Let me first say that I’m sure this is probably not authentic Chicken Yakisoba. I’ve never actually eaten this classic Japanese street food on the streets of Japan, but I have seen Mark Bittman make this yakisoba on his show, The Minimalist, and I knew I had to make it myself. Those noodles looked so lip-licking good, were packed with vegetables, and it just looked so easy. In other words, it was just my style. ;)
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What is Yakisoba Sauce Made Of?
Yakisoba sauce is a sweet, savory, and tangy mix of soy sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings. Some yakisoba sauce recipes include oyster sauce, which has a more rich umami flavor. I also added sriracha to my yakisoba sauce because I like things a little spicy!
What Does Chicken Yakisoba Taste Like?
The addition of ketchup makes this sauce super tangy, and a splash of Worcestershire gives it a uniquely sweet-umami flavor. I used a whole tablespoon of sriracha in my sauce because I really like my food spicy, but feel free to reduce that to 1/2 tablespoon or even a teaspoon if you want the sauce a bit more tame.
Can I Use Different Noodles?
Yes. I used ramen noodles because they’re inexpensive and easy to find. If you can find actual “yaki-soba” noodles, those will be the best choice. You’ll get the best price for yaki-soba noodles at an Asian grocery store. If you can’t find yaki-soba noodles and prefer not to use inexpensive ramen noodles, udon noodles or any other straight Asian noodle will still taste great drenched in this sauce.
Can I Use Different Vegetables?
The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can use just about any mix of vegetables that you have leftover in your fridge. Just stay away from very watery vegetables, like tomatoes. Also, to make life easier, you can replace the hand-shredded cabbage and carrots with a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots).
Homemade Chicken Yakisoba
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1/2 head green cabbage ($0.41)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.55)
- 2 carrots ($0.25)
- 1 crown broccoli ($0.70)
- 1 inch fresh ginger ($0.52)
- 1 large chicken breast ($1.66)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.08)
- 2 3oz. packages ramen noodles, seasoning packets discarded ($0.50)
- 1 tsp sesame oil, optional ($0.19)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.24)
- 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce ($0.20)
- 2 Tbsp ketchup ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp sriracha ($0.26)
- 1 Tbsp sugar ($0.02)
Instructions
- Before you begin, prepare the meat and vegetables for stir frying. Peel the ginger with either a vegetable peeler or the side of a spoon and then grate it with a cheese grater. Peel and grate the carrots with a large holed cheese grater. Remove the core from the cabbage and cut into thin strips. Slice the onion into thin strips. Cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Slice the chicken into thin strips.
- Begin boiling a medium pot full of water for the noodles. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the grated ginger, saute for about 30 seconds to one minute (its okay if it sticks to the pan but don’t let it burn). Add the chicken strips and cook until they are no longer pink (about five minutes).
- Once the chicken is cooked through, add all of the vegetables. Stir and cook until wilted (about 5-10 minutes). Meanwhile, once the water boils, add the noodles and cook just until tender (2-3 minutes). Drain, return to the pot (with the heat turned off) and toss with the sesame oil to keep from sticking.
- In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, ketchup, sriracha, and sugar. Use only 1/2 tsp of sriracha if you don’t want it spicy, use up to 1 Tbsp if you like it hot. Stir until the ketchup and sugar are dissolved. Pour the sauce into the skillet with the chicken and vegetables with the heat still on medium high. Add the noodles, stir to coat everything in the sauce, and heat through (just a few minutes).
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Equipment
- Color Cutting Boards
- Chef’s Knife
- Stainless Steel Pots and Pans
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Want more ways to dress up your ramen noodles? Check out 6 Ways to Upgrade Instant Ramen, Vegetable Stir Fry with Noodles, Lime Shrimp Dragon Noodles, or Pork and Peanut Dragon Noodles.
How to Make Homemade Chicken Yakisoba – Step By Step Photos
Prepare the Yakisoba sauce first, so that it’s ready to go when you need it. In a medium bowl, stir together 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tbsp ketchup, 1 Tbsp sriracha, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil.
This is the “toasted” sesame oil. It doesn’t always say “toasted on the bottle, but you can tell this is the toasted variety because of the deep brown color and because it’s sold in a tiny bottle. Toasted sesame oil has a much stronger nutty flavor and only a small amount is needed for a big impact.
Next, slice up your vegetables. Thinly slice one yellow onion and 1/2 a small head of green cabbage. Use a large-holed cheese grater to grate 1-2 carrots. Cut one crown of broccoli into small, bite-sized florets.
Slice one chicken breast (about 3/4 lb.) into very thin strips. I like to do about 1/4-1/2 inch wide and about 2 inches long.
