 Thank you very much for this recipe, I will definitely be using it again in future!
Hi Ki! Did you use all the sauce? I sometimes use it especially when I add a bit more vegetables to the noodles. You can adjust the amount that goes in and save the rest for a week or so. 🙂 I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this dish with beef and shrimp. That sounds so good…. Thank you for your kind feedback!
Hi Nami,
Just made Yakisoba and it was yummy. However, the noodles broke into thousand small pieces while trying to avoid this by loosen it by hands. I tried to do it as you described but no chance… What could be the reason?
Additionally, is there a trick to thinly sliced pork belly? My slices were rather thick (though yummy).
Thanks for all the great recipes! I am in parental leave and enjoy scrolling through your blog and pick new dishes to cook.
Hi Charlotte! Thanks for trying this recipe! I had the same issue before with Myojo brand… you know, we NEVER freeze yakisoba noodles in Japan, but here they sell frozen or “defrosted” yakisoba (sold in refrigerator section but once it was frozen). I think that breaks noodles into crumbs. I was so annoyed by it. I use different brand Maru-chan, and slightly better, but I have to be super careful and can’t be rough. 🙁 I think I’m lucky to buy Yakisoba noodles here but it’s ruining the noodle experience when they break into 1 cm pieces! Sorry you had that issue.
I buy thinly sliced pork belly from Japanese supermarket. It’s thinner slice than Korean sliced pork belly you can find in Korean supermarket. You can freeze for 30 mins and slice on your own too. Don’t slice it without being frozen.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how_to/how-to-slice-meat/
Thank you for trying out my recipes!
Hi, nami
In my country I can not get Japanese noodles, I only get a Chinese brand (tassya), the same thing happens to me with other ingredients like sesame oil. This brand serves me to cook? Sorry for my english
Here are the link with the image of the products:
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1e6eab_77025672f49b4ed7911efc00dec9765d.png/v1/fill/w_238,h_560,al_c,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/1e6eab_77025672f49b4ed7911efc00dec9765d.png
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1e6eab_e4e97992a6be4ccfb4457ccc60d20760~mv2_d_3264_3264_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_560,h_560,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/1e6eab_e4e97992a6be4ccfb4457ccc60d20760~mv2_d_3264_3264_s_4_2.webp
Hi Ruth! These soba noodles are made of buckwheat noodles, and different from Yakisoba noodles (soba means noodles in Japanese)… So it might be better off using fresh Chinese stir fry noodles. 🙂
The sesame oil looks very dark… kind of different from what I use, but as long as it says sesame oil, it should be okay.
Thanks for answering
I was looking for and found this:
http://www.bestchoiceltda.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1200×1200/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/a/c/aceite-de-ajonjoli-_y-_soya_-207ml-lkk_3.jpg
I forgot: buckwheat noodles can be used to prepare soba salad?
Yes, soba noodles (buckwhea) can be used for soba salad (I have a recipe for soba salad too).
I think that looks like the sesame oil. 🙂
I made this tonight and it was AMAZING. I didn’t have green onion, so I chopped up a jalapeno for some more flavor. I’m so glad I found your recipe! Thank you for this gem- definitely making again.
Hi Kay! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thanks for your kind feedback! 🙂
Love your recipes!
Thank you Arlene! 🙂
I love your recipes. What do you think about adding crushed up Yang Jiang preserved beans with Ginger. I know it’s a Chinese ingredient but I think it goes well with noodles.
Hi John! Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m not familiar with the ingredient, but you never know until you give it a try! 😉
hey Nami, I’d love to try cooking yakisoba but I’m allergic to seafood so I can’t use oyster sauce or regular Worcestershire sauce as it usually contains anchovies. my local supermarket sells anchovies-free Worcestershire sauce, however.
any suggestions for substitution? will be appreciated!
thank you 🙂
Hi Biene! I see… I did not know Worcestershire sauce has anchovies! Worcestershire sauce is most important flavor for authentic Yakisoba, so you can omit oyster sauce and use anchovy-free Worcestershire sauce?
Thank U Nami for showing a good standard version of Japanese fried noodles.
I especially like the explanation of different terms, and what soba actually means.
And adaptation of Chonu sauce
Regards Ravi
Hi Raven! You’re very welcome! I’m glad to hear you enjoy reading about stories behind food. 🙂 Thank you for your kind comment!
Thank you and so easy, I was going to order out, but I have everything for this…love your soundtrack who are the artists?
Hi Rosemary! I hope you enjoyed making this dish at home! 🙂 All my music info is written under the video on my YouTube channel (there is a description box where I put all the info).
I got a little confused as I was reading the description so is there a huge difference between soba and yakisoba noodles and if so can I use regular soba noodles for this dish?
