Make a scrumptious noodle stir-fry in a flash with my Hen Yakisoba recipe. I’ll present you the best way to obtain that impossible to resist road meals style with tender, moist hen thighs and crisp veggies in a candy and savory sauce.
Readers ask me on a regular basis if they will make yakisoba with hen because it’s such a well-liked protein. Hen is definitely not a typical alternative for this stir-fried noodle dish in Japan, however that doesn’t imply you possibly can’t use it! In my scrumptious and straightforward Hen Yakisoba recipe, I’ll present you the best way to obtain that impossible to resist road meals style with flavorful, moist hen thighs and crisp veggies.
Should you love Japanese stir-fried noodles, attempt my traditional Yakisoba, Shrimp Yakisoba, and Vegetable Yakisoba recipes subsequent!
Why I Love This Recipe
- A balanced weeknight meal: With crisp veggies and protein tossed in yellow Chinese language-style wheat noodles, hen yakisoba makes an entire one-pan dinner.
- Prepared in 20 minutes: The stir-fry methodology cooks this dish in a flash. I usually make it for a weekend lunch identical to my mother did after I was rising up.
- Single serving: This recipe is ideal for faculty college students, singles, and anyone who’s cooking for one.
- Avenue-food style: I’ll share my ideas for the best way to obtain a scrumptious char on the hen, veggies, and noodles.
Elements for Hen Yakisoba
- Yakisoba noodles
- Boneless, skinless hen thigh
- Inexperienced cabbage
- Onion
- Carrot
- Yakisoba sauce (retailer purchased or do-it-yourself; see beneath)
- Salt and floor black pepper
- Impartial oil
Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.
Substitutions
- Hen thighs: My recipe requires flavorful thigh meat as a result of it stays moist and tender when stir-fried. If you wish to use hen breast, don’t prepare dinner it as lengthy as a result of the lean meat simply dries out and overcooks.
- Yakisoba noodles: Regardless of the identify, these are wheat noodles, not buckwheat soba noodles. I take advantage of pre-steamed and greased Myojo model yakisoba noodles discovered refrigerated at Japanese and Asian grocery shops. In Japan, they’re by no means offered frozen as they have an inclination to interrupt aside when defrosted and heated. Should you can’t discover them, attempt recent Chinese language stir-fried noodles in a pinch. For gluten free, use Malony glass noodles made out of potato starch and cornstarch.
- Yakisoba sauce: You’ve just a few decisions. You should use the sauce packet out of your yakisoba noodles bundle or go for bottled sauce that you would be able to purchase in Japanese markets and on Amazon. Alternatively, you may make Selfmade Yakisoba Sauce with depth and complexity from Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce, and sugar. My household prefers the flavour and I like how simple it’s to whip up.
Learn how to Make Hen Yakisoba
Preparation
Step 1 – Lower the veggies. Slice the cabbage leaves into squares and the onion and carrot into skinny strips.
Step 2 – Prep the hen and noodles. Slice the thigh meat into flat, even items and fluff the yakisoba noodles along with your fingers.
Cooking
Step 3 – Stir-fry the onions and hen. Unfold out the elements in order that they char properly on the recent pan or griddle. Cook dinner till now not pink.
Step 4 – Add the cabbage and carrot. Preserve tossing till tender to let the steam evaporate so the stir-fry stays dry.
Step 5 – Add the noodles, then the sauce. Toss within the noodles, letting the steam escape, till heated and barely charred. Add the sauce and toss.
Assemble
Step 6 – Serve on a person plate and revel in!
Nami’s Recipe Ideas
- Use massive cookware – I like to recommend a griddle, wok, or massive skillet/frying pan with a big floor space. You need to give the elements direct contact with the recent cooking floor to maintain issues dry and develop a pleasant char. I discover this provides implausible taste and a “road meals” character.
- Lower the hen into flat, bite-sized items – I take advantage of the sogigiri chopping Japanese approach to create skinny, slanted items of equal thickness and extra floor space. This manner, they prepare dinner sooner and take up the seasonings higher. They’re additionally simpler to toss with the noodles.
