Beef Yakisoba is made with delicious, chewy noodles, sauteed with plenty of veggies, tender beef, and delicious sauce. It’s a quick Japanese meal perfect to throw together for a flavorful lunch or dinner!
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Beef yakisoba is a savory and totally crave-able Japanese dish. It is made with chewy noodles, tender meat, and flavorful veggies, all smothered in a Yakisoba Sauce (a Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, and soy sauce combo).
The best part about yakisoba is how easy it is to put together. You can use any veggies you want, any thinly sliced meat that you want and the sauce can be mixed up at home or bought off the shelf. Throw in some signature yakisoba noodles and you have a complete meal you will want to enjoy over and over again.
Beef Yakisoba is so versatile. Add more vegetables, add different vegetables, add more protein – the sky’s the limit as long as it is covered in that delicious Yakisoba sauce.
If you’re the type of person who craves some Asian takeout every now and then, but also wants to save money and maybe try to eat on the healthier side–this is a recipe you should save. It’s a Japanese street food classic that is easy to make at home!
Recipe Origin
Yakisoba is the Japanese take on Chinese chow mein. Chinese people first brought the Chinese wheat flour noodle to Japan. As Japanese chefs learned to make those noodles, they also came up with their own methods to make their noodles chewy and unique. Chinese traders introduced Japanese people to chow mein and Japanese chefs created yakisoba.
“Yaki” is the Japanese word for “fried” while “soba” indicates the type of noodle used. The dish literally translates to fried noodles.
After World War II, when there was a lot of food insecurity in Japan, yakisoba became very popular. When noodles were hard to come by, people could easily add more cabbage, which was affordable and filling. Quickly frying the meat made it possible to use up any tiny bits of meat.
There are many different types of yakisoba that have been shared throughout the years. Each region in Japan has its own twist on the dish.
It’s a very popular dish to find at street festivals because it is easy to make and easy to transport.
Why Make This Recipe
- Filling: This recipe combines protein, noodles and vegetables into one amazing dish that will leave you full and satisfied.
- Use Leftovers: This recipe is an excellent way to use up any leftover meat or vegetables in your refrigerator. It’s essentially a stir fry, so feel free to customize to your liking!
- Taste of Japan: Yakisoba is a very popular dish to find sold in food stalls at Japanese markets. It is a saucy, savory, chewy noodle bowl that is irresistible.
What Do I Need To Make This Recipe
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Vegetable oil: You could also use sesame oil
- Garlic: Always use fresh for the best taste!
- Thinly Sliced Ribeye Steak: You can also use pork belly or another cut of beef like flank steak, strip steak, flatiron steak, or top sirloin. The ribeye will be the most tender.
- Already-Cooked Yakisoba Noodles: Any stir-fried noodles will work in a pinch. You could substitute udon noodles, rice noodles, Chinese-style noodles, or fried buckwheat noodles. For the most authentic beef yakisoba, search for yakisoba noodles at your local Asian grocery store. This kind of noodle is usually in the freezer section. I do not recommend using Italian noodles like spaghetti noodles.
- Yakisoba Sauce: You can buy Yakisoba Sauce online or make it yourself at home! It is a combination of Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, and sugar.
- Beni Shoga Pickled Red Ginger Root: For serving. I buy this at my local Asian grocery store.
- Aonori (Dried green seaweed): I couldn’t find this at my local Asian market, so I just crumbled up some Nori sheets for the same effect.
Tools
- Frying Pan or Large Skillet: I used a wok!
How To Make This Recipe
Step One: Cook the Meat
Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil until warm. Add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes until fragrant
Add the thin strips of beef into the pan and cook until browned.
Step Two: Add Your Vegetables
Once your beef slices are browned, add the onions, green onions, and carrots. Stir fry for a few minutes, adding more vegetable oil if necessary.
Then add the cabbage and bean sprouts and cook until the vegetables start to wilt.
Step Three: Add The Noodles
Then add the noodles and cover with the vegetables. Cover and cook until the noodles soften.
When the noodles loosen up, stir them to mix with the rest of the vegetables.
Step Four: Add the Sauce
Add the Yakisoba sauce and stir to coat the noodles. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve on a plate with pickled ginger root, sesame seeds, sriracha sauce, and aonori.
Researched using JapaneseCooking101, Just One Cookbook, Seonkyoung Longest
Meat Adaptations
Yakisoba is delicious with beef, but it is actually most commonly served with pork! You can easily make this recipe with pork, chicken, or shrimp.
Alternatively, you can make this meal meatless by omitting the meat or replacing it with tofu. Double-check the ingredients of your sauce to make it completely vegetarian or vegan.
Expert Tips
- You can purchase Yakisoba Sauce or make your own. It’s easy to put together.
