Authentic Yakisoba (Japanese stir-fried noodles with pork)

This authentic yakisoba is a Japanese street food classic! Firm noodles with thinly sliced pork and vegetables stir fried in a tangy homemade sauce. This traditional dish tastes great and it only takes 15 minutes to make, so what are you waiting for?

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Jump to:

• What is Yakisoba?
• A common problem when making Yakisoba (with 3 potential causes)
• 3 Tips and Tricks to make the best Yakisoba
• Other ingredients you can use for Yakisoba
• What kind of meat is most commonly used?
• Watch our video for how to make authentic yakisoba
• Step by step recipe
• FAQ
• Community feedback

What is Yakisoba?

Yakisoba is a Japanese style stir-fried noodles dish with a very iconic sweet and savoury yakisoba sauce and its origin is said to be Chinese chow mein. Because they can be cooked outdoors on a single griddle and the cooking procedure is simple, they are sold at a variety of places, including stalls at fairs, booths at school festivals and other outdoor events.

What do you think of when you hear the word "soba"? Most people might think of Japanese soba (buckwheat) noodles, but with yakisoba (焼きそば), you don't use soba noodles at all! Instead, you use Chinese wheat noodles called "mushi chukamen". These are the similar to the noodles that are used for ramen.

The noodles are stir fried with pork, vegetables and a tangy "yakisoba sauce", which I'm also going to show you how to make from scratch!

Yakisoba Ingredients

Other than the pickled ginger and bonito flakes (which are optional) you can make this authentic Japanese dish with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen!

Here are the most common ingredients used to make yakisoba:

• Pork (thinly sliced)
• Cabbage
• Onion
• Noodles
• Yakisoba sauce

Other common ingredients for yakisoba are below:

• Bell pepper
• Beansprouts
• Carrot
• Chives
• Pak choi
• Mushroom
• Spring onion...etc

Basically, any vegetables that go with stir-fried dishes would work in yakisoba too!

The History of Yakisoba

Yakisoba is a traditional Japanese street food. It's been said that yakisoba was served during the 30's in Tokyo, so it has a pretty long history.

Because it's easy to make it outside, yakisoba is often served at outdoor occasions such as festivals, sports day, fireworks festivals, cherry blossom festivals as well as being made at home and at casual diners.

Yakisoba is traditionally cooked with a Worcestershire sauce based sauce (ソース焼きそば) but these days simply cooking with salt and pepper (塩焼きそば( "shio-yakisoba" is popular too.

Japanese people love instant yakisoba as an occasional quick and junky meal too.

Not only that, but different regions have started their own spin-offs of yakisoba and even compete nationwide as a B-class gourmet (B級グルメ). B-class gourmet are down to earth dishes that use inexpensive ingredients but taste absolutely delicious!

Yakisoba vs yaki udon: What are the differences?

The answer to this question is simple, while yakisoba uses Chinese wheat noodles called "chukamen", yaki udon uses udon noodles.

	Yakisoba	Yaki udon
Noodles	Chukamen (originated in China, made from wheat flour, and is unique in that it is made with lye water)	Udon (originated in Japan, made by adding a small amount of salt water to wheat flour and kneading it into a noodle shape)
Colour	Yellowish	White
Texture	Sometimes crispy	Chewy
Occasion	Often seen in festivals in Japan, as instant noodles and at home	Mostly seen at home
Sauce	Woucestershire sauce based yakisoba sauce is the most popular	Soy sauce base is the most popular
Popularity	Higher	Lower

As you can see in the pictures, the noodles and colour are completely different. It's safe to say that yakisoba is a lot more popular and common in Japan.

Yakisoba VS Ramen: What are the differences?

Unlike yakisoba vs yaki udon, yakisoba and ramen kind of use similar noodles to some extent. However, they are completely different things.

As you can see, ramen always has soup with noodles unless it clearly states soupless ramen. On the other hand, yakisoba never comes with soup and always stir-fried. Also, the ingredients are completely different too.

A common problem when making Yakisoba (with 3 potential causes)

When we make yakisoba at home, a common problem we face is "noodles being soggy". When that happens, we end up with yakisoba that is watery and stuck together, which we definitely want to avoid!

3 Common Causes for Soggy Yakisoba:

1. Too much water to loosens up the noodles
2. Too many vegetables (especially high water content vegetables like beansprouts)
3. Low heat

Let's look at each cause in detail!

