Yakisoba pan is a popular Japanese dish that features stir-fried noodles in a hot dog bun & whilst that may sound odd, they are delicious!
I make my take on this recipe with thick udon noodles and add shiitake mushrooms to make this wonderfully easy vegan lunch.
Japanese Noodle Sandwich
Yakisoba pan sounds absolutely bonkers; it's essentially a Japanese noodle sandwich served in a hot dog bun!
I came across the idea when I developed my yaki udon stir fry recipe and have been obsessed with it ever since.
I guess it is a sideways glance at my childhood. A time when spaghetti hoops on toast and even spaghetti bolognese toasties were firm favourites. On that note, I have a similarly "unusual" Japanese recipe called spaghetti Napolitan, which is a pasta dish that uses ketchup, smoked sausage and bacon!
These noodle buns are cheap street food in Japan and apparently came about in the 1950s when there was an explosion of cheaper wheat-based products flooding the market.
I love them deeply in my short time playing with the idea. I like to use thick udon noodles and make my take on a yakisoba (ish) sauce. This version is designed to be vegan; however, I also have a non-vegan version in my beef yakisoba recipe.
They are without question my favourite lunch right now and I am eating it 3-4 times a week, oopsie!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a different type of noodle?
Yes, use anything you like. I have a huge food crush on Udon noodles at the moment, and it is why they appear in this recipe.
If you like them, then you must check out my ginger chicken udon noodle stir fry!
Why do you butter the buns?
This is the sort of food that gets wrapped in clingfilm and sold throughout the day, and as a result, the butter is used to offer protection for the bread. Essentially, it stops it from going soggy.
Can I prepare this in advance?
The recipe is designed to make four sandwiches. I usually make up the noodles and leave them in the fridge, then make a sarnie when I am ready. The noodles will be fine in the fridge for 3-4 days.
You can wrap them in cling film and take them to work too, just make sure to use loads of butter!
Can I use other ingredients instead of mushrooms?
Absolutely, I've given a few thoughts and ideas in the serving suggestions section below.
You mention Japanese mayonnaise, what is it?
Japanese mayo is made using just the egg yolk rather than the whole egg, which is exactly the approach I take when I make homemade mayonnaise!
It also uses a combination of rice wine vinegar, malt vinegar and cider vinegar. Then a pinch of MSG and some mustard delivers a different flavour sensation and lovely texture.
Serving Suggestions
Rather than my usual serving suggestions, I will use this section to sprinkle some ideas for different toppings or variations on this yakisoba pan recipe.
To begin with, you could use any noodle recipe that you like within reason. The main thing that you need to do is to ensure that they are quite "dry" to stop the hotdog buns from disintegrating and you from wearing your lunch.
I have a few options here that would work. Everything from my cold soba noodle salad and these sesame noodles to my sweet chilli noodles and sweet and sour noodle stir fry.
You can add meat or even seafood if you wish, but that will reduce the shelf life of the noodles.
Suppose I am adding meat, I like to keep it a little Japanese and use some strips of katsu. My chicken katsu curry, or tonkatsu recipes, are a good start; you could even add some tofu katsu.
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- Wok, I use a large carbon steel wok.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Bread knife.
- A combination of weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.
- Mixing bowls.
- Sieve or colander.
- Stirring spoons.
Yakisoba Pan Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Vegan Oyster Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Hendersons Relish
- 1 tablespoon Mirin
- Pinch of MSG
- 400 g Udon Noodles 14oz (Cooked/Prepared Weight)
- 100 g Shiitake Mushrooms 1-1½ Cups
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
- 4 Large Hotdog Buns
- 30 g Butter 2 tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon Pickled Ginger
- Mayonnaise To taste
- 3 Spring Onions
- Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, tomato ketchup, Henderson's relish, mirin, and MSG, then set aside.
- Cook the udon noodles as per the instructions on the packet. I usually use wok-ready noodles. I soak them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then separate them and refresh them in cold water.
- Peel the garlic and chop it as finely as you can.
- Slice the shiitake mushrooms into 3-4mm (⅛") thin slices.
- Heat a wok over a very high heat, and when it begins to shimmer, add the oil. Throw in the shiitake mushrooms and store fry for 2 minutes.
- Throw in the garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the drained noodles and stir fry for 1 minute.
- Push the noodles to the side of the wok, add the sauce and then cook until the sauce reduces almost all the way down and coats the noodles nicely without there being a pool of sauce in the wok.
- Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool a little.
- Slice the hotdog buns vertically but not all of the way through, then generously butter them on both sides of the cut.
- Slice the spring onions at a 45° angle as thinly as you can.
- Load the hotdog buns with the noodles, then top as desired with pickled ginger, spring onions, sesame seeds and mayonnaise. Special props if you use Japanese mayo!