I got an email from Megan last week asking if I could recreate her favorite frozen noodle bowls from Costco. There isn’t a Costco in New Orleans (yet), so I wasn’t familiar with that particular item, but I’ve been in the mood for a noodle bowl anyway. So, I decided to give it a shot. The result was a super fast, easy, and tasty Teriyaki Noodle Bowl! Yum!
I usually prefer fresh vegetables to frozen, but sometimes when I want a small amount of a lot of different vegetables, it just makes sense to buy a frozen mix, otherwise I’ll have vegetables coming out my ears. The frozen veggies do the job, but they tend to be much softer than fresh when used in stir fries. So, keep that in mind when making your decision.
Megan’s main concern with her store bought noodle bowl was the amount of salt and sugar they contained. Teriyaki sauce is pretty much made up of salt and sugar, so you can’t really get away from that, but at least when you make it yourself you know exactly what’s in there and chances are that it’s still less salt and sugar than the store bought sauce. You can experiment with the recipe and tweak the ingredients to match your palate and dietary needs.
I fully intended to make this with pineapple, but when I got home from the store I discovered that I accidentally bought pineapple in heavy syrup and that doesn’t work. If you want to use pineapple, here’s how: buy an 8oz. can of pineapple chunks in juice, drain the juice and use it in place of the water in the teriyaki sauce. Add the pineapple chunks to the vegetables when you stir fry them and you’re done. Easy :)
…And of course you could always add chicken, pork, or tofu if you want extra protein!
Teriyaki Noodle Bowls
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Teriyaki Noodle Bowls
Servings 4Ingredients
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.39)
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar ($0.23)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil ($0.05)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 2 inches fresh ginger, grated ($0.21)
- pinch red pepper flakes, optional ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.04)
- 2 Tbsp water ($0.00)
Noodles & Vegetables
- 1 lb. frozen stir fry vegetables ($1.57)
- 8 oz. buckwheat soba noodles ($3.69)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.02)
Instructions
- Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, toasted sesame oil, red pepper flakes, corn starch, and water to a bowl. Peel the ginger and then grate it straight into the bowl using a small holed cheese grater. If you don’t have a grater, you can mince the ginger. Mince the garlic and add it to the bowl as well. Stir to combine the ingredients.
- Bring a medium pot of water up to a boil over high heat, add the noodles, and then continue to boil for 5-6 minutes, or until the noodles are tender. Drain the noodles in a colander.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the frozen vegetables. Stir and cook for only about 2 minutes, just to slightly heat the vegetables. Briefly stir the teriyaki sauce and then pour it into the skillet. Allow it to come up to a simmer, at which point it will thicken. The vegetables will finish heating through as this happens. Turn the heat off once the sauce is hot and thick.
- Add the drained noodles to the skillet and stir until they are coated in the sauce. Divide the noodles between four bowls and then spoon any leftover vegetables from the skillet on top. Enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
Homemade teriyaki sauce is incredibly easy to make. Just stir together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, cornstarch, and water. Grate the ginger and mince the garlic. Stir them into the sauce. (Note: this picture was before I stirred in the cornstarch. It will have a slightly milky/opaque color once the cornstarch is added).
If you’ve never worked with ginger, it’s very simple. You can break off a knob the size you need at the store (just like dividing a bunch of bananas to get just a few – it’s okay). Use a vegetable peeler or the side of a spoon to scrape off the skin, then use a small holed cheese grater to grate the ginger straight into the bowl (so all the juice make it into the sauce). If you don’t have a cheese grater, you can mince the ginger.
I like to keep these three things in my pantry at all times. So many different Asian sauces can be made with this trifecta. All three are extremely shelf stable and can usually be found in major grocery stores. The soy sauce and vinegar are usually very inexpensive and, while the sesame oil may be a little pricier, you only use a few drops at a time.
I used buckwheat soba noodles to up the nutritional value of this dish, but you can use a different type of noodle if you’d like. I definitely could have gotten a better price on the noodles if I had gone to a different store, but I paid for convenience in this case. I just bought a bag of generic stir fry vegetables and they did the trick.
Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package (boil 5-6 minutes) and then drain them in a colander.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add the vegetables and cook for just one to two minutes. Frozen vegetables can be tricky because you want them to heat through without over cooking. Once the vegetables have cooked for just a short minute or two, give your teriyaki sauce a quick stir (to re-suspend the cornstarch) and then pour it into the skillet. Allow the sauce to come up to a simmer.
Once the sauce reaches a simmer, that’s when the cornstarch magic happens. The sauce will turn from a milky brown color to a shiny, clear, thick sauce. Taste the sauce to see if you want more soy sauce. If you want a more potent dish, you can just stir in an extra tablespoon of soy sauce. Remember, once the noodles are added the sauce will be spread more thin, so you want it to taste a little on the strong side.
Finally, add the drained noodles and stir them in until they are well coated in sauce. In my experience, it’s pretty impossible to stir chunks of vegetables (or anything else) into long thin noodles like spaghetti. So, I just stirred until the noodles were coated and then divided the noodles between my four dishes and spooned the rest of the vegetables over top.
I’m going to experiment with freezing one of these bowls to see how it survives the freeze/reheat cycle. I’ll update the post tomorrow or the day after to let you know how they hold up!
I like many of the recipes on this site, but this one is not great.
Could I substitute the red pepper flakes with powdered paprika (either sweet or hot)? Or is there a fundamental difference apart from texture?
You could try subbing with some hot paprika, but it’s hard to imagine how much it might change things without actually testing it. I don’t think texture would be an issue, though. :)
So I’m not a huge teriyaki fan, but I was looking for a meat free meal so I decided to give this a shot… And didn’t care for it lol. However, my husband, who does like teriyaki, said it was very good “after he added some meat to it” so I gave 4 stars on his behalf, and 1 extra from me because it was such a ridiculously easy meal to prepare.
I used regular white vinegar and powdered ginger and garlic, yet these still turned out delicious! Great with gluten free noodles and chicken too:)
Could I use the noodles that come in the Top Ramen package for this recipe? Or would you recommend whole wheat spaghetti instead?
Yes that would be good in a pinch!
If I wanted to use store-bought teriyaki sauce instead of making my own, how much would I need to use?
I would suggest about 1/2 cup of store bought sauce for 4 servings.
I made these for dinner for my roommates and I and ran into a couple issues. 1.) The recipe had to much vegetables and they quickly overpowered the dish. 2.) I don’t know what happened (it could have been user error) but I didn’t have enough sauce to cover up the noodles, in the future I would use 1.5x the measurements called for here. Otherwise it was super good and easy to make. I used the crispy tofu recipe from somewhere else on this site, and it was an excellent addition.
I added about 2 tablespoons of honey to my sauce and it made it way better then without the honey so I suggest you try
Nope., not a fan, and I really like most Asian dishes as a whole!! My daughter (23) gave it an 8 out of 10. I gave it a 4. I will try a different kind of noodle and try a version of it again. In all honesty, I scoured my grocery store for “toasted” sesame oil, but there was none to be found. I went with just sesame oil. I don’t think that was the problem, however.
Using regular sesame oil instead of toasted sesame oil will definitely make a big difference. Toasted sesame oil has a super strong, nutty flavor. It’s a bummer that your grocery doesn’t carry it! :(
My husband is allergic to sesame — is there something else I can substitute the sesame oil with, or should I just leave it out?
I would leave it out, although the sauce won’t have quite as much depth.
Would this work without sesame oil? Forgot to get it
I feel like the sesame oil really adds a lot of flavor and it would be lacking without it.
Just made this and it is hands down my favorite asian noodle recipe on budget bytes! I wasn’t feeling the pad thai, this teriyaki noodle bowl is much more my style! YUM!!
I had some leftover sushi rice from the sushi bowls recipe and I thought some teriyaki style meat would be great to go with it. So I used the recipe for this sauce to make teriyaki pork and it turned out amazing! I just added a bit more of water to thin the sauce at the end.