Grate about one inch of fresh ginger. Heat a very large skillet (at least 12″ diameter) over medium heat, then add 2 Tbsp vegetable oil. Tilt the skillet to distribute the oil, then add the grated ginger. Sauté briefly (about 30 seconds), then add the sliced chicken and continue to cook until the chicken pieces are cooked through.
Add the sliced vegetables and continue to sauté until they are slightly wilted, but still bright in color.
Meanwhile, boil a pot of water and cook two 3oz. bricks of ramen noodles until tender, then drain in a colander.
Finally, pour the prepared yakisoba sauce onto the vegetables and stir to combine.
Then add your cooked and drained ramen and stir until everything is combined and coated in the sauce. THE END. Easy, right?
<3 Chicken Yakisoba!
Sweet, tangy, and a little spicy.
Is the worcestershire sauce an absolute? I don’t have any on hand.
Yeah, it does carry a lot of the flavor in the sauce.
I am trying to lessen the amount of carbs in my meals. Would this sauce taste okay with half the amount of sugar or even no sugar at all?
No, unfortunately the sugar is very important to balancing the flavor in this sauce. It will be very acidic otherwise.
I used Splenda & it was perfect
I had a bag of ‘stir fry veggies’ which had broccoli, snap peas, and sliced carrots so I just threw that in. I also had a quarter if a huge head of cabbage which was the perfect amount. I used hot sesame oil cuz I like things spicy. I put extra ginger & sambal oelek in there for an extra kick. I still felt that it was missing something. My husband liked it more than I did though. It’s ok, I guess I’m spoiled living so close to japantown.
Yummy! This is so much better than that stuff you buy at the store and just fill with hot water. Thanks for this recipe!
Made this for my boyfriend and I. He is a notorious Asian food snob, but loved this. Yay upgraded ramen!
I made this last night, and it was amazing. I didn’t have sesame oil, so I used olive oil instead, and it was great! Will definitely be making this again!
Absolutely fabulous! I could have eaten the whole entire pan myself! This will definitely be a recipe that I make often. Thanks for sharing it!
We have yet to find a recipe on this site that we don’t absolutely love and this was no exception!
I feel silly asking this but could you pretty please start listing dry ingredients before the wet ones? I’m usually trying to cook with 2 small children at my ankles and almost never have the presence of mind to think that part through before I do it. I always end up having to rinse and dry measuring cups and spoons halfway through :).
Thank you for all the great dinners!
Well, I try to list the ingredients in the order that they’re used. That’s standard cookbook protocol and it helps me make sure that I didn’t forget to list anything. :)
I have made this recipe several times now and it is delicious every time! One of my husbands favorite meals. Followed recipe exactly as written. No problem with it being too salty. Definitely a keeper in our house. Thank you!
Tried this but for the sauce I used soy sauce and teriyaki sauce it was bomb!!!
This was delicious but I gave to say…the leftovers were even better!! I warmed it in a skillet, added some chicken stock & voila! The chicken wasn’t dry, noodles were perfect & veggies stayed firm. I added some backed veggie egg rolls for a different twist. I was wondering if anyone calculated the calories and other nutritional values? Thanks
Oh I hate auto correct!!!!
Wanted to try this recipe but didn’t have cabbage, carrots or fresh ginger. Along with the broccoli I added a red, yellow and green bell pepper. I also used lite soy sauce and only 1/2 tsp of Sriracha as I am a wimp with heat. I thought it had a very nice flavor and want to make again using fresh ginger and the other veggies. I put 2 servings in the freezer for a work lunch…hope they come out ok. Thanks!
Froze beautifully! Thanks for the recipe!
Made this tonight for me and my boyfriend, and it was great. Except according to him I used “too much srirachi”, is that such a thing? I’ve never heard those three words in that order before!! I didn’t find it salty and in fact used some kosher salt to season the chicken (I seasoned the chicken before making the sauce and had that panic moment of “oh crap, this is gonna be so salty…”) but it was really good. It’s been moved into our rotation (plus pretty much every other BB recipe I’ve tried…)
You are correct. There is no such thing as too much sriracha. ;-)
I have made this tons of times — It’s such a great blank canvas. Have half a bag of leftover broccoli slaw and half a head of cabbage and a random onion half in the fridge? make this! I do use low sodium soy sauce for the sauce so I haven’t had a problem with it being too salty. I also occasionally sub in udon noodles or pad thai noodles depending on what I have on hand. Delicious!
I thought this was far too salty as well and the seasoning packets were thrown out. My family couldn’t even eat it. My guess is it would have been better with less sauce or low sodium soy sauce.