Featured Comment:
“We tried this recipe last night because it has been a hot minute since my boyfriend and I have had a good yakisoba and I have to say, everything about it was fantastic! For sure a new favorite in our home. Thank you for sharing this!”
– Ashley
What is Yakisoba?
Yakisoba (焼きそば) is a popular Japanese stir-fried noodle dish inspired by Chinese chow mein. Yakisoba is made with Chinese wheat noodles called “mushi chukamen,” similar to ramen in thickness and appearance.
These noodles are combined with pork, vegetables, and the signature tangy “yakisoba sauce.” In this recipe, I’ll share how to make yakisoba sauce from scratch! It’s so easy, you’ll never need to buy premade bottles again!
Originating from 1930s Tokyo, yakisoba’s straightforward outdoor preparation has made it a staple at events like festivals, sports days, and cherry blossom viewings, as well as in homes and casual eateries.
Instant yakisoba serves as a quick treat for many, and regional variations compete in the B-class gourmet (B級グルメ) category, offering delicious dishes made from budget-friendly ingredients.
How I Developed This Recipe
My main goal in developing this recipe was to create an authentic Japanese yakisoba that you’d enjoy at a Japanese festival, complete with its iconic sauce made from scratch.
While many in Japan use ready-made sauces and powders, my challenge was to recreate that distinctive flavor.
After lots of trial and error, I’ve managed to capture the authentic taste using ingredients you can easily find. I hope you’ll give it a try at home!
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Thinly sliced pork belly: I recommend pork belly, but feel free to experiment with other pork cuts, chicken, or beef if you like. Just remember to adjust the cooking time based on the meat you’ve chosen.
- Yellow onion: Thinly sliced. While yellow onions are the go-to in Japan, white onions can be a great substitute if needed.
- Green cabbage: This is a great option if you’re looking for a classic, authentic flavor. But feel free to explore other cabbage varieties to suit your taste or what’s available at your local market.
- Pre-boiled ramen noodles: You can hard-boil ramen noodles. You can also make your own homemade ramen noodles if you want! If you struggle to find quality noodles, consider using my Spaghetti Ramen Hack.
- Yakisoba sauce: Mixture of oyster sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup, sake, sugar, and toasted sesame oil.
- Toppings: I used red pickled ginger (benishoga), bonito flakes (katsuobushi), and aonori powder.
Additional Ingredient Ideas:
- Carrots: Typically, one would use about a quarter to half of a medium carrot, roughly cut. It’s best to add the carrot at the same time as the onion and cabbage.
- Beansprouts: Using between 50g to 100g (or about half to a full cup) of washed beansprouts can introduce a delightful crunch. Especially if added after the sauce has been mixed in, stir fry them for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Bell Peppers: You’d want to use approximately 50g, about a quarter of a large pepper, cut into thin strips. These should be added concurrently with the onion and cabbage.
- Mushrooms: Any variety that’s typically used in stir-fry dishes will do. Aim for 50g to 100g, and if they’re the type that requires slicing, do so. Like the previous vegetables, mushrooms should be added alongside the onion and cabbage.
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Authentic Japanese yakisoba at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
Take a small bowl and add oyster sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup, sake, sugar, black pepper and sesame oil. Mix well and set aside for later, it’s that easy!
Heat a wok on medium high and add a generous amount of cooking oil. Fry the noodles until slightly browned and crispy, be careful not to burn. Cooking the noodles separately with oil will prevent them from becoming soggy and too soft.
Once they’re done, transfer to a plate and set aside for later.
If you’re using dry noodles, boil them for a few minutes less than the time instructed on the packaging. Once cooked, place them in a colander and rinse with cold water to remove excess starch (this should help stop them from sticking together). Shake thoroughly to remove the water and let them dry a little before you fry.
Add the pork to the same wok as before and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fry until the meat is cooked and the fat is slightly browned and crispy.
Add thinly sliced onions and roughly chopped cabbage and fry until slightly softened.
If you’re using additional vegetables, add them to the wok in order of firmness to ensure they cook properly (e.g. carrots first, mushrooms later etc.)
Push the meat and vegetables to one side of the wok and place the crispy noodles in the empty space.
