Name: Stir-Fried Noodles With Pork, Cabbage, and Ginger (Yakisoba)
Yield: Serves 1
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 2 ounces pork belly, thinly sliced, then cut into 3/4-inch pieces; 1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow onion; 1/4 cup 2-inch-long matchsticks peeled carrot; 1 cup roughly chopped (about 2 by 3/4-inch pieces) loosely packed white cabbage; 1 (5 1/2-ounce) package yakisoba noodles (a heaping cup); 2 tablespoons jarred yakisoba sauce, preferably the Otafuku brand; 1 tablespoon shredded beni shoga (red pickled ginger); 1 heaping tablespoon bonito flakes; 1/2 teaspoon aonori (powdered seaweed) or finely chopped nori seaweed sheets

Photo by Evan Sung

The most popular person at any Japanese street festival is the yakisoba guy. Standing at a small cart with a hot griddle, he wears a twisted hair band and holds two giant spatulas, one in each hand. With great energy and fanfare he stir-fries a heap of vegetables and pork with chukasoba noodles—the yellow, springy Chinese-style wheat noodles more commonly known as ramen. He finishes with a glug of the special bottled sauce that tastes like a spicier version of tonkatsu sauce, and customers walk toward him like zombies. At home, however, the dish is best cooked one portion at a time.

Cooks' Notes:

At Japanese grocery stores, chukasoba are sold in the refrigerated section in bags with sauce packets, and labeled “yakisoba.” I typically ignore the packets and instead use the tastier Otafuku brand yakisoba sauce. Why don’t I make my own? Well, then the stir-fry would be a chore (you wouldn’t make your own ketchup for a burger, would you?) rather than a quick lunch or perfect late-night snack.

Recipe notes

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