Yakisoba - Japanese Stir Fried Noodles

Japanese Yakisoba is a delicious stir fried noodle dish that will make everyone at the table happy. So Nicole from Cookaholic Wife gave us this months #ImprovCookingChallenge theme, Ramen and Pork this was the first thing that came to mind.

 

Yakisoba is a traditional Japanese dish of noodles, vegetables, and a slightly sweet sauce. Yakisoba literally means "fried noodles" in Japanese and is a popular street food or weekend lunch.

Pork belly is really common, but it isn't available in my area so I used bacon instead. The flavor is different, but both are delicious. You can use any meat you wish, just add some oil to saute the vegetables in if you don't have the bacon drippings.

The pasta came in bag with three smaller pouches of noodles inside, I use all three in my recipe but feel free to cut down the veggies and make a smaller batch for 1 or 2 people. 

1 package yakisoba noodles
1 (12 oz) pkg bacon
1 small onion, sliced
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 stalk celery, sliced thin
6 green onions, sliced
1/4 head large cabbage, chopped

1 tsp. honey
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

To start whisk together the honey, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce and set aside. 

Cut the bacon into two inch pieces. Place in a large skillet on medium high heat and cook on both sides until browned and caramelized. Remove from the pan and set aside. 

Turn the heat to medium high. In the bacon renderings add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring, until starting to cook. Add the cabbage and green onions and keep sauteing until tender. 

Push the vegetables aside and place one of the packages of noodles in the pan. Push the vegetables aside again for the next package and then the third. Smooth the veggies over the top of the noodles to help them steam. 

Let the noodles stay in the pan until they are starting to brown in spots. Add the yakisoba sauce to the pan and stir to combine. Be gentle when mixing the noodles with the sauce and vegetables so they don't turn to mush. 

Cook just long enough to heat through. Top with the cooked bacon and serve.

The #ImprovCookingChallenge is a monthly blogging event where two ingredients are assigned to a month. Bloggers can make any recipe they like as long as it features the two ingredients. If you are a blogger and would like to join us, please visit our Facebook page. If you would like to read more about the event try home page, or to see previous creations, check out our Pinterest board.

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