To make the teriyaki pork, I pan seared two pork chops until browned. Took them out of the pan, turned heat down and added the sauce; sliced the pork and added it back to the pan and cooked just long enough until no pink color was visible. Served it over the rice with some sesame seeds.
Husband absolutely loved it.
Great recipe. Thank you for sharing.
blargh?
So, how did it freeze? Did you end up trying it out?
Also, my family LOVED this recipe! It was way better than take-out, and I honestly never believe people when they say that.
Hi beth! Can you use all purpose flour instead of corn starch?
I wouldn’t suggest it. Although they both have thickening power, they produce very different textures and flavors once the sauce is thickened.
My family didn’t care for the sauce. It was an easy dish to make, we just didn’t find it that tasty. On to the next recipe!
I love this with zoodles!
How did the noodles hold up to being frozen?
Add this recipe to the list of favorites from BB. We used thin spaghetti, a whole bag of frozen stir fry mix then added more frozen broccoli. We also sliced up grilled boneless pork for the noodle bowls to make it more filling. Next time I will make a little bit more sauce since we like things saucier, but this was a great, easy and quick recipe! Leftovers were delicious as well.
Excellent recipe! I used organic black bean spaghetti as a sub for soba noodles. So tasty and easy! Another keeper!
This was amazing! Lovely flavor and really simple. Think we will use your regular amt. (not extra 1 tbsp) of soy sauce next time though. Used 1 lb. of frozen veg and cooked bejeebers out of it (we like really cooked veg:) and used the whole thing for 2 people. Added some canned mung bean sprouts too. Definitely a keeper!
This was awesome! We used a 1 lb bag of mixed frozen veg and cooked it way down and used for 2 servings. Didn’t even need the extra soy sauce. Used regular old gluten-free spaghetti. Worked great. Also added some canned mung bean sprouts to it. Thanks!
Do you think I can make this with udon noodles?
Hey! This looks delicious but just wondering can you use apple cinder vinegar instead of the rice? will It Make a huge difference?Thanks In advanced!!
Apple cider vinegar is quite a bit stronger and has a different flavor. I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but I think my first instinct would be to at least reduce the amount a little.
Thank you so much for the quick reply!! I really wanted to make this today. I’ll take ur advice then and use less!!
SO GOOD. Tastes just like those Costco bowls, I know which exact ones she is referring to. I put less than 2 inches in ginger in my recipe and it was still a little too strong in the ginger department for my liking. Will definitely make again. :D
I guess it all depends because we thought it could have used a little more! Not sure if right for others. Thanks.
My kids ate vegis! Was really good.
It’s a fast, easy recipe, though I recommend tweaking the sauce a bit. Lighten up on the vinegar, double down on the red pepper flakes, and throw in the optional extra tbsp of soy sauce. And be careful with the soba noodles – they’re atrociously easy to overcook.
I came across your blog (and this recipe specifically) by accident but I am so glad that I did! I even recently “liked” your facebook page so I could get updates with new recipes in my newsfeed.
I tried this recipe recently and absolutely loved it! Unfortunately, I had to use regular pasta noodles as I live in a small town area without easy access to specific Asian cooking ingredients. I also changed some of the included vegetables to match my personal tastes, but I followed everything else as instructed and it turned out quite well. I will definitely be making this again and look forward to trying some of your other recipes!
Thanks!
Hey all! I saw a bunch of people talking about Ginger and I had this question too so here is some helpful info
there is powdered ginger! But ratios are strange
Every 1 inch of ginger makes 4 teaspoons of (roughly) and the ‘strength’ of powder is much more potent so it needs a 4:1 ratio, for every 4 teaspoons of fresh you need 1 teaspoon of dry (spice version)
so this recipe needs 2 teaspoons of the dry ginger if you’re using that :)
I just made this for my family and it was a hit. I’ve tried several of your recipes (Oven Fajitas, Sesame Chicken, Naan bread to name a few) and they’ve all been top-notch. I appreciate that you’ve tested your recipes before posting! I feel like I can try your recipes without worrying about a disaster, or tasteless mess. Well done!