- If you cannot find yakisoba noodles, you can substitute high-quality ramen noodles.
- Feel free to add any vegetables you want into this dish. It’s delicious with shiitake mushrooms, red bell pepper, snow peas, and more. You can even find packages of Asian stir-fried vegetables in the frozen food section of your local grocery store that would work perfectly.
- Yakisoba isn’t considered a healthy food but it can be as healthy as you want when you add piles of veggies.
FAQs
Yakisoba is considered a full meal because as a main dish it has protein, carbs, and vegetables all in one dish. You could serve it with some rice, miso soup or a nice cucumber salad.
Yes. Place any leftover yakisoba in an airtight container in the refrigerator for two or three days. Reheat in a skillet or the microwave to enjoy later.
There are several differences between yakisoba and ramen. Most obvious is that ramen is a soup with noodles while yakisoba is more of a stir-fried noodle dish. The noodles used in each dish are different as well.
Yakisoba sauce can be found for sale at the grocery store but it is also easy to put together at home. It is a sweet and tangy sauce made of Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar and molasses. Some people like to add a little spice with some sriracha. You can adjust the amounts to fit your preferences.
Yakisoba is definitely related to lo mein or chow mein, but it is different. The main difference is the sauce that is used. The noodles are also a bit softer than Chinese-style chow mein noodles used in lo mein as well.
If your noodles turned out a bit softer than you would like, there can be a few causes. It may be that you cooked your noodles on too low of heat. This extends the cooking time and may have actually overcooked your noodles.
You may also have too much liquid in your dish. Some vegetables may actually contribute to this problem as they release liquid as they are cooked.
If you are using pre-cooked noodles, you do not need to cook them and separate them before adding them to this dish. Doing so would actually add too much moisture to them.
Next time, simply add the noodles in and allow the steam that is already in the pan to loosen and separate your noodles.
Did you enjoy this Beef Yakisoba Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
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Beef Yakisoba Recipe
Equipment
- Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ¾ lb Ribeye Steak, Thinly Sliced (can also use pork belly)
- ½ small yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 3 Green onions, cut into 1” pieces
- 1 large Carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 4 Green Cabbage leaves, cut into 2” square pieces
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 16 oz Yakisoba noodles, already-cooked
- 6 tbsp Yakisoba Sauce
- Benishoga Pickled Red Ginger Root, for serving
- Aonori, Dried green seaweed, for serving
Instructions
- Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tbsp vegetable oil until warm. Add the 2 tsp garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes until fragrant
- Add the ¾ lb sliced beef into the pan and cook until browned
- Once browned, add the ½ small thinly sliced onion, sliced green onions, and carrot matchsticks. Stir fry for a few minutes, adding more vegetable oil if necessary.
- Then add the square cabbage pieces and 1 cup of bean sprouts and cook until the vegetables start to wilt.
- Then add the 16 oz noodles and cover with the vegetables. Cover and cook until the noodles soften.
- When the noodles loosen up, stir them to mix with the rest of the vegetables.
- Add 6 tbsp Yakisoba sauce and stir to coat the noodles. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve on a plate with pickled ginger root and aonori.
Notes
- Vegetable oil: You could also use sesame oil
- Garlic: Always use fresh for the best taste!
- Thinly Sliced Ribeye Steak: You can also use pork belly or another cut of beef like flank steak, strip steak, flatiron steak, or top sirloin. The ribeye will be the most tender.
- Already-Cooked Yakisoba Noodles: Any stir-fried noodles will work in a pinch. You could substitute udon noodles, rice noodles, Chinese-style noodles, or fried buckwheat noodles. For the most authentic beef yakisoba, search for yakisoba noodles at your local Asian grocery store. This kind of noodle is usually in the freezer section. I do not recommend using Italian noodles like spaghetti noodles.
- Yakisoba Sauce: You can buy Yakisoba Sauce online or make it yourself at home! It is a combination of Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, and sugar.
- Beni Shoga Pickled Red Ginger Root: For serving. I buy this at my local Asian grocery store.
- Aonori (Dried green seaweed): I couldn’t find this at my local Asian market, so I just crumbled up some Nori sheets for the same effect.
- You can purchase Yakisoba Sauce or make your own. It’s easy to put together.
- If you cannot find yakisoba noodles, you can substitute high-quality ramen noodles.
- Feel free to add any vegetables you want into this dish. It’s delicious with shiitake mushrooms, red bell pepper, snow peas, and more. You can even find packages of Asian stir-fried vegetables in the frozen food section of your local grocery store that would work perfectly.
- Yakisoba isn’t considered a healthy food but it can be as healthy as you want when you add piles of veggies.
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