Yakisoba Noodles Recipe (2024)

Chicken Yakisoba Recipe

We're cooking up a Japanese stir fry in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen tonight, my friends. Are you a stir fry fan? Stir fries are perfect for spicy food lovers because we can spice up our stir fry sauce as much as we want to.

Plus! A good stir fry is so easy to make and always huge on flavor. This particular recipe is one you're going to enjoy.

We're talking Chicken Yakisoba Noodles, and I think you're going to love it.

What is Yakisoba?

Yakisoba is a Japanese noodle stir fry. The name translates to "fried noodle", and uses wheat flour noodles stir fried in a flavorful stir fry sauce that we're making from a small list of Asian sauces and condiments.

It is much like a stir fry version of ramen noodles, often served as a street food. There are many ways to make it and it's very easy to customize with other vegetables and variations to the yakisoba sauce.

This is a chicken yakisoba recipe, though you can easily make it with shrimp, pork or other proteins, or go vegetarian.

The recipe that follows is how I like to make mine, and we just love them. It's a great go-to for busy nights when you want to get something on the table fast that doesn't compromise on flavor.

Yakisoba Noodles Ingredients

• FOR THE YAKISOBA NOODLES SAUCE
• Soy sauce - use low sodium soy sauce if you prefer.
• Oyster sauce
• Mirin
• Chili-garlic sauce - or use spicy doubanjiang or sriracha sauce. I prefer doubanjiang.
• Worcestershire sauce
• Honey
• FOR THE YAKISOBA
• Sesame oil - or use vegetable oil
• Boneless chicken breast - or you can use chicken thighs, or a combination, cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Hot peppers - I am using bird's eye peppers, jalapeno and serrano. Use bell pepper for a milder version. You can easily include hotter peppers if you'd like.
• Onion
• Carrot
• Cabbage
• Garlic
• Yakisoba Noodles - I am using fresh yakisoba noodles for this recipe, though you can use dried. If using dried noodles, be sure to prepare them per the instructions on the packaging.
• Scallions - for garnish.

How to Make Yakisoba Noodles - the Recipe Method

MAKE THE YAKISOBA SAUCE

Whisk together the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mirin, chili-garlic sauce (or doubanjiang or sriracha), oyster sauce and honey together in a small bowl until smooth.

Taste and adjust to your preference. I often like more doubanjiang and some hot sauce.

You can make this sauce ahead of time and keep it the refrigerator to save time making the dish later.

MAKE THE YAKISOBA NOODLES

Stir Fry the Chicken. Heat sesame oil in a wok or large pan over high heat and stir fry the chicken 2-3 minutes to cook through, then set aside.

NOTE: Pre-cooked chicken makes this recipe even faster to put together.

Stir Fry the Mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms 2 minutes, stirring often.

Stir Fry the Rest of the Vegetables. Add the peppers, onions, cabbage and carrots and stir fry for 2 minutes to soften to your preference.

You can add a bit more oil if you need to. Add the garlic and stir fry for 1 minute.

Yakisoba Noodles, Chicken and Sauce. Add the noodles, cooked chicken, scallions (green onions) and yakisoba sauce. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes to heat through.

Serve!

Recipe Tips & Notes

• Stir Frying Heat & Cooking Time. The heat of your wok or large pan will affect your cooking time. Stir fried dishes are meant to be cooked over high heat with lots of stirring so the ingredients don't stick to the pan. They will cook faster this way. If you are more comfortable cooking at lower temperatures, you may need to add more time to cook the ingredients through to your preference.
• The Chicken. If you prefer a bit of crispiness to your chicken pieces, toss them in cornstarch or rice flour before stir frying them. I like to do this sometimes, like in this Szechuan Chicken recipe.
• The Noodles. You can buy yakisoba noodles in grocery stores or order online, or use ramen noodles or other thinner wheat noodles. Or try something like soba noodles or Italian vermicelli (angel hair pasta).
• Garnish. I love chopped green onions for this along with a few shakes of spicy chili flakes and maybe some extra sliced peppers. A small drizzle of extra sesame sauce is a nice flavor builder as well, or try Rayu (Japanese Chili Oil). Try it with fresh chopped parsley.
• Other Ingredients. Try it with shrimp, pork belly and other proteins. You can also change up the yakisoba sauce ingredients with ginger or pickled ginger and sugar. Ketchup is a popular swap for chili-garlic sauce. Try other vegetables like broccoli, snap peas, bean sprouts, bok choy, or spicier peppers.

The Yakisoba Sauce

There are many ways to vary up your sauce. I prefer doubanjiang, which is a Chinese chili-bean paste. Sriracha is great, or add in some of your favorite hot sauce.

Try it with Sambal Oelek or gochujang, which is a Korean chili paste, Harissa, or something like Hoisin Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce or Szechuan Sauce. So many ways to vary up the Yakisoba sauces!

Storage Information & Leftovers

Store any leftover yakisoba noodles in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 3 days. To enjoy again, gently reheat it in a pan or small pot. I do not recommend freezing yakisoba noodles.

Try Some of My Other Popular Noodle Recipes

• Spicy Ramen Noodles
• Chicken Ramen
• Drunken Noodles
• Dan Dan Noodles
• Lo Mein Noodles
• Spicy Noodles
• Chicken Lo Mein
• Chow Mein
• Mie Goreng (Indonesian Stir Fry Noodles)
• Yaki Udon Noodles

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

• Szechuan Chicken
• Dragon Chicken
• Cashew Chicken
• Spicy Chicken Fried Rice
• Bang Bang Chicken
• Miso Ramen
• Spicy Shrimp Stir Fry
• Teriyaki Shrimp Stir Fry
• Homemade Stir Fry Sauce