Hi Pablo! Oh sorry about that. Back in the days, the word soba was used for any type of “noodles”. But for Chinese style noodles such as Yakisoba, we call Chuka Soba (as in noodles). This is different from buckwheat “soba” noodles. So… you can’t use buckwheat soba for this dish (although I’ve seen it outside of Japan….). 🙂
I have a question about the serving sizes. I’m thinking about feeding 5 people, so how much should I cook? How much should I increase the recipe ingredients by?
Hi Kyle! The yakisoba noodle package comes with 3 packets of noodles (for 3 servings). If you’re making for 5 people, and they eat American size portion, I would say you will need to double this recipe.
One tip: Having space in the pan is very important so the food cooks properly without losing sufficient heat. So don’t crowd the pan. If you need to, use 2-3 pans or make in batches. If you put all in one, noodles get mushy (because of steam). It’s almost better you cook small portion, but properly, and then toss all together again to reheat.
Hope that helps! 🙂
I made this blindly for a party of 20. It was absolutely a hit! The sauce tastes bad, finger tested, but don’t worry about that for a second! When mixed together, it is so perfectly delicious, even for a varied crowd and palette! Yum!
Hi Annie! Thank you for trying this recipe and I’m glad to hear your guests enjoyed this dish as well. Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Delicious recipe! The noodles do taste better if you have the noodles slightly charred. In order to get the maximum noodle to griddle contact I sauteed the vegetables first, put them aside, then place the noodles on the griddle, then poured half of the sauce to prevent the noodles from sticking, then put the veggies and protein on top, then the other half of the sauce. Saute until the noodles are charred to your liking.
I also put some grated ginger in the mix, on a second batch, and it gave the dish a tasty twist.
Hi Sid! Thank you! I agree, I also like burnt noodles and rice too. Thank you for sharing your tip!
Hi Nami! This looks so yummy! I am going to make it this weekend. You’re an awesome cook. I had just one question. Can I use buckwheat soba noodles instead of the yakisoba because I cannot find them anywhere
Hi Hamid! In Japan we never use buckwheat soba for making yakisoba. It’s a bit too strange for us who don’t eat yakisoba this way…. so it’s hard for me to say yes. Can you find some Chinese noodles for stir frying? That works better than buckwheat noodles…. but if you don’t mind, that’s okay to use it… Buckwheat noodles have the specific taste, and I just can’t combine that with yakisoba sauce in my head. 🙂
I love this recipe! I’m a beginner cook and busy with school and this is great when I want something tasty to bring to school that doesn’t take too long to make. Can’t get enough of it!
Hi David! I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe. Than you for your kind feedback. Me too, I used to make a big batch and brought to school and work (and you can freeze too!). 🙂
I LOVE your recipes, your site and you. And I love making this. Thank you so much for being my go-to recipe and how-to lady. <3
Hi Amanda! Awwwww thank’s so sweet of you. Thank YOU for using my recipe and I’m so happy you enjoy making this dish at home! Thank you for taking your time to write your kind feedback. 🙂
I love Yakisoba. And this recipe along with the fresh Yakisoba sauce recipe is nothing short of heaven. Thank you so much for the this great meal
Hi William! Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so happy you like Yakisoba! 🙂
Not sure what I did wrong but it wasn’t good at all. The yakisoba was very sour like a vinigar sour.
Hi Michiko! I’m afraid the noodles were spoiled if the yakisoba was very sour. Was the noodle refrigerated or frozen?
Hi there, thanks for the answer. I doubt they were spoiled as I bought them today. The same ones you have on that picture.
I asked my mother and we were wondering did you use English Worcestersause or the Japanese Bulldog Worcestersauce?
Hi Michiko! That’s a really good call. I actually use both and keep them in the fridge – but English one requires more sugar as it’s sourer than Japanese Worcestershire sauce. I added the info to the recipe. Thanks so much for bringing to my attention. I am sorry your yakisoba sauce was sour.
Hahahahah well that explains a lot. Japanese Worcestersauce is totally different than English Worcestersauce. Not sure why I did not even consider the fact that you might have had used the Japanese one in your recipe. Oh well, I will defenately give it a try again some day.
I’m not consistent with which Worcestershire sauces I use and I use it randomly and interchangeably… I probably add more sugar when I check the taste of the sauce. Sorry I didn’t realize right away that was the cause of sourness.
Hi, Nami, I wonder if you can write a recipe for making the Yakisoba noodle itself. I know it is made of wheat flour but I don’t know the exact steps. I know soba is made of buckwheat flour, kneaded into a dough, and then sliced really thin noodle-like strips. I wonder if Yakisoba is made in the same way.
Hi HongJun! The word “soba” in Japanese has two meanings. The buckwheat noodles and a general word for noodles. In Yakisoba, it actually means the latter, “noodles”. Stir fry “noodles/soba”. Yakisoba is made of wheat noodles, and it’s actually steam cooked or boiled first before it is packaged and sold in the store. 🙂