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. ;)
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.
Nutrition
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.
This is one of my recipes on rotation. It is absolutely delicious and makes great leftovers. I pretty much follow the recipe except that I cook the ginger and add the vegetables to it instead of the chicken because I have a very picky eater. I pull some chicken and some plain noodles out for her before combining everything and everyone is happy. My son loves it and I crave it if we haven’t had it in a while.
This is delicious as written and has become a staple in our house. My picky kids love it. I make it in a 6 quart enameled Dutch oven because it makes so much food. I also use bagged coleslaw mix and frozen chopped broccoli so it doesn’t take much time or prep at all.
Never leave comments but this is ridiculously salty, the sauce is incredibly overpowering, no clue how people can eat this. And trust, I followed the recipe with the exact measurements, no substitutes, its actually insane how inedible this is. They were not joking when they said they’ve never had authentic yakisoba.
I love BB but this is no bueno. the Worcester sauce gave this a sour taste. I used fresh yakisoba noodles. Next time I will take out the ketchup and Worcester sauce and add some rice vinegar and oyster sauce- a completely different recipe
The Worcester sauce made this too heavy and not good. Both my wife and I didn’t like it. We’re comparing it to dishes we have had an Asian restaurants.
Pretty good “shortcut” using ramen if you don’t have access to real yakisoba noodles! I didn’t realize I was out of ketchup so I substituted hoisin sauce and it worked perfectly.
My whole family lives this recipe! It was perfect! I will be making this again soon.
This was an excellent recipe! I used the full 1 Tbsp of sirachi and it was the perfect amount of heat! My husband and I both loved it!
Use chicken thigh if you want that full flavored chicken thang going on.
I added garlic & onion powder to my chicken since I didn’t have any fresh onion. I also added fresh zucchini for some extra veg. I doubled the sauce recipe and added salt and pepper to my own dish since some people that were eating this are very sensitive to salt & pepper. I thought it was flavorful, easy, and delicious. Yes, you need a big pan, or to work in batches. It is very customizable and easy. I think next time I might work with boneless skinless chicken thighs and I will continue adding zucchini!
It was okay. Those smart folks that used rotisserie chicken probably got a bit of a flavor boost because the chicken breast didn’t add much to the taste or texture.
I’ve made this several times and it’s always a hit. I use rotisserie chicken and add garlic to the sauce! Thanks for a quick easy recipe!
Made this the other night for dinner and we really liked it. I made it in a saute pan and still had a hard time fitting everything in (had to remove some of the cabbage) and that was even without broccoli (I didn’t have that on hand). Wish I had read through the comments first before trying to cook it. I might try making it in a stock pot next time. It might be nice for budgetbytes to update the recipe to include cooking in a larger pot/pan. I’m also intrigued by the idea of replacing the sriracha with chili garlic sauce.
I grew up with a lot of siblings and no money, my mom would make this dish a lot for us and we all loved it. Now im grown and making it for dinner tonight :) I always play around with a recipe a little bit but this meal is cheap, easy, and satisfying!
I love budget byte recipes but this was really disappointing. The chicken was not flavorful. This took A LOT of prep time. And for the amount of work I put in, it was a really unsatisfying dish. Sadly I do not recommend this one.
A lot of recipes might not be a hit as written but they are usually a great base; switch things up or around to how you like it. I always look at the comments for additions or subtractions…or just stay away from. Lots of great meal ideas for busy families on this site. Thanks BB team!
So easy and so good! I used up rotisserie chicken (shredded) and half a red bell pepper in addition to the vegetables. Thanks Beth for the recipe!
PS left out the ketchup (too sweet) and worschester sauce. I always sub the Garlic Chili sauce for Schiracha too. Yum!