Pour the homemade sauce over the noodles and mix until coated before mixing everything else together. This is to ensure the noodles pick up all of the flavor and you can appreciate the taste of the meat and vegetables separately.
Once the noodles are coated, mix thoroughly to evenly distribute the meat and vegetables, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. If you want to add beansprouts, add them now.
Plate up and add a generous amount of red pickled ginger (benishoga), bonito flakes (katsuobushi) and dried green laver powder (aonori).
Tips & Tricks
In Japan, yakisoba is one of the most common dishes to make for lunch at home. This means there are so many tips and tricks out there for you to try as well!
- Fry the noodles separately in oil – this is so important that it’s not just a tip, but one of the steps in my recipe! Frying removes excess moisture, the oil crisps up the noodles a little and this texture helps the sauce stick better. Better flavor, better texture, better yakisoba!
- Prepare dry noodles carefully – if you don’t have access to ready-to-cook noodles (preboiled and refrigerated) you might have no option but to use dry noodles. Boil until al dente (a few minutes less than the packaging states), rinse to remove the starch and then shake them in a colander to remove excess moisture. Once you’ve followed all these steps, you can fry the noodles and continue with the rest of the recipe.
- Cut the vegetables thin and uniform – this keeps cooking time down and ensures they’re evenly cooked.
- Maintain a high heat – this will ensure the ingredients cook fast and don’t steam. Steam equals soggy yakisoba.
- Pick your vegetables carefully – be careful of vegetables with high water content since these can release moisture into the noodles and make the dish soggy.
- Cook vegetables in order of firmness – This is advice for those who want to add additional vegetables. Adding them in order of firmness ensures everything is cooked properly and ready at the same time. Start with carrots and onions, then cabbage, then mushrooms (if using).
- Don’t cook too long – vegetables in yakisoba should still have a bit of bite, so be careful not to overcook them and let them become soggy.
- Pour the sauce over the noodles – In my recipe, I coat the noodles with sauce first so that the flavor stands out, then mix the meat and vegetables later to allow all the individual flavors to shine through. This stops the flavors from becoming blended together.
- Be generous with toppings – adding plenty of red pickled ginger, aonori and/or katusobushi (bonito flakes) is vital for authentic Japanese flavor. It also makes the dish more vibrant and visually appealing.
How to Store
It’s advised to store yakisoba in the refrigerator or freezer rather than at room temperature. When refrigerated, yakisoba can stay fresh for up to 2 days, and reheating it in a pan will yield the best flavor (although microwaving is also acceptable for convenience).
If you freeze it, spread each portion flatly before placing it in a freezer bag. Seal the bag securely to keep air out. Ideally, consume frozen yakisoba within two weeks for the best quality.
Storage summary
Room temperature – Not recommended.
Refrigerated – Up to 2 days.
Frozen – Up to 2 weeks (recommended).
FAQ
Here are answers to frequently asked questions I have received across all platforms, including here, YouTube, and Pinterest. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to me anytime! It will be a big help for everyone in this community!
This is a typical dish that people would eat for lunch in Japan or a festival/event. It’s common to eat at home or in a bento (lunchbox), too.
In Japan, most people eat Yakisoba with chopsticks. Sometimes, it’s served in hotdog buns (Yakisoba pan), or wrapped in an omelette (Omusoba).
Yakisoba uses Chinese-style noodles, whereas yaki udon uses thick and chewy udon noodles. They also typically use different kinds of sauce. Check out our garlic and butter soy sauce yakiudon!
The ingredients are a little different, and Japanese Worcestershire sauce contains more fruits, so it’s a little sweeter. But overall, they taste quite similar and can be used interchangeably.
I hope you enjoy this Yakisoba recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Street Food Recipes
- Crispy Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
- Osaka Style Okonomiyaki
- Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki
- Takoyaki (Fried Octopus Balls)
Hungry for more? Explore my street food recipe collection to find your next favorite dishes!
Authentic Yakisoba (Japanese Stir-fried Noodles)
Ingredients
Yakisoba Sauce
Yakisoba
- 120 g thin sliced pork belly
- 30 g yellow onion sliced
- 30 g green cabbage roughly chopped
- 200 g pre-boiled Chinese-style noodles
- 1 tbsp cooking oil vegetable or sunflower
- red pickled ginger (benishoga) benishoga, optional
- bonito flakes katsuobushi, optional
- dried green laver powder (aonori) aonori, optional
Instructions
- Start by making the sauce. Add 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp soy sauce, ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp tomato ketchup, ½ tbsp sake, ½ tsp sugar, 1 pinch ground black pepper and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil to a small bowl and mix well. Set aside for later.
