Yakisoba/yakiudon

This dish from JapanEasy consists of two stir-fried noodle dishes; yakiudon is of course made with udon, but confusingly enough, yakisoba is not made with soba.

Soba is actually an old Japanese collective term for noodles, so to speak ‘standard noodles’. Yakisoba is in fact made with Chinese egg noodles or ramen; soba noodles are so fragile that they are not suitable for stir-frying. So choose egg noodles or udon, depending on your preference.

How to make Yakisoba

1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat and stir-fry the bacon pieces until lightly browned. Add the onions and carrot and fry for a few minutes until the onions begin to colour.

2. Add the cabbage, bean sprouts and mushrooms. Fry for a few minutes until the bean sprouts begin to wilt, then add the sesame oil, dashi powder, pepper, soy sauce, tonkatsu or Worcestershire sauce, mirin and sake. Reduce the liquid to a thin syrup.

3. Add the noodles, ginger and sesame seeds. Heat the noodles for a few minutes so that they partially absorb the sauce, then spoon them into bowls. Top with the nori and spring onions, mayonnaise and katsuobushi, if using.

Title: JapanEasy
Author: Tim Anderson
Publisher: Spectrum
Price: €24,99
Publication date: 17 August

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