Yakisoba

This was a new one for me. I know I've eaten Yakisoba (Japanese Fried Noodles) at a Teriyaki place in Washington before, but it's been a very long time! Since there are absolutely no Teriyaki restaurants where we live (trust me, we've researched!), we've perfected homemade Teriyaki now- grilling the chicken with some smoke (I love cherry, husband loves hickory), make our own Teriyaki sauce, cook up some white rice, and you've got better-than-restaurant Teriyaki. We normally serve it with a side of steamed broccoli for some healthy nutrition as well, but last night we didn't have any broccoli. So I decided to try making Yakisoba as a side dish, instead.

Most of the Yakisoba recipes I found had a meat- chicken or pork- stirred in, but since I was cooking it as a side dish, I omitted the meat. It turned out great! Next time I might add some chopped white/sweet onion and celery.

As I've mentioned before, I usually use a lot less oil for cooking my stir fried food, as we like things a little lighter. If you find your noodles sticking to the pan, just add in some water to help it steam a little bit. The sesame oil my recipe calls for adds great flavor to the dish. If you don't have any, you can use regular vegetable oil, but I would recommend buying some sesame oil and trying it next time, it is so tasty!

Anyway, here's my recipe for Yakisoba:

Yakisoba (Japanese Fried Noodles)

1 pkg dried yakisoba noodles
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed through a garlic press
1/2 cup roughly chopped cabbage
1/3 cup thinly sliced baby carrots
2 green onions sliced into ribbons
1-2 teaspoons sesame oil (can use vegetable oil)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar (one to two dashes)
1/2 teaspoon white sugar

1. Boil yakisoba noodles for 1-2 minutes, tossing at it boils. Drain. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large pan and stir in the garlic for about 1 minute. Add the vegetables and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the cooked noodles and the rest of the seasonings.

3. Stir fry for 3-5 minutes or until everything is as crunchy or as tender as you like it (we like ours just a little crisp).

4. Serve as a side dish or add chicken or pork for a main dish.

Enjoy!