What’s yakisoba you ask?  Mark Bittman wrote an article about this Japanese dish with vegetables, meat, and noodles all tossed in a thick brown sauce.  I saw this recipe first on Budget Bytes, but Bittman acknowledges that yakisoba is meant to be flexible.  It’s a “use what you have” kind of dish, and you all know how much I like those.

On that note, I used buckwheat soba noodles which I had in the cabinet.  But after further research, the noodles which come in the Ramen package are closer to the kind which are authentically used in the dish.  I haven’t bought a package of Ramen since I finished college,  so this recipe provides a good excuse!  But it’s the sweet and spicy brown sauce which really makes the recipe good.  I would never have thought to mix soy sauce, Worcestershire, and ketchup together, but it works.  Just be sure to adjust the cayenne pepper to your taste.  Enjoy!

Chicken Yakisoba

3 T reduced sodium soy sauce
3 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T ketchup
1 t sugar
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1 T canola oil
1 T garlic ginger paste
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen vegetables, such as Trader Joe’s Harvest Hodgepodge
4-5 oz. soba noodles or Ramen noodles, cooked and drained

Mix soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, sugar, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok.  Add garlic ginger paste and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add chicken pieces, and stir fry until chicken is no longer pink.  Add vegetables, and saute 10-15 minutes more.  Mix in sauce.  Add noodles, and toss to coat.

-Adapted from Budget Bytes

• Main Dishes