- Lower the carrot and onion into skinny strips – I do that to assist the veggies mingle nicely with the noodles.
- Cook dinner in levels – Every ingredient cooks at completely different charges, so please fry them in succession. I begin with the meat and dense veggies as they take the longest to prepare dinner. I add the softer veggies later to maintain their recent texture and crunch, as wilted veggies are a no-no in stir-fries.
- Loosen the noodles first – I discover fluffed noodles are simpler to combine with the stir-fried elements. Should you don’t loosen them beforehand, they could break into small items within the pan. I microwave the packed noodles for 30 seconds, then loosen them with my fingers.
- Don’t add too many elements – I understand how tempting it’s to pack in additional veggies and protein, however overdoing it’ll find yourself steaming the noodles. As a substitute, let the steam escape so the noodles aren’t moist; I choose to make this dish as dry and crispy as attainable.
Variations and Customizations
There are limitless prospects for customizing this dish. You possibly can change up the elements with no matter you have got readily available, identical to my mother does. Listed here are just a few of my favourite concepts.
- Swap the protein. Pork stomach slices are the standard alternative, however my mother typically makes use of Japanese sausage and floor pork as a substitute. Seafood like shrimp and squid is simply as scrumptious. My favourite combo is floor pork and calamari!
- Toss in different greens. My mother lightens issues up with bean sprouts so as to add crunch and fiber. I like utilizing skinny strips of inexperienced bell pepper or child bok choy. You can too attempt asparagus, broccoli, snow peas, komatsuna, and even corn or celery.
- Add extra aromatics. My mother likes tossing in garlic chives (nira or Chinese language chives) for delicate taste and shade. Inexperienced onions/scallions are an alternative choice.
- Make it vegan/vegetarian. Use deep-fried tofu cutlet and shiitake mushrooms and make a vegan model of my do-it-yourself sauce.
- Make it with udon noodles. Yaki udon originated in Fukuoka Prefecture and makes use of thick and chewy udon noodles. Boil a pot of water and blanch them first earlier than stir-frying.
What to Serve with Hen Yakisoba
Hen Yakisoba makes a satisfying meal in itself. Should you’re in search of aspect dishes to serve with it, beneath are my options.
Storage and Reheating Ideas
To retailer: Switch the leftovers to an hermetic container and retailer within the fridge for as much as 3 days or within the freezer for a month.
To reheat: Reheat within the microwave till heat. If frozen, thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating.
Ceaselessly Requested Questions
Ramen noodles aren’t the identical as yakisoba noodles, that are pre-steamed and oiled, so that you simply have to reheat them. Should you can’t discover them on the Japanese market, you might use recent Chinese language stir-fried noodles in a pinch.
For an genuine taste, I like to recommend utilizing impartial oil to stir-fry this dish. Select oil with a light-weight texture and a excessive smoke level to resist cooking on excessive or medium-high warmth. These embody avocado oil, untoasted sesame oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil, and vegetable oil. See my publish on the Finest Impartial Oil for Cooking for my full record of options.
Positive! You possibly can high it with shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice), sriracha, or your favourite chili seasoning.
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To Put together the Elements
To Cook dinner
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Warmth a big skillet (I used a 10¼-inch carbon metal frying pan), wok, or griddle on medium warmth. When it is scorching, add 1 Tbsp impartial oil. Add the hen and onion to the pan in a single layer.
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Stir-fry with a spatula till the hen is now not pink, about 2 minutes. Then, add the cabbage and carrot. Toss to mix and permit the steam to evaporate. Tip: Give the elements direct contact with the recent cooking floor to maintain issues dry and develop a pleasant char.
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Cook dinner till the veggies are tender, then add the noodles. Toss with tongs to mix and permit the steam to flee. Fry the noodles till heated.
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Add 1 serving yakisoba sauce that is available in your noodle bundle. If you do not have a sauce packet, add bottled or do-it-yourself yakisoba sauce, to style. Toss to mix.
To Retailer
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Switch the leftovers to an hermetic container and retailer within the fridge for as much as 3 days or within the freezer for a month. Reheat within the microwave till heat. If frozen, thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating.
