Noodles ── Yakisoba
Shoyu Yakisoba
Shoyu Yakisoba — yakisoba seasoned with soy sauce, common at Chinese diners
A style of yakisoba seasoned with soy sauce, a soy-based sauce, or Chinese soy sauce, commonly found on Chinese-restaurant menus. Some shops add oyster sauce for a Shanghai-style finish — a distinct strand from sauce yakisoba in both aroma and color.
Lineage
What it's made of
Instead of sauce's brown, this style carries soy sauce's own toasty aroma and a glossy sheen. Chinese-style noodles are typically paired with pork, leafy greens, and bean sprouts, and the flavor is said to lean into the oil and soy depth typical of a Chinese restaurant kitchen.
How it's made
Chinese-style noodles and toppings are fried and seasoned with soy sauce, a soy-based sauce, or Chinese soy sauce. Adding oyster sauce at the finish deepens the flavor and shine, pushing it toward what's called a Shanghai-style version, and shops vary the type and blend of soy sauce they use.
Why it took this shape
One account holds that while sauce yakisoba spread as an everyday food, Chinese restaurants favored a soy-seasoned version closer to the ingredients' own flavor, and it grew into a distinct strand alongside sauce. Where sauce traces to a Western import, the soy-sauce version carries the Chinese-restaurant lineage straight through.
Before you go
- How to read a ticket machineShops that use a ticket machine (shokken-ki) often place their most popular items in a similar spot.
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- Tanabata and festival food stallsA guide to the somen said to be eaten on Tanabata, and to festival-stall staples like yakisoba, takoyaki, candy apples, and shaved ice.
Dishes in the same style
- Abura ZomenPork and somen are fried together with a splash of broth, the oil and stock emulsifying into a silky coat on the noodles. Just how somen took root in wheat-free Amami isn't clear, but the dish is a fixture whenever people gather, not least for the August Dance festival.
- Aizu Curry YakisobaA dish from Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima: sauce yakisoba topped with curry roux. It's said to trace to a diner called Tommy Food, which began ladling curry over its yakisoba, catching on especially among young diners for its low price and filling size.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Related lineage
- Miso YakisobaA style of yakisoba seasoned with a miso-based sauce, often heavy on garlic and commonly served at yakiniku restaurants. Its fermented depth sets it apart from sauce, and several regional yakisoba dishes build on this same base.
- Sauce YakisobaThe most widely eaten form of yakisoba in Japan: Chinese-style noodles fried in a Worcestershire-style sauce. It's thought to have taken root in Taisho-era Tokyo as one strand of okonomiyaki culture, and most regional yakisoba variants build on this base.