2tablespoons(40ml)neutral oil(plus extra teaspoon for cooking prawns)
1(125g)brown onionhalved and sliced
1(125g)small carrotpeeled, halved lengthways and sliced
1teaspoongrated ginger
1teaspoongrated garlic
1cup(100g)sliced shiitake mushrooms
2cups(200g)sliced green cabbage
2spring onionssliced
1teaspoonShichimi Togarashito serve
1tablespoonFurikaketo serve
Instructions
Cook ramen noodles as per the packet instructions. Rinse and drain to cool down noodles after cooking. Add a bit of water to the noodles in the pan and set aside so they don’t dry out.
Heat a small cast iron pan on high and add the prawn meat to the pan alongwith one teaspoon of oil. Toss and cook them for a minute until the prawns start turning opaque. Remove from the heat.
Make the Yakisoba sauce by mixing soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, Worcestershire sauce and sugar in a bowl.
Heat oil in a large wok on high.
Add onion and carrot. Cook for 2-3 until the veggies are glossy.
Add ginger, garlic and mushroom. Cook for a minute until mushrooms are glazed.
Add cabbage and spring onion. Cook for 30 seconds until greens are glossy.
Drain noodles and add to the wok along with cooked prawns and Yakisoba sauce. Toss and mix to coat everything evenly with the sauce. Cook for 4-5 minutes until prawns are cooked through and everything is heated.
Remove from heat. Sprinkle with Shichimi Togarashi and Furikake. Serve immediately.
Notes
Tablespoon & Cup Measurements - I use Australian cup and spoon measurements. In my recipes 1 tablespoon = 20ml and 1 cup = 250ml.
Prawns - Make sure you use raw prawn meat (with or without the tails attached). It requires only a few minutes of cooking time and is tender, juicy and succulent in the noodles. If you buy pre-cooked prawns, they will become tough on stir-frying. You can substitute with firm white fish like snapper, hoki, ling or perch and follow the same cooking instructions as for the prawns.
Noodles - Thin wheat noodles are traditionally used to make yakisoba. Ramen noodles work perfectly in this recipe. A lot of Japanese grocery stores carry pre-cooked noodles in a pouch labelled "Yakisoba Noodles". I prefer cooking noodles with raw noodles as it creates a fantastic final dish that is not soggy and just like the ones at the restaurants. If you can't find ramen noodles, udon noodles or Chinese Chow mein noodles are a good substitute.
Soy Sauce - Use light soy sauce and dark soy sauce for this recipe. Dark soy sauce is a thicker, syrupy soy sauce. This adds saltiness and colour.
Oyster Sauce - This adds a sweet and sour seafood taste to the recipe. Can be substituted with Vegetarian oyster sauce.
Worcestershire Sauce - This is a sweet and sour sauce packed with loads of umami and often found along with barbecue sauce in the supermarket. It is what gives Yakisoba noodles that distinct flavour. This cannot be substituted with anything else as it is vital to the taste of the recipe.
Shichimi Togarashi - This is a spicy Japanese seasoning made of red pepper, roasted orange peel, black sesame seed, white sesame seed, Japanese pepper, seaweed and ginger. It has a beautiful complex flavour. If you can't find it, substitute it with red chilli flakes or Gochugaru and some sesame seeds.
Nori Furikake - A Japanese rice seasoning made with crushed nori, sesame seeds, sugar and salt. If you can't find it, crush roasted nori seeds and sprinkle that as a garnish.
Storage - Cooked Yakisoba noodles will stay fresh in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 2 days.
Make It vegetarian - Substitute prawn meat with a cup of thinly sliced sweet potato. Cook them along with the carrot and onion in step 5. Substitute oyster sauce with Vegetarian oyster sauce.