- If you are using dried noodles, cook them for a few minutes less than the instructed time and pour them into a cullender, rinse with cold water and drain thoroughly so that're not too wet when you fry them.
- Heat the wok or frying pan on medium-high and add 1 tbsp cooking oil. Add 200 g pre-boiled Chinese-style noodles to the wok and cook until both sides are slightly browned and crispy but not burnt, then transfer to a plate and set aside for later.
- Next, add 120 g thin sliced pork belly into the same wok and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fry until crispy.
- Add 30 g yellow onion and 30 g green cabbage into the wok together with the pork belly. (If adding other vegetables, add them in order of firmness. E.g Carrots first, mushrooms last etc.)
- Once the vegetables are slightly softened, push everything to one side and add the noodles back in.
- Pour the sauce over the noodles, mixing only the noodles until evenly covered.
- Mix everything together and fry for a 1-2 more minutes. (If you want to add beansprouts, add them here.)
- Dish up and sprinkle generously with red pickled ginger (benishoga), bonito flakes and dried green laver powder (aonori).
- Enjoy!
We tried this recipe last night because it has been a hot minute since my boyfriend and I have had a good yakisoba and I have to say, everything about it was fantastic! For sure a new favorite in our home. Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Ashley. Thank you for trying my recipe and giving such kind feedback, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
The components of this recipe are spot on! As suggested I tweaked the quantity and added togarashi in addition to the black pepper.
Thank you for the recipes!
(Can you recommend any suppliers that ship authentic Japanese food products to Athens,Greece?)
Much appreciated!
Hi Nicholas,
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
It’s a little hard to say because I live in Japan so I don’t really keep an eye out for places that ship worldwide, but when I lived in England I found http://www.japancentre.com a great place for Japanese ingredients and they definitely ship to Greece. Another one is dokodemo.world which is based in Japan, they ship to Greece but it might take longer. Hope that helps!
Interesting. I am originally from Tokyo, but I have never known katsuobushi as topping. I have heard of yakisoba recipes using katsuobushi when stir frying though. I have to try it and see what I think. Usually just beni shoga and aonori.
Some people don’t add katsuobushi but it’s a popular addition for home cooks. It’s not essential but I like adding katsuobushi personally 🙂
as a private chef, my client always asks me to pick up ramen noodles. but since I saw a Yakisoba noodles that comes with a pack of seasoning with it from the asian store I figured I search for easy sauce from scratch and found your website. since then no more ramen noodles and I used leftover veggies in the fridge which works just fine. some people only know sushi when I say Japanese cuisine or maybe teriyaki not knowing there’s other recipes that they (americans) don’t know about. thanks to your site I have been learning more recipes and enjoying them and not just at work but my family and friends too. thanks again..
“never stop learning’
Hi Edwin,
Thank you so much for your comment and for sharing your experiences! I’m honored that you enjoy exploring my website. I’ll continue to post more authentic Japanese recipes!
Yuto
what could I use instead of the alcohol do make the sauce
Hi Sultan,
Thank you for the question. Seeing as it’s just a small amount, you can simply replace it with water!
Yuto
Greetings. I hope this finds you well and thank you for sharing your recipes with the world.
I unfortunately do not have access to pre-boiled noodles, but can easy come by dried. I read your notes on how to prepare them, but was curious if the same measurements applied.
Do you recommend 200 grams of dried noodles, or a lesser weight do to their growth when cooking. Any advice would be wildly appreciated.
Thank you so much for your time.
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for your question! When using dried noodles for yakisoba, a good starting measurement is approximately 80g per person (before cooking). So only a little bit less than pre-boiled! I hope this helps with your cooking! Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions.
Yuto
You are the boss, applesauce! I truly appreciate your time and help.
I can’t wait to give this a try tomorrow. Many, many thanks again.
Please, take care and stay awesome!
Elizabeth
Thank you, Elizabeth! I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Yuto