Snack-Time Yakisoba
おやつ焼きそば · Oyatsu Yakisoba
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Yakisoba is Japan's much-loved stir-fried noodle dish, the one you smell sizzling at every summer festival stall. In preschool kitchens we also make a lighter, less salty version for the afternoon snack, so the children get something savory and filling between lunch and dinner. The vegetables are cut small and cooked slowly until soft, which makes them easy for little mouths to manage, and the noodles are rinsed and loosened first so everything mixes together evenly without clumping.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 52.5 gsteamed Chinese-style noodles (yakisoba noodles)Pre-steamed wheat noodles sold in refrigerated packs for yakisoba; they only need a quick stir-fry. Substitute: Fresh ramen or chow mein noodles.
- 15 gthinly sliced pork (komagire)Small, thin offcuts of pork sold in Japan for quick stir-fries and simmered dishes. Substitute: Thinly sliced pork shoulder or loin cut into bite-size pieces.
- 7.5 gcarrot
- 25.5 gcabbage
- 15 gbean sprouts
Seasonings
- 1.5 gvegetable oil
- 10.5 gchuno sauce (Japanese medium-thick brown sauce)A sweet, tangy, fruit-and-vegetable-based brown sauce that sits between thin Worcestershire and thick tonkatsu sauce. Substitute: Tonkatsu sauce, or Worcestershire sauce mixed with a little ketchup.
- 0.3 gsalt
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- steamed Chinese-style noodles (yakisoba noodles) (蒸し中華めん)
- Pre-steamed wheat noodles sold in refrigerated packs for yakisoba; they only need a quick stir-fry. Substitute: Fresh ramen or chow mein noodles.
- thinly sliced pork (komagire) (豚こま切れ肉)
- Small, thin offcuts of pork sold in Japan for quick stir-fries and simmered dishes. Substitute: Thinly sliced pork shoulder or loin cut into bite-size pieces.
- chuno sauce (Japanese medium-thick brown sauce) (中濃ソース)
- A sweet, tangy, fruit-and-vegetable-based brown sauce that sits between thin Worcestershire and thick tonkatsu sauce. Substitute: Tonkatsu sauce, or Worcestershire sauce mixed with a little ketchup.
Directions
- 1
Cut the carrot into thin strips about 4 cm long, and cut the cabbage into short, thin rectangles.
- 2
Cut the bean sprouts into 2 cm lengths.
- 3
Cut the pork into pieces 1 to 2 cm wide.
- 4
Cut an X through the bag of yakisoba noodles from the outside, take the noodles out, and rinse them under running water while gently loosening them apart.
- 5
Heat the oil in a pan and stir-fry the carrot and cabbage over medium heat for 5 minutes, then turn the heat to low and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the pork, return to medium heat, and stir-fry, breaking the pork apart, until it changes color.
- 6
Add the bean sprouts and stir-fry over medium heat for 8 minutes. Add the noodles, chuno sauce and salt, and stir-fry over medium heat for 3 minutes so the excess moisture cooks off.
Loosening the noodles under running water beforehand makes them easy to mix in, and because you do not need to add any water later, the finished dish turns out consistently every time.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 150 kcal | 300 kcal | 150 kcal |
| Protein | 6.5 g | 12.9 g | 6.5 g |
| Fat | 3.9 g | 7.8 g | 3.9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 24.5 g | 48.9 g | 24.5 g |
| Fiber | 2.6 g | 5.1 g | 2.6 g |
| Salt equivalent | 1 g | 2.1 g | 1 g |
| Calcium | 25.5 mg | 51 mg | 25.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.6 mg | 1.2 mg | 0.6 mg |
| Potassium | 199.5 mg | 399 mg | 199.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 150 kcal | 6.5 g | 3.9 g | 24.5 g | 2.6 g | 1 g | 25.5 mg | 0.6 mg | 199.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 300 kcal | 12.9 g | 7.8 g | 48.9 g | 5.1 g | 2.1 g | 51 mg | 1.2 mg | 399 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
