There’s a sushi restaurant not far from us that is one of the three or four places we tend to go whenever we decide to splurge on a family meal out. Of course, we go to this restaurant for the sushi! But there’s another dish that we always order when we go: the vegetable yakisoba. Cabbage, mushrooms, bok choy, and onion, all mixed in a wonderful light sauce and soba noodles. It’s delicious.
We really can’t afford to go out for this yakisoba as much as we’d like. So you know what that means…Yep, I got creative in the kitchen!
My recipe is definitely a twist on traditional yakisoba. My Yakisoba Twist is packed with veggies and yummy Udon noodles. So technically this is a yakiudon, but how often have you heard that name? So I’m sticking with yakisoba!
You can find udon noodles in the Asian food section of your grocery store. If you can’t find udon noodles, you could use spaghetti. But you’ll want to adjust the amount of noodles you use. Don’t hold me to this, but probably ½ to ¾ pound spaghetti would be an appropriate substitute.
This meal is vegan, and can easily be made gluten free if you substitute rice noodles or gluten free spaghetti for the udon noodles.
The other thing you’ll want to watch out for if you are gluten intolerant is the Mirin, the Japanese cooking wine in my sauce recipe. (You can also find Mirin in the Asian food section of your grocery store, or take a look at my favorite gluten free brand here.) Mirin is made by fermenting sweet rice, and is naturally gluten free. But some brands will stick other ingredients in there, so be sure to read the label if you’re gluten intolerant!
Same goes with the rice vinegar in my sauce recipe. Read the label, and if you can’t find gluten free rice vinegar, feel free to use any mild flavored, gluten free vinegar you have on hand.
This Yakisoba twist comes together so quickly, and it’s the perfect filling meal for any night of the week! Broccoli, kale, corn, and my savory and sweet yakisoba sauce are flavors I crave all day long when I know I’m making this dish for dinner! I hope you enjoy it too. (:
Yakisoba Twist
Ingredients
For the broccoli:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz broccoli florets
- ½ tsp sea salt
For the noodles:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil or sesame oil
- 28 oz Udon noodles, (I use 4, 7 oz packages)
For the veggies and herbs:
- 3 cups kale, chopped (I just get a bag of pre-shredded kale, and then chop it a little smaller)
- ½ cup corn, canned or frozen
- 1/3 cup scallions, chopped (green and white parts)
- ½ cup cilantro, minced
- ½ cup carrots, shredded (I buy the bag of pre-shredded carrots)
For the sauce:
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup Bragg Liquid Aminos, or soy sauce in a pinch, but the sauce won’t taste as smoky!
- 1/3 cup Mirin, Japanese cooking wine
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- ½ Tbsp rice vinegar
Instructions
Cook the broccoli
- Heat the oil in a large skillet or deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the broccoli florets and salt. Toss to combine.
- Cook for 4 minutes over medium heat, until the broccoli turns bright green, and when you taste it, the broccoli is cooked through but still has a bite to it. Transfer the broccoli to a bowl and set aside.
Make the sauce
- In a small saucepan, add all the sauce ingredients. Whisk to combine until the sugar dissolves. Now turn the heat on to medium and bring the sauce to a boil. It should take about 3-4 minutes.
- Once boiling, whisk the sauce continuously for one minute.
- Now turn the heat off and set the sauce aside.
Prepare the noodles
- In the large skillet you prepared the broccoli in, add the oil and the udon noodles. Turn the heat up to medium, and add all the sauce. The noodles will be stuck together, but they will come apart as they soak up the oil and the sauce.
- After the noodles, sauce, and oil have cooked for about 2 minutes, use a spatula to help break the noodles apart from each other.
Add the veggies and herbs
- Now add all the veggies and herbs to the pan. Use your spatula to help everything incorporate, and to further break the noodle mass apart!
- Cook another 5 minutes, or until the noodles are all individual, the veggies have cooked through, and the kale is slightly wilted.
Serve!
- Your yakisoba is done! Garnish with Sriracha if you like a little heat, and enjoy as a one pot meal, or with some tofu or Gardein on the side. (Or even mixed in to the yakisoba!)
