Yakisoba (Elementary School Portion)
【小学校】焼きそば · Yakisoba
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese elementary school lunch menu
Yakisoba is Japan's classic stir-fried noodle dish: steamed Chinese-style noodles tossed with pork, cabbage, carrot, bean sprouts, and garlic chives in a tangy sauce, then finished with a sprinkle of aonori seaweed. You will find it sizzling at festival food stalls all over Japan, and it is just as much a favorite on the school lunch menu, where it is one of those dishes that come back to the kitchen with empty plates. The sauce here blends soy sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and oyster sauce with a little sugar, so it is savory and sweet without being too sharp for children. The trick that makes this version special is pan-frying the noodles on their own first, which gives them a lightly toasted flavor and keeps the finished dish from going soggy. This recipe is made without egg or milk.
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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 elementary school, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 117.6 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.
- 17.7 gcarrot
- 111 gcabbage
- 14.4 ggarlic chives (nira)Flat-leaved chives with a mild garlic flavor, sold in bunches at Asian markets. Substitute: Scallion greens with a little minced garlic.
- 74.3 gbean sprouts
- 44.4 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.
- to tasteaonori (green seaweed flakes)Fine, fragrant flakes of dried green seaweed sprinkled over dishes like okonomiyaki and yakisoba. Substitute: Crumbled nori sheets, or omit.
Seasonings
- 2.8 gvegetable oil
- 1.4 gsoy sauce
- 2.8 gketchup
- 17.7 gWorcestershire sauce
- 5.9 goyster sauce
- 1.4 gsugar
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.
- garlic chives (nira) (にら)
- Flat-leaved chives with a mild garlic flavor, sold in bunches at Asian markets. Substitute: Scallion greens with a little minced garlic.
- 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.
- Worcestershire sauce (ウスターソース)
- Read the guide: Bull-Dog Worcestershire Sauce: Japan's Everyday Brown Sauce → Guide: japanese-school-lunch.com/articles/bull-dog-worcestershire-sauce/
- aonori (green seaweed flakes) (あおのり)
- Fine, fragrant flakes of dried green seaweed sprinkled over dishes like okonomiyaki and yakisoba. Substitute: Crumbled nori sheets, or omit.
Directions
- 1
Gently loosen the yakisoba noodles while they are still in the bag, then tip them into a bowl. Add a little oil (not included in the ingredient amounts) and keep loosening the noodles so the oil coats them. Handle them gently, as the noodles will break if you pull them apart too roughly.
- 2
Put the noodles in a frying pan and stir-fry over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes, until the surface is lightly browned in places. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- 3
Mix the sauce ingredients together to make the sauce.
- 4
Cut the carrot into 4 cm matchsticks, the cabbage into short rectangles, the garlic chives into 3 cm lengths, and the pork into 2 cm pieces.
- 5
Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the carrot, cabbage, garlic chives, and bean sprouts, and stir-fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the pork and stir-fry, breaking it up, until it changes color.
- 6
Add the pan-fried noodles and the sauce, and stir-fry over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes, until the liquid has cooked off.
- 7
Serve, and sprinkle with aonori if you like.
Pan-frying the noodles first gives them a lightly toasted, savory flavor and keeps the finished yakisoba from turning watery.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 376.2 kcal | 752.4 kcal | 376.2 kcal |
| Protein | 18.6 g | 37.2 g | 18.6 g |
| Fat | 9.8 g | 19.5 g | 9.8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 59.9 g | 119.7 g | 59.9 g |
| Fiber | 7.7 g | 15.3 g | 7.7 g |
| Salt equivalent | 2.8 g | 5.7 g | 2.8 g |
| Calcium | 90.9 mg | 181.8 mg | 90.9 mg |
| Iron | 1.8 mg | 3.6 mg | 1.8 mg |
| Potassium | 714.8 mg | 1429.5 mg | 714.8 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 376.2 kcal | 18.6 g | 9.8 g | 59.9 g | 7.7 g | 2.8 g | 90.9 mg | 1.8 mg | 714.8 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 752.4 kcal | 37.2 g | 19.5 g | 119.7 g | 15.3 g | 5.7 g | 181.8 mg | 3.6 mg | 1429.5 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese elementary-school 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.
This is the elementary-school portion of Yakisoba (Japanese Stir-Fried Noodles) (larger quantities, same method).
