Yakisoba facts for kids
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| Type | Japanese noodles |
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| Place of origin | Japan |
| Main ingredients | Noodles (wheat flour), Worcestershire sauce, pork or chicken, vegetables (usually cabbage, onions, and carrots) |
| Variations | Sara udon, Yaki udon |
Yakisoba (pronounced yah-kee-SO-bah) is a popular Japanese dish. Its name means "fried noodle." It's made by stir-frying noodles with meat and vegetables. Even though it's called "soba," the noodles in Yakisoba are actually Chinese-style wheat noodles, not the buckwheat noodles usually called soba. This tasty dish first showed up in Japan around the 1930s. It's often flavored with a sauce similar to Worcestershire sauce.
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How to Make Yakisoba
To make Yakisoba, cooks fry special wheat noodles. These noodles are sometimes called "Chinese noodles." They are cooked with small pieces of pork or chicken. Many different vegetables are added too. Common ones include cabbage, onions, bean sprouts, and carrots.
After frying, the dish gets its special taste. This comes from yakisoba sauce, salt, and pepper. People often add toppings to their Yakisoba. Some popular choices are aonori (a type of seaweed powder), beni shōga (shredded pickled ginger), katsuobushi (thin flakes of dried fish), or Japanese-style mayonnaise.
How Yakisoba Is Served
Yakisoba is usually served on a plate. It can be a main meal by itself. Or, it can be a side dish with other foods.
Yakisoba-pan
A unique way to eat Yakisoba in Japan is inside a bun. This is called yakisoba-pan. The noodles are piled into a bun that's cut open, much like a hot dog. It's often topped with mayonnaise and red pickled ginger. You can easily find yakisoba-pan at konbini (Japanese convenience stores) and in school cafeterias.
Yakiudon
Sometimes, a different type of noodle is used. Instead of Chinese-style soba, thicker udon noodles are used. This dish is then called yakiudon. This version of the dish comes from a place called Kitakyūshū in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Yakisoba in Okinawa
Yakisoba is also very popular in Okinawa, a Japanese island. It's enjoyed by local people and by US military members stationed there. After World War II, American food products were given to the people of Okinawa. Because of this, Yakisoba there was sometimes made with different ingredients. These included spaghetti, spam, ketchup, canned vegetables, and mayonnaise.
Today, Okinawan Yakisoba often includes fried spam, chopped hot dogs, or sliced ham. These are added along with common local vegetables like cabbage and carrots. Okinawa-style Yakisoba usually uses Okinawa soba noodles. These noodles are thicker than the ones used in other parts of Japan. It's flavored with a special pre-packaged yakisoba sauce.
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Yakisoba