I made this last night but used the rice noodles instead, the homemade Teriyaki Sauce was amazing and so easy to make!!! I had everything for this right at home which was very nice. Will do it again!
THANK YOU! I made this for my sons tonight …. doubled the recipe and added chicken…. checking and hoping there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow… lol. (forgot to rate in my 1st comment)
This recipe was a big hit! No leftovers :( While browsing recipes I notices the sesame chicken used the same ingredients, so I made both and combined the chicken with the noodles and vegetables. Fabulous, wouldn’t change a thing.
This recipe saved our dinner the other night. It’s so easy to make. We used whole wheat thin spaghetti, since it was all we had on hand and it was still pretty good.
We did have all the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce which is the best part of this recipe.
We all loved this. Thank you for yet another 5 star recipe :D
this was so good! I threw in chicken and used a buckwheat soba that ended up a lot darker than yours once cooked, but had great flavor. Even the two year old ate it and liked it — that is SO rare here! :)
I really like this sauce, though I had to reduce the ginger quite a bit. I like to use it as stir fry sauce with vegetables and serve it over rice.
Another hit recipe! Love the blog and how easy you make it.
WOW. When I sat down to eat this, I (of course) brought out my bottle of sriracha to the table–but I didn’t even use it, that’s how awesome this was! (Addicts like me will understand that this is the highest compliment I can give).
I did add some marinated tofu (which was pre-cooked) in along with the veggies and I thought that worked really well. Thanks for the great recipe!
This was the first recipe I’ve tried from your site, and I was awesome! I didn’t have noodles, so subbed rice instead and it was seriously easy and delicious. Can’t wait to try more!
If you need ginger and don’t use it a lot, I keep it frozen and grate it frozen on a microplane and put it in what ever I need it in. Works perfectly and no waste.
We made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS! I made the water/pineapple substitution, added some chicken, and threw in a dash of sriracha. We only had frozen pea pods but I cannot tell you the number of times my husband said it was really good. And it was so cheap and easy! We ate it with some of your egg rolls that I had frozen from 2 nights ago. Perfect dinner (and lunch for tomorrow)!
I have all of the ingredients except for the ginger — do you think thats a major deal-breaker for this dish? Love the blog!! thanks xoxo
Yes, unfortunately ginger is a major player in the flavor profile. It gives it a unique zing and without it, it might just taste like sweet soy sauce :)
Thanks Beth :)!!!!!Can’t wait to try!!!
I don’t have any rice vinegar..will regular vinegar do just as well?
Rice vinegar has a much lighter flavor than regular (white) vinegar. The white vinegar will probably be too strong. You can try adding less, but it will definitely change the flavor.
I made the recipe exactly as you said except for the rice vinegar, (which I will deff pick up next time I go into town) and it came out delicious! It was light but filling at the same time. Half as salty as store or restaurant bought Teriyaki bowls and twice as healthy, I’m sure. I added grilled chicken for a little protein and some cashews..just cause I like cashews lol It was a great hit, thanks so much for sharing, this will deff be a staple in my household! : )
I did make this for dinner last week after I picked up the fresh ginger.
I cooked and drained the noodles and returned the pot to the stove. Heated up some oil and stir fried a pound of shrimp. Added the frozen veggies-I used Wegman’s brand Far East Stir Fry Vegetables with broccoli, water chestnuts, red pepper, sugar snap peas, green beans and carrots. Made the sauce with pineapple juice instead of just water and finished the recipe as directed above.
WOW! What a winner. I’m going to make sure I have these ingredients at home at all times. What a quick delicious dinner ( and lunch for the next day).
I just made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I added chicken to it for an extra protein boost and it went super well. The sauce was a good flavor/consistency with just the 2tbsp of soy sauce but I might try it with more next time. Thanks!
P.S. I’m reposting because there must have been a glitch with the rating system. 5 stars!
Made this for dinner tonight, and it was super easy and tasty. We topped it with sliced grilled chicken. Thanks for the recipe!
Something is amiss… The last photo shows a bottle of Sriracha in the background. Are you holding out a “secret ingredient” on us?
