7 things you need to do when you come visit Japan
If you are considering or already decided upon visiting Japan, here is a list of what you should not miss out on when you come and visit.
Yakisoba (焼きそば)
Yakisoba (焼きそば) is one of Japanese people’s favorite dish. Yakisoba is a dish made of noodles cooked on a hot plate mixed together with flavored with cabbage, bean sprout, pork, seafood and etc, which is then flavored with Japanese Bulldog sauce. This meal is relatively easy to make in addition to the relatively low cost and easy access to the ingredients.
(While the eggs in Japan are fresh enough to eat raw, we do not recommend having raw eggs in other countries!)
Table of Contents
A little bit about the dish
Yakisoba literally means “Cooked Soba” in Japanese. The soba noodles in the Yakisoba are Chinese noodles and are produced from wheat flour instead of the usual buckwheat flour which the typical soba is made out of. Once the noodles and the vegetables are cooked, it is then seasoned with a sauce resembling Worcestershire sauce. The standard Yakisoba consists of bite-sized pieces of pork , finely chopped vegetables including cabbage, onions, bean sprouts, and carrots. It is also topped with a number of garnishes, including katsuobushi (bonito fish flakes), beni shoga (shredded pickled ginger), and aonori (dried seaweed). While having pork in the Yakisoba is quite standard, you can easily opt to leave out the pork and it will still taste as good, making Yakisoba a good option for both meat lovers and vegans alike.
Yakisoba is a typical Japanese food which is easy to make. As you only need a pan and a few utensils, Yakisoba is often sold in Japanese traditional festivals, because it of the ease in making them and also because you really can’t go wrong with Yakisoba. You really cant go wrong and it will taste really good. Furthermore, unlike other noodle dishes which is served inside some sort of soup or broth making it impossible to save and eat it on another day, Yakisoba is cooked on a pan and therefore, you can opt to save it on another day if you happen to cook too much. While it is one of the dishes that takes minimal effort, if you are able to cook this, you might be able to convince your family and friends that you are an expert in Japanese cuisine.
List of Ingredients you will need
(Serving for 4 people)
・ Noodles … 4 Servings
・ Thin slices of Pork … 11 ounces (300 grams)
・ Carrots … 1/4 piece
・ Cabbage … 4 leaves
・ Bean Sprouts … 1 Bag
・ Soy Sauce … 2.5 Tablespoon
・ Bulldog Sauce… 2 Tablespoon
・ Oyster Sauce… 2 Tablespoon
(Serving for 4 people)
・ Noodles … 4 Servings
・ Thin slices of Pork …
11 ounces (300 grams)
・ Carrots … 1/4 piece
・ Cabbage … 4 leaves
・ Bean Sprouts … 1 Bag
・ Soy Sauce … 2.5 Tbsp
・ Bulldog Sauce… 2 Tbsp
・ Oyster Sauce… 2 Tbsp
Recipe
1. Cut the carrots into thin rectangular slices and the cabbage into bite-sized pieces.
2. Also cut the the pork into bite sized pieces and season lightly
season it with salt and pepper.
3. Lightly wash the noodles so as to remove unwanted powders
stuck to the noodle and then dry it with a paper towel so as to
prevent the noodles from becoming to soft.
4. Pour oil onto a heated pan and cook the noodle. Turn the noodles
once it turns slightly crispy on the side you are cooking. Once
both sized are nicely fried, temporarily take it out of the pan.
5. Pour oil on to the pan again to first cook the pork. Once the pork
is ready, add the cabbage and the carrots.
6. Once the pork, cabbage and the carrots seem ready, add the
noodles back onto the pan. Pour the Soy Sauce, Bulldog Sauce
and the Oyster sauce evenly onto the ingredients and stir to make
sure there are not any parts that are not covered with the sauce.
7. Add the bean sprouts on to the pan and make sure that bean
sprouts are spread out evenly. After a minute or two, its ready to
be served.
Tip: This is a noodle based dish and its best not to add big slabs of meat. By having a big piece of meat in the noodle, the taste of the meat will turn out to be too empowering, so we recommend that you have your butcher cut you some thin slices or buy a meat slicer (trust us, it will be worth every penny).
Furthermore, bean sprouts abroad compared to Japanese bean sprouts have a harder texture and a distinct pungent smell so it might be best to boil the bean sprouts before adding it to the Yakisoba.
