Okinawa Stir-Fried Soba Noodles (Yakisoba)

Submitted by Pearl Ishizaki

"This is a recipe for yakisoba or stir-fried Okinawa soba with bitter melon. What's good about this dish is that you can add any vegetables you have in the fridge. It's easy to make. I've made use of ground meat for this recipe but you can also use other slices of pork."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Serves: 2-3

ingredients

• 1⁄3 piece bitter melon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 100 g cabbage
• 1⁄2 piece onion
• 1⁄3 piece carrot
• 2 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms, hydrated
• 100 g bean sprouts
• 50 g garlic chives
• 100 g deep-fried tofu (atsuage)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 100 g miso pork
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons awamori
• 200 g okinawa soba noodles (wheat noodles)
• 5 g red pickled ginger (beni shoga)
• 10 g chopped green onions
• chili oil (layu) (optional)

directions

1. Start by preparing the vegetables. Cut the bitter melon along its length then take the seeds then slice it thinly. Afterwards, soak it in water with a teaspoon of salt for about 30 minutes then drain before using. Soaking it in water with salt will lessen the bitter melon's bitterness.
2. Cut the cabbage into large bite-sized pieces. Slice the onion thinly. For the carrot, slice it into flat thin strips.
3. Soak the dried shiitake in water for about 20 minutes before using. Squeeze out the water then remove the hard stem part. Slice the head part into thin strips. You can also use fresh shiitake for this recipe.
4. Cut the garlic chives into about 5-centimeter pieces then chop the green onions. Slice the tofu into small bite-sized pieces.
5. Heat a pan using medium heat then add the vegetable oil. Stir fry the miso pork quickly as it is already cooked. You can also use normal pork for this recipe but you need to cook it thoroughly before adding other ingredients.
6. Add the cabbage then stir-fry until it becomes soft.
7. Next, add the bitter melon, onion, carrot and shiitake then stir-fry until the bitter melon is cooked.
8. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and 2 tablespoons of awamori then mix well. You can add more salt to adjust taste to your preference.
9. Add the bean sprouts, atsuage, and garlic chives then stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
10. Add the cooked soba noodles then mix well until all ingredients are well-combined.
11. Place the yakisoba on a serving plate then garnish it with chopped green onions and red pickled ginger. You can drizzle a little bit of layu or chili oil if you prefer.