Yakisoba Noodles

Yakisoba is a Japanese stir fry with a noodle base, lots of veggies, and a speedy sauce that’s salty-sweet and a little bit tangy. Serve as is for a satisfying meatless meal, or add chicken or shrimp for extra protein. 

Welcome to Fountain Avenue Kids! In this latest edition, Abby and Ethan joined me to share one of their family’s favorite meals. The dish was totally new to me, but the easy recipe won me over, and I think you will love it too!

Abby and Ethan radiate positive energy. To cook with this brother-sister duo is to bask in the glow of their creativity, curiosity, and genuine enthusiasm for the task at hand. 

Abby, 10, loves loves to sing, play piano, and run with Girls on the Run. She has even acted in several local theater productions.  

Ethan is 8, and his favorite activities include taekwondo, piano, studying reptiles, and snacking. 

Their family enjoys weekend movie nights, but with such a variety of interests, it’s no surprise Abby and Ethan find little time or inclination to sit in front of video games or screens in general. 

Yet they do find time to cook! From twisting pretzels for Octoberfest to hulling fresh summer peas for homemade pasta, cooking has long been a creative outlet for Abby and Ethan and a fun way to spend time with family–and then enjoy the fruits of their labor!

When Abby and Ethan first mentioned the following recipe, I had to ask what it was! Somehow, this flavorful noodle stir fry had eluded me until that moment.

Loaded with fresh vegetables and cloaked in a flavorful sauce, the traditional Japanese dish comes together quickly and easily with ingredients that are easy to have on hand.

In the pictured batch, we served the noodles as is, but for a little more fill factor, they may be topped with chicken or shrimp. A side of Easiest Steamed Edamame offers another way to add filling protein and complements the noodles beautifully. 

What are Yakisoba noodles?

Yakisoba is a stir-fry dish consisting of Japanese-style wheat noodles and vegetables like cabbage, carrots, onions, and bean sprouts that are tossed with a thick, savory-sweet sauce. Thinly sliced pork is often included, although the dish allows for lots of flexibility. 

In Japanese, the word “yaki” means fried or grilled and “soba” refers to noodles, technically a buckwheat noodle, although various options exist.

Quick-cooking ramen is a readily available substitute for traditional yakisoba noodles, although rice noodles or even spaghetti may be used. After briefly stir-frying the vegetables, the cooked noodles and flavorful sauce are stirred in and dinner is ready.  

Five pantry ingredients plus scallions form the flavorful sauce, which may be mixed in advance if helpful.

Once the noodles are cooked, they are drained in a colander and set aside until ready to stir into the vegetables. Traditional yakisoba noodles are a yellowish, wavy, wheat-based noodle that can be found at some larger grocery stores, but ramen (pictured above – if using, discard the spice packet), rice noodles, or even spaghetti may be used instead.

The vegetables are cooked for 2 to 3 minutes to soften before adding the noodles and sauce. We shredded the cabbage ourselves, but store-bought slaw mix could be used for a shortcut.

Delicious and fun!

For a heartier meal, you may top the noodles with cooked chicken, shrimp, or tofu. Easiest Steamed Edamame offers a fun side and also supplies filling protein. If you have edamame that has already been shelled, you could stir that right into the noodles. 

Abby and Ethan enjoy eating Yakisoba noodles with chopsticks, but they can be a challenge to use. So, we made a pair of “cheating chopsticks” for Ethan by rolling the paper wrapper from a pair of takeout chopsticks and then securing it between the top of the sticks with a rubber band, as pictured.

Yakisoba Noodles

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Yakisoba is a Japanese stir fry with a noodle base, lots of veggies, and a speedy sauce that's salty-sweet and a little bit tangy. Serve as is for a satisfying meatless meal, or add chicken or shrimp for extra protein. 

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Yakisoba Noodle Ingredients:

• 8 ounces yakisoba noodles (may substitute spaghetti, plain ramen, or rice noodles)
• 8-10 Napa cabbage leaves (may substitute 8 ounces of thinly sliced green cabbage or slaw mix)
• ½ cup shredded carrots
• 2 teaspoons minced or grated fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Yakisoba Sauce Ingredients:

• 4 scallions, thinly sliced (root ends discarded)
• ¼ cup (60ml) soy sauce or tamari
• 2 tablespoons (34g) ketchup
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon (12g) brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon (14g) toasted sesame oil

For the Pan:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

Instructions:

Combine the sauce ingredients: In a small bowl, stir together the scallions, soy sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil. Set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.

Add the noodles and cook according to the package directions.

Drain the noodles in a colander, and then set them aside.

While the noodles cook, thinly slice the cabbage leaves, and place them in a large bowl.

Add the carrots, ginger, and garlic to the bowl.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and cook for 30 seconds without stirring. Then cook 2-3 minutes more, stirring frequently, until the cabbage is slightly wilted.

Add the noodles and the sauce to the skillet. Toss with tongs for 1-2 minutes, until the sauce is absorbed. Serve and enjoy!

Notes:

For extra vegetables and color, you could add one small, thinly sliced red bell pepper to the cabbage mixture. A side of roasted broccoli is nice with this meal too.

For extra protein, you could top the noodles with cooked chicken or shrimp. Or serve with a side of steamed edamame.

Make it gluten-free: For a gluten-free recipe, choose gluten-free soy sauce or tamari, and use rice noodles or gluten-free spaghetti.

Single serve ramen packages work well. In this case, discard the seasoning packets. I use three packages, which is 9 ounces. It will be a slightly lower sauce-to-noodle ratio, but it works well…and breaking off one ounce seems silly!

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A fun nutrition fact from our dietitian Emily:
Yakisoba noodles are made with wheat, kansui (an alkaline solution) and water. unlike most traditional pastas, yakisoba is safe for those with an egg allergy (or whose children have classmates with severe egg allergies) and are also vegan-friendly!

For those who are curious…
The reason we don’t list nutritional breakdowns next to each recipe is because the numbers can change significantly depending on brands people buy and how exact the measuring is. In saying that, if you email me separately, I can provide you with my best estimations on the nutrients you would like to know more about in this recipe. I’m happy to help!