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Hermit Hill
Where can you get presteamed Yakisoba noodles? I live in rural Vermont.
betteirene
OMG who knew that the secret ingredient to yakisoba is good old L&P Worcestershire? I didn't have some of the ingredients on hand (of course), but I had substitutions that were close enough:refrigerated noodles for the frozen; button mushrooms for the shiitake; green cabbage for the kale; and a little extra soy sauce for the oyster sauce.I live in the Pacific Northwest, where there are almost as many soba diners as there are Starbucks. This sauce is the real deal. No more takeout for us!
Stewart In Houston
I have found a mushroom based Oyster sauce in our local Asian Market. I have to use it for Kosher issues but it works fine. If you don't want instant gratification it is available on Amazon. Wan Ja Shan Vegetarian Mushroom Oyster Sauce.https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=wan+ja+shan+vegetarian+mushroom+oyster+sauce&crid=WLFPLRWYJMM0&sprefix=wan+ja+shan%2Caps%2C92&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_6_11
Juliet Waters
An easy hack for the kind of Ramen noodles that would work well in this. Cook spaghetti in water with 1 tablespoon of baking soda per quart. Transforms the noodles into that more flavorful and yellow type of noodle.
Alex
Delicious recipe, but I used dried packaged yakisoba noodles. Not all NYT cooking readers actually live in NYC, where home chefs have relatively easy access to rare and exotic ingredients.
Brian
For Hermit Hill & others: it's not essential to get presteamed frozen noodles if you can't find them. Just get a package of dried soba noodles, cook them according to the directions on the package, and then proceed with this recipe. What's key in this recipe is to dry-cook the noodles first. You can also make Japanese noodle dishes with udon noodles instead, which are thicker and chewier. Udon is made only with wheat flour; soba is made with wheat and buckwheat, which has a nice nutty taste.
Sumie Takashima
The veggies need to be sautéed evenly- these bell peppers look too big and undercooked. I worry that the main flavor you will taste in this recipe is bell pepper. Traditionally bell pepper (& kale- but kale is neutral in flavor) is not in yakisoba- cabbage is key and not even mentioned here! Oyster sauce, ketchup AND sugar? Too sweet - I would eliminate the oyster sauce. Maybe the recipe should be "Japanese inspired".
Hope
There is a vegetarian oyster sauce, nowadays labeled Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce. It's mushroom-based. A popular widely-available brand is Lee Kum Kee.
Tish
My husband, who had lived for a decade in Japan and rarely criticized my cooking, commented that red peppers did not belong in yakisoba and, although I was initially offended, I came to agree. It is lacking in cabbage (I prefer Napa) and bean sprouts; the sauce is too sweet and does not need ketchup
Hermit Hill
Where can you get presteamed yokisoba noodles?
Nami
I saw a few people asking where to get yakisoba noodles or substitutions so I thought I would chime in since my Japanese family didn't have access to an Asian store in South Carolina in the 90's. My mom in our years living in rural South Carolina would just take regular ramen noodles (like maruchan or sapporo) and just boil the noodles for a minute or two less than the packaged directions and rinse them under cold water and then make her prized yakisoba with bits of chicken.
Caroline
Recipe was good but the ketchup flavour was too strong- I’d consider not using it or reducing in the future
KJC
@michelle. Try rice noodles, 'glass' noodles or even buckwheat soba noodles*. *Buckwheat flour is actually gluten free but do check the buckwheat soba noodle packaging because some have wheat flour in them.
Melissa
This was delicious although the 30 minute cook time was unrealistic. I used half the sugar and reduced ketchup, and I thought the sauce was perfect. I could not find yakisoba pre-steamed, so I bought dry soba noodles instead. I bought two 8oz packages. I'm glad I did, because I tried pan frying them first like recipe said, they turned to mush. So I prerinsed the last package, boiled for 3 minutes, stirred in light oil, added and mixed into the pan at the end, and that worked much better
Anne
This was delicious but either I'm the world's slowest chopper, or the person who decided this takes 30 minutes has knife skills I could only dream of. I would say it took me at least 30 minutes to do all the prep for this recipe. Plus cooking time we're looking at something that sits more in the 45min-1hour range.
JG
For the sauce, I didn’t have oyster sauce due to fish allergy. Instead I added 2 extra tablespoons ketchup and a tablespoon of brown sugar. Also added a tablespoon of sriracha since we like spice. Extra ginger. I cooked some velveted chicken first and set aside. Added more veggies (didn’t have mushrooms but added snap peas, celery, and shredded cabbage). Used yakisoba noodles from fridge section of Asian market. Delicious.
Meera
Made this twice now- without ketchup and lesser sugar and mushroom sauce instead of oyster sauce and cabbage instead of kale. Family loves it.
ES
Thought the sauce was a bit sweet and sticky, otherwise the recipe was straightforward.
RoRo
Would tonkatsu sauce work in this instead?
Akira
Yes, it's common to do that here in Japan.
shannon
Add white pepper and up the ginger
Jim C.
Love this dish! I cheated and bought Yakisoba sauce at the international market near me. That was the most time consuming part of the recipe the first time I made it. Stretched some frozen Yakisoba noodles with a packet of thick Koren ramen. In a later variation, I simply added some thin slices of bottom round roast cut into strips I had made for deli slices via Sous Vide. Added at the end. This is a delicious family favorite now.
Sylvia
This was so good. The only changes I made were to double the yakisoba noodles (because didn't want a partial package of noodles left over) and subbed spinach for the kale. I want to make this again soon.
modifications
Bag of cabbage from Trader Joe’sNo bell pepperThird a bag of frozen spinachDoubled sauceNext time do three or four ramen noodlesBaby Bella mushrooms
Mary T
So good, followed recipe exactly except had to use Ka-Me Soba Stir Fry Noodles. Family loved it and I will definitely be adding it to the rotation!
SarahT
This was delicious and the presentation colorful. I couldn’t find baby kale, and had some Brussels sprouts that needed using, so I sliced them very thinly and added with the onions, peppers and carrots. The store also didn’t have shiitakes so had to settle for baby bellas. I live in the country and often have to improvise. This recipe is very forgiving in that way. I made the sauce as written without the extra sugar and thought it was fabulous! Yum!
Mel
I accidentally discovered at a small local store Ka-Me noodles and these are presteamed not frozen noodles noodles.i In recipes you just stir-fry them.Generally you stir-fry noodles then first and then make the veggies and add the sauce. I used this in the Mushroom pasta stir-fry so no boiling spaghetti and the noodles do not stick to the pan
Name Yummy!,
Can use 4oz of spinach
AZ Cook
I love this recipe! Its very versatile. I have used all kinds of different noodles, veggies, proteins and its delicious everytime!
Meredith
Followed sauce recipe (but only 1.5 tsp sugar) but used dried wheat noodles because that’s what I had. Cooked veg first then added sauce and noods. Pretty good flavor.
PatC
This is the best Yakisoba recipe I’ve come across. Be sure to measure the sauce proportions carefully to balance the flavor—sauce is the key to these noodle recipes. I added chicken thighs to give it more heft and a handful of shredded cabbage for texture.
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