Yakisoba With Pork and Cabbage

By Mark Bittman

Published March 2, 2010

  • Evan Sung for The New York Times
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
About 30 minutes
Rating
4(720)
Comments
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Yakisoba is one of those dishes with roots in several countries. Although it’s from Japan, it is Chinese influenced, similar to chow mein and lo mein. However you define it, there are thousands of ways to make yakisoba, many of them good. All contain noodles and vegetables, and usually some protein. The dish is always fried in a pan and finished with a somewhat sweet sauce that is put together quickly, from condiments. All of this provides plenty of leeway.

Featured in: Yakisoba: Leeway Among the Noodles

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • Salt

  • 6 ounces dried Chinese egg noodles, or 10 to 12 ounces fresh

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

  • 3 tablespoons peanut oil

  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger

  • 2 pork chops, thinly sliced

  • 1 small head Napa or savoy cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)

  • 2 carrots, shredded

  • 2 tablespoons ketchup

  • ¼ cup soy sauce

  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

  • 2 tablespoons mirin, or a bit of sugar

  • Few drops Tabasco sauce, or to taste

  • 1 bunch scallions, chopped, white parts only

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

53 grams carbs; 104 milligrams cholesterol; 549 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 25 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 1285 milligrams sodium; 30 grams protein; 14 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it and add noodles. Cook until just done, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and run under cold water. Toss noodles with sesame oil to keep them from sticking together, and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Put peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add ginger and cook, stirring, until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pork and cook for about 5 minutes or until the pork is no longer pink and is starting to brown around the edges.

  3. Step 3

    Add cabbage and carrots to skillet and stir; sprinkle with salt. Continue to cook until vegetables soften, adding a bit of water as needed to keep them from sticking.

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile, stir together in a small bowl ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mirin and Tabasco. When vegetables are soft and any liquid has evaporated, add noodles and sauce to skillet. Toss to coat everything well and cook until noodles are warmed through. Serve, topped with chopped scallions.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
720 user ratings
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Comments

chihaya

Yaki doesn't mean chicken. You were confused with "Yaki-Tori" (焼き yaki 鳥 tori), which "yaki" 焼き means (stir) fry and Tori 鳥 is chicken.

Also, soba alone indeed means buckwheat noodles in Japanese, but in this case, it implies Shina-Soba (志那そば) or Chuka-Soba (中華そば), literally means Chinese noodles.

Originally the recipe was called Yaki Chuka Soba, but soon Chuka part was dropped and shortened to Yaki-Soba since four characters word is very easy to pronounce to Japanese.

Doug Johnston

One other suggestion?

Instead of pork chops--go with ground pork. Same taste, less chewiness.

Doug Johnston

Made the recipe--as directed. Tasty enough to make again--but next time...less Worcestershire sauce (I'd say half what Bittman calls for)--drop the Tabasco--and opt for a tablespoon of a good sriracha instead for both.

Squeaky

I think this is very yummy. I added a healthy dose of garlic because I swore the recipe called for it. Sliced the pork very thinly , cooked them most of the way through and removed from the pan before doing the veggies. I also did 1.5 the recipe as I find NYT recipes done really feed us all. It made a lot! That’s ok because the leftovers are great.

MikaelK

good recipe - flexible. One can add or subtract according to taste. Ex. I only had a little worcestershire left so put a bit of rice vivegar and sugar. I use Siracha a lot too but that can be added to each individual plate.

Steve

I'm having trouble finding good mirin. Any suggestions on brand name, type or source?

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