Make a scrumptious noodle stir-fry in a flash with my Hen Yakisoba recipe. I’ll present you find out how 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 preferred protein. Hen is definitely not a standard alternative for this stir-fried noodle dish in Japan, however that doesn’t imply you may’t use it! In my scrumptious and simple Hen Yakisoba recipe, I’ll present you find out how to obtain that impossible to resist road meals style with flavorful, moist hen thighs and crisp veggies.
For those who love Japanese stir-fried noodles, strive 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 once I was rising up.
- Single serving: This recipe is ideal for faculty college students, singles, and anyone who’s cooking for one.
- Road-food style: I’ll share my suggestions for find out how to obtain a scrumptious char on the hen, veggies, and noodles.
Components for Hen Yakisoba
- Yakisoba noodles
- Boneless, skinless hen thigh
- Inexperienced cabbage
- Onion
- Carrot
- Yakisoba sauce (retailer purchased or home made; 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 cook dinner it as lengthy as a result of the lean meat simply dries out and overcooks.
- Yakisoba noodles: Regardless of the title, these are wheat noodles, not buckwheat soba noodles. I exploit 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. For those who can’t discover them, strive contemporary Chinese language stir-fried noodles in a pinch. For gluten free, use Malony glass noodles comprised of potato starch and cornstarch.
- Yakisoba sauce: You’ve a number of selections. You should use the sauce packet out of your yakisoba noodles bundle or go for bottled sauce which you can purchase in Japanese markets and on Amazon. Alternatively, you can also make Home made 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.
Easy methods 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 together with your fingers.
Cooking
Step 3 – Stir-fry the onions and hen. Unfold out the components so that they char properly on the new pan or griddle. Prepare dinner till not pink.
Step 4 – Add the cabbage and carrot. Hold 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 Suggestions
- 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 components direct contact with the new cooking floor to maintain issues dry and develop a pleasant char. I discover this provides unbelievable taste and a “road meals” character.
- Lower the hen into flat, bite-sized items – I exploit the sogigiri slicing Japanese approach to create skinny, slanted items of equal thickness and extra floor space. This manner, they cook dinner quicker 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.
- Prepare dinner in phases – 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 cook dinner. I add the softer veggies later to maintain their contemporary 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 components. For those who don’t loosen them beforehand, they may 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 components – I understand how tempting it’s to pack in additional veggies and protein, however overdoing it should find yourself steaming the noodles. As an alternative, let the steam escape so the noodles aren’t moist; I favor to make this dish as dry and crispy as potential.
Variations and Customizations
There are countless potentialities for customizing this dish. You’ll be able to change up the components with no matter you will have readily available, identical to my mother does. Listed here are a number of of my favourite concepts.
- Swap the protein. Pork stomach slices are the normal 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 may also strive 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 home made 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. For those who’re on the lookout for facet dishes to serve with it, beneath are my recommendations.
Storage and Reheating Suggestions
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 must reheat them. For those who can’t discover them on the Japanese market, you would use contemporary 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 put up on the Finest Impartial Oil for Cooking for my full listing of recommendations.
Certain! You’ll be able to high it with shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice), sriracha, or your favourite chili seasoning.
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To Put together the Components
To Prepare 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 not pink, about 2 minutes. Then, add the cabbage and carrot. Toss to mix and permit the steam to evaporate. Tip: Give the components direct contact with the new cooking floor to maintain issues dry and develop a pleasant char.
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Prepare 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 home made 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.