Quick and easy Yakisoba recipe ready in 15 minutes! Made with chicken, noodles, vegetables and delicious yakisoba sauce. Satisfying one-pan Japanese noodle dish that all kids and adults can enjoy. This dish is fast, tasty, healthy, and budget-friendly too!
Japanese food is very light, healthy and satisfying and I love to make them quite often. Yaki Beef Udon, Chicken Yaki Udon, and Teriyaki Salmon Noodles are our family's favouite stir-fried Japanese noodles that you will also love.
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This yakisoba is one of our favourite shortcut 15-minute noodle dishes. You don't need to marinate the chicken or pre-cook the noodles. You can make it your choice of thinly sliced meat or seafood and veggies.
One of the best ways to use up the leftover vegetables and noodle packets. Easy crowd-pleasing noodle dish and is so fast to cook everything in one pan. Great for making a lunch box and meal prep.
What is Yakisoba?
Yakisoba is one of the most popular classic noodle dishes in Japan and across the world. Yakisoba is a classic Japanese street food, traditionally made it over the teppanyaki pan ( large Japanese grill pan ). You can find Yakisoba on the menu of every Japanese restaurant across the world.
Very similar to Chinese chow mein noodles and it has a sweet, salty, savoury, and a bit tangy taste. Read my simple tips and tricks to create a delicious dinner ready in no time!
Essential Ingredients
- Yakisoba noodles - Use pre-cooked vacuum-sealed yakisoba noodles for this quick recipe. You can add the noodles straight to the pan or prepare them according to packet instructions.
- Protein choice - In this recipe, I am cooking with chicken breast slices. You can also use chicken thigh, beef, pork, bacon, prawns/shrimp, squid/calamari, crab stick, etc.
- Vegetables - Cabbage, carrot, shiitake mushroom, and spring onions are ideal to make yakisoba. These vegetables can be replaced with any of your favourite stir fry vegetables.
- Yakisoba Sauce - You will need Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and ketchup. Add sugar to balance the sweet and sour taste.
Prepare the ingredients
- You need to prepare and gather all the ingredients before the cooking process started.
- Blanch the noodles - Place the noodles in the large bowl and pour the hot water in. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes and loosen the noodles with chopsticks or tongs. Then drain the water out.
- Combine sauce - Mix all the yakisoba sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Cut the chicken breast into thin slices.
- Julienne the carrot and cut the shiitake mushroom, and onion into thin slices. Cut the cabbage leaves into square pieces and spring onions into 2" pieces.
How to cook it
- Heat the large skillet pan or wok on medium-high heat, and drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the chicken pieces and stir fry for 1-2 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Then add the carrot, onion and shiitake mushroom and stir fry for 1 minute.
- Then add the noodles and pour the sauce over the noodles. Stir fry for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add spring onions and combine all ingredients evenly. Make a taste test and add salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to a serving plate and top with Japanese red ginger pickle. Serve immediately.
Top Tips
- What type of Worcestershire sauce to use? We usually use Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce or Japanese Bulldog Worcestershire sauce. Japanese Worcestershire sauce is thicker, sweeter, and more fruity in flavour.
- What other ingredients you can add? You can also add extra scrambled eggs, shrimp/prawns, squid/calamari, crab meat, etc.
- Making for a crowd? You can make the preparation ahead, make the sauce in a large batch, and store it in an air-tight container. It lasts in the fridge for a minimum of 4-5 days. Fry with batches and do not overcrowd the pan.
- Noodle Prep Tips: Yakisoba noodles are made from wheat flour, and most packets are steamed and packed in one serving each. As pre-cooked yakisoba noodles can break easily, I suggest loosening the noodles. Add noodles to the hot water and loosen them gently and drain the water out.
- If you are using uncooked yakisoba noodles, boil the noodles by the packet instructions. Then drain the water out and rinse with cold water before stir-frying.
Commonly Asked Questions
You can substitute with wheat noodles, ramen noodles or egg noodles.
You can swap chicken with, firm tofu, vegan meat, or mushroom. Use vegetarian stir-fry sauce ( mushroom sauce ) instead of oyster sauce.
Traditionally yakisoba is cooked with a teppanyaki grill pan but if you are cooking at home you can use any large pan, skillet, or wok.
This dish is sweet, savoury and mild in flavour. If you want to make it spicy yakisoba, you can add dried crushed chillies or fresh chilli slices to the stir fry. You can also add a dash of Japanese shichimi togarashi or chilli oil on top before serving.
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15-Minute Easy Yakisoba ( Stir Fried Japanese Noodles )
Ingredients
- 150 g Boneless chicken breast/thigh (5.5 oz) cut thin slices
- 300 g Yakisoba noodles (10.5 oz) 2 servings, see in note
- ½ Onion cut thin slices
- 1 Small carrot cut matchstick pieces
- 3 Cabbage leave cut small squares
- 3-4 Shiitake mushroom Or choice of mushroom, cut thin slices
- 2-3 Spring onions cut 2-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil or neutral flavour oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
Yakisoba Sauce
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce Lea & Perrins or Bulldog ( See in note )
- 2 tbsp Oyster sauce or vegetarian stir fry sauce
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce Japenese all-purpose soy sauce or light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Water
To Serve
- Japanese red ginger pickle optional
Instructions
- First of all, pour hot water to the noodles for 1 minute, loosen the noodles gently wtih fork or chopstick anthen rain the water out. Set aside.
- Mix all the yakisoba sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cut the chicken breast into thin slices. Julienne the carrot and cut the shiitake mushroom, onion into thin slices. Cut the cabbage leaves into square pieces and spring onions into 2" pieces.
- Heat the large skillet pan or wok into medium-high heat, drizzle 2 tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken pieces and stir fry for 1-2 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Then add the carrot, onion and shiitake mushroom and stir fry for 1 minute.
- Then add the noodles and pour the sauce over the noodles. Stir fry for another 1-2 minutes. Add spring onions and combine all ingredients evenly.
- Make a taste test and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Transfer to serving plate and garnish with Japanese red ginger pickle. Serve immediately!
Notes
- Protein - You can add your choice of chicken, beef, pork, prawns/shrimp, squid/calamari, etc.
- What type of noodles to use? I used pre-cooked yakisoba noodles. It comes in sealed vacuum packets and is ready to add to the stir fry. But suggest loosening the noodles in hot water for 1-2 minutes. If you use fresh or frozen noodles, prepare by the packet instructions.
- Yakisoba noodle substitute - You can add any wheat noodles, ramen noodles, or even good-to-go with egg noodles.
- Worcestershire sauce - Add Lea & Perrins or Japanese Bulldog brand Worcestershire sauce.
- Mushroom - Shiitake mushroom is ideal for this recipe, if you cannot find it you can add your choice of mushroom. If you use dried shiitake mushrooms, soak them in the hot water for 15 minutes then, squeeze the water out before cutting.
- Salt & Pepper - I don't usually add extra salt as stir fry sauces already contain salt content. You can make a taste test just right before finishing and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Spicy Yakisoba - Add a dash of chilli oil or Japanese shichimi togarashi for a kick of heat.
- Can you freeze or reheat it? Yakisoba tastes best when freshly cooked and do not recommend freezing. You can keep it in the fridge in an air-tight container for a couple of days. Reheat it in the microwave or over the stovetop until piping hot.
Jeannine Jones says
I tried some of ur recipes love it
Khin says
Happy to hear Jeannine. Thank you for sharing lovely feedback. It means a lot. ♥
IanMassey says
Really nice, Really quick and very tasty, just what I needed 😋