Too much water

On the packaging of ready-to-use Yakisoba or boiled yakisoba noodles, there are usually instructions on how to make them.

Most instructions tell you to add water to help loosen the noodles, but sometimes the water amount stated is too much.

I personally don't feel the need to add any water at all to be honest.

Too many vegetables

One of the beauties of yakisoba is you can use so many different kinds of vegetables! However, it could backfire depending on what vegetables you choose.

Of all the common vegetables used for yakisoba, bean sprouts, cabbage, and onions tend to release relatively high amount of water.

Of course that doesn't mean you can't add them, just be careful with the amount and be sure to cook long enough that the water is mostly evaporated.

The heat is too weak

If you cook the vegetables with low heat, they will be more likely to start releasing water or even begin to steam. So it's important to keep the heat medium-high to high once everything is tossed in together.

It will especially be important when you add yakisoba sauce and stir fry towards the end.

So my 3 Tips for Avoiding Soggy Yakisoba are:

1. Don't add water
2. Be mindful of the water content in vegetables
3. Use a high heat

Okay, in the next section, I will write some tips and tricks on how to make the best Yakisoba!

3 Tips and Tricks to make the best Yakisoba

In Japan, yakisoba is one of the most common dishes to make for lunch at home. That means, there are so many tips and tricks out there for you to try as well!

Today, I will narrow it down to 3 tips that I think are the most important!

Cook the noodles and ingredients separately

My personal favourite tip for making yakisoba is cooking the noodles with a bit of oil first to make them a bit crispy. I use this technique all the time!

The noodles will have a better texture and flavour, adding complexity to the dish. The yakisoba will be delicious until the last bite.

This could also prevent the "soggy yakisoba" problem I mentioned earlier, so bonus point!

Pour the sauce over the noodles

Ideally, when you add the sauce, move the meat and vegetables to the edge of the pan and pour the sauce over the noodles only. The important point is to mix the sauce with the noodles before mixing in the other ingredients.

By mixing the sauce with the noodles first, you will be able to taste the sauce better!

If you pour the sauce over everything, the flavor could become blurred, meaning the meat and vegetables don't stand out and the sauce tastes weaker.

The secret tip is to pour the sauce over only the noodles first, and then mix with the ingredients together after.

Be generous with toppings

It depends on your taste, but I personally think it is important to be generous with toppings like aonori (nori seaweed powder), katsuobushi (bonito flakes), benishoga (pickled red ginger)...etc.

Firstly, it will look more colorful and vibrant, which actually makes me more hungry! And combination of these ingredients are kind of must for creating an authentic Japanese taste.

However, unlike the 2 tips above, this is optional and down to your preference.

Other ingredients you can use for Yakisoba

Because this recipe is supposed to be a festival style, the variety of ingredients stays minimal. However, typical yakisoba at home has more ingredients, especially the vegetables.

So in this section, I will talk about what kind of vegetables people tend to use for yakisoba at home, and when to add them.

Carrot

Carrots are one of the ingredients people like adding to yakisoba at home.

• Amount: ¼ to ½ a medium carrot
• Cutting: Roughly cut
• When to add: At the same time as onion and cabbage

Beansprouts

Beansprouts are one of the best options when it comes to making yakisoba more filling cheaply. If you add them near the end, there's gonna be good crunch too!

• Amount: 50g to 100g (½ to 1 cup)
• Condition: Washed
• When to add: After the sauce was mixed in, stir fry together for 2-3 mins

Bell peppers

We love adding bell peppers to different dishes in Japan! Yakisoba is definitely one of them.

• Amount: 50g (approx ¼ of a large pepper)
• Cutting: Thin strips
• When to add: At the same time as onion and cabbage

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are a great option to add different texture to your yakisoba. Any types of mushrooms that you would add to stir fry dishes would work!

• Amount: 50g to 100g
• Cutting: Sliced if applicable
• When to add: At the same time as onion and cabbage

What kind of meat is most commonly used?

Thinly sliced pork belly is the most common choice to go for in general, however, there's no written rule for what kind of meat you should use.

Especially if you're not a fan of oily feeling, you could use other parts of pork such as shoulder. Alternatively, you could use other meats as well such as:

• Chicken thigh
• Chicken breast
• Thinly sliced beef
• Seafood
• Mushrooms

Watch our video for how to make authentic yakisoba

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