Yakisoba noodles is a comforting Japanese stir fry noodle dish with chicken, peppers, cabbage, and more quickly stir fried in a flavorful yakisoba sauce. Easy to make and huge on flavor!
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 love. 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.
Let's talk about how to make Yakisoba Noodles, shall we?
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.
- 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. Set aside until ready to use.
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 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a wok or large pan over high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir fry 2-3 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Set the chicken aside. NOTE: Pre-cooked chicken makes this recipe even faster to put together.
Stir Fry the Mushrooms. Heat the remaining oil in the hot wok or large skillet. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
Stir Fry the Rest of the Vegetables. Add the peppers, onions, cabbage and carrots. Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes to soften, or until the vegetables are softened 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 prepared yakisoba sauce. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes to heat through.
Serve!
Boom! Done! Your delicious stir fried yakisoba noodles are ready to serve! Looks wonderful, doesn't it? We love a good chicken stir fry in our home, especially with yakisoba noodles. So good!
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 often buy yakisoba noodles in grocery stores or order online, but if you can't find them, you can 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. Try it with fresh chopped parsley.
- Other Ingredients. Chicken is popular for stir fry, but this recipe is great with shrimp, pork belly and other proteins. You can also change up the sauce with other ingredients, like ginger or pickled ginger and sugar. Ketchup is a popular swap for chili-garlic sauce for a milder version. Try it with your favorite vegetables, like broccoli, snap peas, bok choy, spicier peppers and others. So many options!
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 sauce!
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.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my yakisoba noodles recipe. Such a delicious recipe! Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how you changed it up!
Try Some of My Other Popular Noodle Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Chicken Yakisoba Noodles Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE YAKISOBA NOODLES SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce or more to taste - or use spicy doubanjiang or sriracha sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
FOR THE YAKISOBA
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil divided (or use vegetable oil)
- 1 pound boneless chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces (or you can use chicken thighs)
- 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1-2 hot peppers thinly sliced (Or more to taste. I am using bird's eye peppers, jalapeno and serrano. Use bell pepper for a milder version.)
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 medium carrot peeled and thinly sliced
- ½ head small cabbage thinly sliced or shredded
- 3 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 12 ounces prepared yakisoba noodles
- 4 scallions thinly sliced
Instructions
MAKE THE YAKISOBA SAUCE
- Whisk together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, mirin, chili-garlic sauce (or doubanjiang or sriracha), Worcestershire sauce and honey together in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
MAKE THE YAKISOBA NOODLES
- Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a wok or large pan over high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir fry 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through. Set the chicken aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in the hot wok or pan. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
- Add the peppers, onions, carrots and cabbage. Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes to soften, or until the vegetables are softened to your preference.
- Add the garlic and stir fry for 1 minute.
- Add the noodles, cooked chicken, scallions (green onions) and prepared yakisoba sauce. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes to heat through.
- Serve!
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 6/21/23 to include new information. It was originally published on 2/24/21.
Ed Moder says
Another spectacular meal. Here is how a neophyte cooks. First I overcooked the chicken. I used rice noodles and undercooked them. So my beautiful wife who has a 65 year headstart on me with cooking recommended reheating with half a can of chicken broth. That worked great and we now have several more fabulous meals left.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you were able to save it, Ed! You keep getting better and better with practice! Keep on cooking! =) =)
Terry says
these are great but I used pork instead of chicken and used sriracha sauce with mine!
Linda C says
Do you have a substitute for mirin
Mike Hultquist says
Dry sherry or a sweet marsala wine (or other sweet wine) will work for you. Or you can use rice vinegar with a touch of honey.
Caleb Cushing says
So good!
All the right proportions
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Glad you enjoyed it, Caleb!
bill bolen says
Thanks Mike.....I'm already a fan of stir fried noodles. They blend so well with so many proteins. One of my favs is Dan Dan style using ground pork. I'm working on obtaining a new grill grate with the removable center so you can drop a wok right into the hole over glowing hot coals for FAST intense heat like the Chinese cooks employ. Of course the chicken can also be grilled for some extra char flavor since you have the coals going. Enjoy receiving your emails, thanks again for all the viable recipes!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Bill! I love the wok attachment for the grill. I may need to look into that myself!
Mary Tognazzini says
THANK YOU FOR ADDING SUBS. IT MAKES IT EASIER TO MAKE YOUR TASTY RECIPES.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sure thing, Mary!