What is Yakisoba pan?
Yakisoba pan (焼きそばパン) is a popular type of bread made with a light and fluffy bun (similar to a hot dog bun) stuffed with delicious noodles fried in a tasty yakisoba sauce.
The bun used for yakisoba pan is something we call “koppepan” (コッペパン). “Koppepan” is a mixture of two languages, with “coupé” meaning “cut” in French and “pan” meaning “bread” in Portuguese.
A famous baker invented Koppepan called Genpei Tanabe, who learned how to make bread in the United States in the Meiji era (1868-1912) and developed the first yeast bread-making method in Japan in the Taisho era (1912-1926).
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Pre-boiled Chinese-Style Noodles (Chukamen): You can hard-boil ramen noodles. If unavailable, consider using spaghetti as an alternative, and refer to the Spaghetti Ramen Hack article for guidance.
- Thinly Sliced Pork Belly: A delicious option for this dish, though other meats can be substituted based on preference.
- Yellow Onion: Thinly sliced. While yellow onions are typical in Japan, white onions can also be used as a substitute.
- Yakisoba Sauce Ingredients: Create a rich, flavorful sauce with oyster sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup, sake or white wine, sugar, black pepper, and sesame oil.
- Hot Dog Buns: Standard hot dog buns work perfectly for this dish.
- Unsalted Butter: Opt for unsalted to control the overall saltiness. If using salted butter, adjust other salty ingredients accordingly.
- Optional Toppings: Red pickled ginger (benishoga) and dried green laver powder (aonori) add traditional flavor and color.
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Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Yakisoba Pan at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
In a small bowl, combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup, sake, sugar, black pepper, and sesame oil. Stir the mixture well until all the ingredients are fully blended.
Set this aside to let the flavors meld together.
Heat cooking oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add pre-boiled Chinese-style noodles.
Fry them until they’re slightly crispy on both sides. Once done, transfer the noodles to a plate.
Add pork belly seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper in the same wok. Fry until the pieces are crispy and cooked through.
Add yellow onion to the wok with the pork. Stir fry until the onion reaches your desired softness.
Push the pork and onion to one side of the wok.
Add the noodles back in and pour the previously prepared yakisoba sauce over them, coating them well. Avoid pouring the sauce directly on the pork and onions.
Mix everything in the wok together, ensuring the noodles, pork, and onions are evenly coated with the sauce. Stir fry for an additional minute before removing from the heat.
Cut hot dog buns through the middle and spread each side with a bit of unsalted butter.
Place an equal amount of the yakisoba mix into each bun. Ensure a good balance of noodles, pork, and onions in each.
Sprinkle dried green laver powder over the filling for an umami flavor. Add a touch of red pickled ginger on top for a zesty finish.
Enjoy your homemade yakisoba buns filled with crispy, flavorful noodles and pork, accented with a tangy, savory sauce and vibrant toppings!
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There are many theories about the origin of yakisoba pan, but the most popular theory is that the restaurant “Nozawaya” (野澤屋) in Tokyo, was the original developer.
In 1952, when they were selling yakisoba and koppepan at the same time, a customer asked them to put yakisoba in bread because it was too much hassle to eat them separately. Apparently, since then, it has become a big hit and spread throughout Tokyo.
Yakisoba pan is considered a type of “sozai pan,” but what does that mean?
“Sozai pan” (惣菜パン) or “chori pan” can literally be translated as “filled bread” or “stuffed bread”. Usually, sozai pan is made by stuffing soft buns or koppepan with ingredients that would usually be eaten separately.
A few examples of sozai pan are:
Yakisoba pan
Curry pan
Corn mayonnaise pan
Bakeries in Japan often get creative with their sozai pan fillings; it’s fun to experience the innovation of Japanese sozai pan!
If you’re a fan of anime, manga, or Japanese dramas, you might have seen references to yakisoba bread, with it often associated with high school life. You know, like a scene where popular boys ask, “Let’s go buy some yakisoba bread” type of scene.
Many people would claim yakisoba bread was one of their favorite breads back in school. Some even refer to yakisoba pan as the “King of B-class bread.”
Unfortunately, my high school did not have a cafeteria that served hot meals (these things only exist at private or more prestigious high schools…). We did, however, have one tiny kiosk that sold a limited number of packaged breads. Even without yakisoba bread, my friends and I still fought for the best bread of the day by sprinting to the kiosk as soon as the school bell rang.
The reason why it’s popular among high school students is probably because of how cheap and fulfilling they are. It’s double carbs, after all.
There is no rule or anything, so you could just put normal yakisoba in a hot dog bun, but you have to remember there is only limited space in a bun.
My usual yakisoba recipe consists of the following:
Homemade yakisoba sauce (recipe below)
Yakisoba noodles
Pork belly
White onion
White cabbage
Pickled ginger
Bonito flakes
Aonori
If you use all of these ingredients, it’s going to be too bulky in a bun. So I would take out the cabbage and bonito flakes (possibly pork and onion too).
Usually, yakisoba pan only contains flavored noodles and refreshing pickled ginger. This is because yakisoba pan is usually made in advance, and the extra vegetables’ moisture would make the bread soggy. If you’re eating it straight away, you can add more vegetables.
You can decorate yakisoba pan with aonori (dried seaweed powder) and mayonnaise.
Yakisoba pan is most commonly served at room temperature. We don’t tend to refrigerate it or reheat it, just eat it as it is.
If you visit Japan, you can find yakisoba pan in convenience stores and supermarkets.
I hope you enjoy this Yakisoba Pan 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 Japanese Stir-fry Recipes
Yakisoba Pan (Yakisoba Sandwich in a Bread/Bun)
Ingredients
Yakisoba Sauce
- ½ tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tsp sake or white wine
- ¼ tsp sugar
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
Yakisoba Pan
- ½ tbsp cooking oil
- 100 g yakisoba noodles (pre-steamed) chukamen, yakisoba noodles
- 60 g thinly sliced pork belly (see note)
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 25 g onion sliced
- 3 hot dog buns
- butter
- red pickled ginger (benishoga) optional
- aonori (dried green seaweed powder) optional
Instructions
- First, make the sauce. Add ½ tbsp oyster sauce, ½ tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp tomato ketchup, 1 tsp sake, ¼ tsp sugar, 1 pinch ground black pepper and ½ tsp toasted sesame oil to a small bowl. Mix well and set aside for later.
- Heat a wok or frying pan on medium high and add ½ tbsp cooking oil. Add 100 g yakisoba noodles (pre-steamed) and fry until slightly crispy on both sides.
- Transfer the noodles to a plate and add 60 g thinly sliced pork belly to the same wok with 1 pinch salt and pepper. Fry until crispy.
- Add 25 g onion to the wok and stir fry until it reaches your preferred softness.
- Push the meat and onion to one side and add the noodles back to the pan. Pour your yakisoba sauce over the noodles only (not the pork and onions) and mix until they're coated.
- Mix everything together and stir fry for another minute or so before removing the wok from the heat.
- Cut 3 hot dog buns through the middle and spread each side with butter. Place an equal amount of yakisoba in each bun and top with aonori (dried green seaweed powder) and red pickled ginger (benishoga).
- Enjoy!
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