;)
Hahahhaha that’s just my subliminal message that everything should be topped with sriracha! ;)
LOL! I totally agree! My son just sent me a bottle of Sriracha from CA. I’ve been texting my new uses daily because I can’t get enough of this heavenly concoction! I just discovered your site when I was looking for a crockpot white bean soup recipe. After bookmarking a gazillion recipes, I saw the “recipes to email” button. Love your site almost as much as the Sriracha! ;)
This was amazing!!! Loved it I didn’t have real ginger so I sub with ground ginger still delicious! Thx
The teriyaki sauce sounds great! I like that you can customize the flavor to suit your tastes. I don’t really like the store bought kind, it’s way to salty.
How did the bowls hold up after being frozen?
They were really great! They barely changed at all in texture after freezing and reheating.
As a broke college vegetarian with a passion for good food and exerting minimal effort, this was spot on. I used whole wheat noodles and store-bought teriyaki sauce (cringe, I know) and it was excellent and filling. Thanks!
Hey, you do what you can do! Maybe someday in the future you’ll get to try to make your own teriyaki, but it’s okay if you don’t every time :)
SOOOO good. Delicious, easy, and best of all, fast!
JUST made this and omg I love it. I added a tiny bit of siracha and oyster sauce to it as well. I’m going to make this all the time now!
This was fun and fast and easy in my ventures in cooking. I also keep frozen veggies on hand, although I didn’t have the “stir fry” variety; mixed worked fine, though without broccoli. I have to admit, however, that I wasn’t crazy about the teriyaki taste. Was it too sweet? Not sure. In any case I’m always looking for things to have with soba. I buy the buckwheat variety at a Japanese market. With the teriyaki noodles tonight, I had grilled eel that I had also got at the Japanese market.
Thank you so much, I had a ton of veggies leftover from my sister-in-law’s birthday party and wasn’t sure what to do with them, now I know :)
Another great recipe! I love how many great ideas I get from your site for quick dinners! I am doubling some of them as I feed 4 every night and it works out great!
This sounds delicious…just added ginger to this weeks shopping list…it’s the only ingredient I’m missing. When I need small amounts of many vegetables, I hit the salad bar at my favorite grocery store. Everything is already cleaned and prepped and I’m not stuck with a lot of veg to clean and store.
would spaghetti work in place of the soba noodles?
Yep, that should work well.
Oh my gosh! Just made how totally wonderful and easy. You are the BEST! Thanks for sharing keep them coming and I will keep trying.
This sounds yummy! I am always looking for ways to make homemade meals quickly and am big on making homemade mixes to speed up dinner prep on a busy weeknight. For example, I made up several batches of your oven fajita spice blends so that I can quickly just toss together the meat and veggies. I’m wondering if I could similarly make up a few batches of the sauce to freeze. I have a small freezer, so this would be preferable to freezing the entire dish. Any thoughts on whether this will work?
Love all your recipes, and so does my family!
Freezing the teriyaki sauce should be fine. Cornstarch thickened sauces usually don’t freeze well, but if you freeze the sauce just after mixing it up and before the sauce has been heated (to the point of thickening) it shouldn’t matter. It’s just that once the cornstarch gel forms, it can break down from the freezing process. Or, you can just make the sauce without the cornstarch, freeze it, and then add the cornstarch when you’re about to use it (after thawing).
Beth, thank you. You are amazing!
Vegan vegan vegan! I love this animal-free recipes :)
Oh, I never thought of making my own teriyaki sauce! Most teriyaki is too sweet for me, nice to know I can control that if I make it myself.
yum! I am lovin’ your recipes!
I just made this. The sauce was so good – it had the right amount of salty tanginess and wasn’t too sweet like a lot of the store bought teriyaki sauces I’ve tried. Pineapple would be awesome with it.
That looks yummy!
I’m ridiculously excited about Costco finally coming to New Orleans. Now if we could just get a Trader Joe’s too…
This looks delicious! We make our stir fry with ramen noodles. If I am not concerned about sodium I will use the flavor packet on the veggies but usually we just toss it out.