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. ;)
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
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).
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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.
Omg! I loved this recipe.. I used shrimp and added mushrooms and used already shredded cabbage for convience. I didn’t find it too sweet just anice balance of hot and savory. This is tasty and I will make this again!
I have found that for a low-spoons or timesaving switchup, get a bag of cole slaw shred for your veg. This is wonderful, and my husband loves it when it’s a bit of a chore to get him to eat vegetables sometimes.
A little sweet for me…I would probably omit the ketchup or sugar all together. But i liked the nutty taste of the seasame oil.
I made this last night and think I probably put a little too much ketchup in there. so, beware. If I make this again it will probably be with the dragon noodles sauce instead. overall: healthy, quick, easy but not my favorite flavor.
I made this without cabbage or broccoli (thought we had some but we didn’t), doubled the chicken (so it was more of a “stir steam” than a stir fry”, and it was still delicious. I can’t wait to make this recipe again with the correct ingredients!
Just curious- is yakisoba typically made from ramen noodles?
I just did a quick Google search for that info and it looks like yakisoba is its own type of noodle, but they are made with wheat so ramen is probably the closest you’ll find in most American grocery stores.
Freash Yakisoba noodles can be found in the produce section of most supermarkets.
In what you called the “original photos” the noodles do not look like ramen. I would prefer this dish with the thicker noodles that seem to be in those photos. I love the texture of udon noodles, the thicker, chewy bite is yummy. So. I would cook them separately and then add them towards the end of the cooking. Also, since we no longer eat animal products, I would eliminate the chicken. We have eaten commercial prepared yakisoba that we found at Costo. It’s good for when you just want a bowl of mildly spice noodles but there are not nearly enough vegetables for us. Oh…I am craving some of the Costco yakisoba right now! I will make your recipe instead1
The noodles in both the old/original photos and the newer photos are the same basic cheap ramen noodles. You can use whatever type of noodles you like best, though. :)
Would it be just as good with fried tofu? Would you alter anything other than the protein to accommodate that change?
I think this would be great with fried tofu! And no, I wouldn’t change anything else. :)
We tried this for the first time tonight! My husband absolutely loved it! I prefer to cook the veggies longer for the 10 minutes and they were great. He and I both agreed that maybe a little more carrots would have been nice. Also, we did do the recommended half of the tablespoon of sriracha that someone had mentioned. It was still incredibly flavorful! A few questions Beth. Could we use frozen broccoli? Also would it be terrible to use low sodium soy sauce? Would adding snap peas be ok? I really appreciate it! My husband and I enjoy cooking from your sites recipes!!
Fresh broccoli and snap peas would be great. :) As for the low sodium soy sauce, it wouldn’t be terrible but whether or not it is good is probably just a matter of personal preference. :)
My husband AKA picky eater. Actually liked this.
Prep time was about average.
This recipe is pretty good which is saying something since I’ve had authentic yakisoba in Japan before. There were only some miner changes that I made. First, I left out the broccoli because never seen it in yakisoba in Japan. I also substituted oyster sauce for the worcestershire sauce (I live in Taiwan and it’s hard to find) and last I added some scrambled eggs since that’s how I always get in Japan. I have also seen it with a sunny side up egg. Anyway very tasty.
Looks delicious! Planning on making it soon. Eager to taste it. Great job on photographing your chicken yakisoba! Haven’t rated it yet, but it looks like a 5 star dish!
I made this recipe without broccoli and used green pepper. We absolutely loved it. It will be a family favorite. I am going to forward it to my daughters who need budget friendly meals. This sauce is so much cheaper and better than the store-bought bottles of stir fry sauce. We cook a lot of stir fry and will be using this sauce frequently.
I made this exactly as posted. My husband and son loved it…keeper!
I feel like I spent 30 minutes prepping this so it wasn’t as quick as I’d thought. Still, it was pretty tasty. I used the whole head of cabbage (it was a small head) and it was a VERY FULL pan but fortunately everything still fit. I made a little extra sauce, maybe half again as much. My toddler liked it. She particularly liked the springy noodles and had fun eating tonight. Thanks for another great recipe!