While this recipe uses pork, you can also substitute or simply add some seafood (recommend either squid or octopus) into the Yakisoba.
1. Cut the carrots into thin rectangular slices and the
cabbage into bite-sized pieces.
2. Also cut the the pork into bite sized pieces and
season lightly season it with salt and pepper.
3. Lightly wash the noodles so as to remove unwanted
powders stuck to the noodle and then dry it with a
paper towel so as to prevent the noodles from
becoming to soft.
4. Pour oil onto a heated pan and cook the noodle. Turn
the noodles once it turns slightly crispy on the side
you are cooking. Once both sized are nicely fried,
temporarily take it out of the pan.
5. Pour oil on to the pan again to first cook the pork.
Once the pork is ready, add the cabbage and the
carrots.
6. Once the pork, cabbage and the carrots seem ready,
add the noodles back onto the pan. Pour the Soy
Sauce, Bulldog Sauce and the Oyster sauce evenly
onto the ingredients and stir to make sure there are
not any parts that are not covered with the sauce.
7. Add the bean sprouts on to the pan and make sure
that bean sprouts are spread out evenly. After a
minute or two, its ready to be served.
Tip: This is a noodle based dish and its best not to add big slabs of meat. By having a big piece of meat in the noodle, the taste of the meat will turn out to be too empowering, so we recommend that you have your butcher cut you some thin slices or buy a meat slicer (trust us, it will be worth every penny).
Furthermore, bean sprouts abroad compared to Japanese bean sprouts have a harder texture and a distinct pungent smell so it might be best to boil the bean sprouts before adding it to the Yakisoba.
While this recipe uses pork, you can also substitute or simply add some seafood (recommend either squid or octopus) into the Yakisoba.
1. Cut the carrots into thin
rectangular slices and the
cabbage into bite-sized
pieces.
2. Also cut the the pork into
bite sized pieces and
season lightly season it with
salt and pepper.
3. Lightly wash the noodles so
as to remove unwanted
powders stuck to the noodle
and then dry it with a paper
towel so as to prevent the
noodles from becoming to
soft.
4. Pour oil onto a heated pan
and cook the noodle. Turn
the noodles once it turns
slightly crispy on the side
you are cooking. Once both
sized are nicely fried,
temporarily take it out of the
pan.
5. Pour oil on to the pan again
to first cook the pork. Once
the pork is ready, add the
cabbage and the carrots.
6. Once the pork, cabbage and
the carrots seem ready, add
the noodles back onto the
pan. Pour the Soy Sauce,
Bulldog Sauce and the
Oyster sauce evenly onto
the ingredients and stir to
make sure there are not any
parts that are not covered
with the sauce.
7. Add the bean sprouts on to
the pan and make sure that
bean sprouts are spread out
evenly. After a minute or
two, its ready to be served.
Tip: This is a noodle based dish and its best not to add big slabs of meat. By having a big piece of meat in the noodle, the taste of the meat will turn out to be too empowering, so we recommend that you have your butcher cut you some thin slices or buy a meat slicer (trust us, it will be worth every penny).
Furthermore, bean sprouts abroad compared to Japanese bean sprouts have a harder texture and a distinct pungent smell so it might be best to boil the bean sprouts before adding it to the Yakisoba.
While this recipe uses pork, you can also substitute or simply add some seafood (recommend either squid or octopus) into the Yakisoba.
Other recommended recipes
If this is the kind of dish you like, we have compiled some a list of dishes that you might also like for your next cooking session below.
Yakitori (焼き鳥)
Yakitori (焼き鳥), meaning “grilled bird” in Japanese, is a dish composed of different kinds of meat and vegetables (not just chicken) that are skewered and cooked on a grill.
Chicken Nanban (チキン南蛮)
Chicken Nanban (チキン南蛮) is considered one of the most popular dishes back in Japan. Originating from the Miyazaki prefecture which is very well-known for it quality of chicken, it is a dish consisting of fried chicken which is covered with sweet and sour sauce, which is topped off with Tartar sauce.
Japanese Pork Curry (カレーライス)
Japanese Curry or “Curry Rice” (カレーライス) is one of the Japanese people’s favorite dishes, partly because of the ease of preparing the dish as well as the fact that it tastes so good!
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