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.
I dont know where this originally came from, but i made this 2 nights ago because I saw it on Pinterest (not a budget bites pin), and it was the WORST yakisoba ive ever tasted. No one in my family would even eat it. WAY too much worcestire flavor. It was just horrible!
Same here! Saw it on Pinterest and coulnd’t wait to try it. WAY too much Worestire sauce. 1/4 of a cup is a lot. I double checked several times before adding it. My family wouldn’t eat it and it ended up in the trash. I powered through mine but now my stomach isn’t happy :( Next time, cutting the Worestire sauce down to a table spoon or so. Everything else turned out fine, so we’ll see.
This sounds great. Will try it with shrimp and see how it is. Thanks.
This was a second recipe I found on your blog to try. And a second hit! Whole family loved it.
Definitely will be trying more of what you make. Our taste preferences must be aligned. My personal theory is that if I try a blog recipe the first time and it just didn’t make the mark that my mind tested and expected prior to making it, another recipe won’t be tried again from that blog. Your recipes/blog is not that case.
Excellent rendition with fresh flavor and no cardboard! Thank you!
I just was wondering if anyone knows if this recipe freezes well or not?
We made this last night and we loved it! Thank you for all of your WONDERFUL recipes!
I made this the other night and have now been elevated to the status of goddess in my husbands eyes. Wow! Every one of your recipes that I make seems to hit it out of the park. The sauce, omg, the sauce, yumm. Absolutely AMAZING! My husband loves cabbage, broccoli and ramen noodles. It was a perfect fit.
I made this the other night and have now been elevated to the status of goddess in my husbands eyes. Wow! Every one of your recipes that I make seems to hit it out of the park. The sauce, omg, the sauce, yumm. Absolutely AMAZING!
Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!
SO delicious. My boyfriend and I went back for second helpings. It will definitely be a staple in our diets!
I made this tonight and I just wanted to thank you. It was a big hit and so quick and easy. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It will be in heavy rotation in my house. :)
This was pretty good. I think next time I will put a little sauce in with the chicken and veggies while they cook so that the chicken especially will have a little more flavor, I will also probably cut down a little on the ginger (personal preference). I did add some garlic and I didn’t have any cabbage so I sliced some zucchini thin with my mandoline and used that (they were kind of like noodles that way) I also added some mushrooms and water chestnuts (because my husband LOVES water chestnuts so I’m always looking for a place to toss them in). This will find it’s way into our regular rotation, however I will continue to tweak it to our family’s tastes.
I loved the idea of this meal,it was super easy and cheap to make (I added more veggies, used low sodium soy sauce, and reduced the sriracha). It looked great when I served it up…. But my family absolutely hated it, they wouldn’t even finish it. It was way, way too salty. The Worcestershire is very strongly scented, the kids complained about the smell burning their noses.
While this meal was a total fail in my house, I think it would be a hit if I changed the sauce. Will definitely try again sometime.
I love your site and your fabulous recipes. My teenage son will be planning and cooking a lot of dinners for us this year and found several on your site that excited him. Thank you for listing the prices and for sharing a variety of great dishes!
I LOVED this recipe. So, did the kids and my husband. I made a separate dish for the vegetarians in the house, but made the regular one for the rest of us (typically in this house — a restaurant…’nuff about that! :-)
Thanks for another great recipe — and I, of course, covered it with the “rooster” sauce. ;-)
Made this for dinner tonight, subbed the broc for mung beans. I bought yaki soba noodles instead of using the top ramen ones. Great meal. We hardly had any left over. found your link on pinterest!