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.
I discovered this recipe last winter and I make it once a week…everyone still loves it! You can use whatever veg you want, too…the cabbage, onion, and carrot are essential, but you can basically clean out your fridge with it-peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, squash-they’ve all gone in it and been delicious. I usually use a little butter and extra sesame oil in the wok to begin, add garlic to the sauce, and serve with extra sriracha. I could eat this this until I’m an old lady and never get sick of it. Thanks again!
Too salty. Wasn’t a fan. Not sure how to fix the intense flavoring.
I’m going to take a guess that you put the spice packets that were in the noodles into the dish. DON’T DO THAT ! ;~p They go in the trash can.
My bf and I just tried this for lunch this afternoon and it was so delicious! The only changes I made was to double the amount of sesame oil over the noodles, use peanut oil instead of vegetable oil and also thought that julienne carrots would be better than the grated carrots. Soooo tasty! I think I’d prefer the ingredients over rice but my bf really liked the noodles. Thanks for posting such great recipes! :)
This was SO good!!! We must be big eaters bc I only got four servings instead of six. I love stir-fried cabbage!!
This was great! The whole family enjoyed it.
I made this tonight! My whole family loved it!
I made this yesterday but didn’t use some ingredients like sugar, ginger and worcestershire sauce and it is delicious. this is part of my favorite recipes now. Thanks
Thanks so much for this amazing recipe! I made this for dinner last night & the whole family loved it. The mere mention of ramen make my boys jump for joy! I linked you on my lil blog: http://pintheredidthat.blogspot.com/2014/03/chicken-yakisoba.html
I linked to this recipe in my March Real Food Monthly Meal Plan. I can pretend I got take out with this recipe, without emptying my wallet! Yay Chinese!
There is no way the prep time is only 15 minutes! Washing all of those vegetables and peeling them would take at least 30 minutes.
Making this tonight but I don’t have ginger at all fresh nor ground.. Do you think there will be a big taste difference if I don’t use it? Or maybe suggest a sub? I’ve made the oven fajita at least 3times big big hit..usually scared of trying new things but tired of the norm so trying new food.. Why not right =)
You can try making it without, although it will definitely be better with the ginger. There isn’t really anything that’s an appropriate substitute. :)
I decided to buy the ginger and made it tonight instead of the other day.. sooo good. . Hubby said I can make this everynight =) if you have instagram I posted a pix ig name is mon_eka
Not sure if you know or not, but someone has used your photos from this recipe on another website and I’m pretty sure that’s illegal, or at least really uncool.
Also, I knew they were yours as soon as I saw them. Clearly I come here a lot.
http://recipesweet.net/chicken-yakisoba/
Thanks for the heads up! I actually get a lot of traffic from them (they don’t post the entire recipe, so people have to click through to get it), so I’m okay with it. :)
Delish! I added water chestnuts for crunch, and used just one tablespoon of worcestershire sauce and three tablespoons of cooking sherry. Instead of ramen I used thin spaghetti.
I’m Japanese and grew up eating yakisoba for lunch. Now I live in the US and have missed it so much since yakisoba noodles sold at Asian stores in Midwest are too expensive (they are steamed noodles you can usually find in their refrigerator.) I have tried different types of noodles to make my yakisoba closest to what I used to eat and concluded that the best noodle available in the US (and cheap) is thin spaghetti. I have used maruchan brand ramen but it turned out mushy. Someone above said soba and ramen are different but “soba” of yakisoba (made of wheat flour) is different than “soba” with no “yaki” (buckwheat noodle).
Just wanted to say that I made this tonight for dinner with only slight alterations. I marinated the chicken in teriyaki sauce and used ground ginger instead of fresh (couldn’t find it in my store…), and sweet chili sauce instead of the sriyacha (or however it’s spelled) – we don’t like it. It was great! Thanks so much for this, it’s definitely going to be repeated at our house. :-)