Yakisoba

Yakisoba is a Japanese stir-fried noodle dish. It uses chūkamen—thin, wheat-flour noodles similar to Chinese lo mein—stir-fried with vegetables such as cabbage, onions, and bean sprouts, and with a protein such as pork, chicken, or seafood. The dish is finished with yakisoba sauce, a thick, savory-sweet glaze akin to Worcestershire sauce, and often contains soy sauce, oyster sauce, and a touch of sugar or ketchup. Despite the name, it does not contain buckwheat soba noodles.

The noodles are briefly blanched, then stir-fried on a hot griddle or skillet with oil. Vegetables and meat are cooked quickly, and the sauce is tossed with the ingredients. Common finishing touches include aonori (seaweed flakes), beni shoga (pickled ginger), and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). Yakisoba is frequently prepared on teppan grills at restaurants and street stalls.

Originating in Japan in the early 20th century, yakisoba became popular as a street-food dish at festivals and fairs. Regional styles exist, with Osaka (Kansai) varieties tending toward a sweet-savory sauce, and Hiroshima styles sometimes using yakisoba noodles as a layer inside okonomiyaki. In addition to fresh preparation, yakisoba is widely available as frozen or pre-packaged dishes and as yakisoba pan, a bread roll filled with yakisoba.