Tokusen-Style Vegetable Yakisoba

Yakisoba is a dish most often associated with street food in Japan. It consists of sautéing vegetables and / or meat, adding cooked noodles and a slightly sweet sauce made from soy sauce. As the Obon festival begins, hungry festival-goers will eat yakisoba at food stalls while strolling around dressed in their yukata. Here is our version of this classic dish.

INGREDIENTS

PREPARATION

1. Cook the noodles as indicated on the package and set aside.
2. Peel and grate the ginger.
3. In a bowl, combine the ginger, soy sauce, mirin, sake, ketchup, sesame oil and cornstarch. To avoid lumps, dissolve first the cornstarch in a little water or mix all the ingredients in a food processor.
4. Cut the cabbage into medium-sized slices.
5. Peel and cut the carrot into julienne strips.
6. Chop the green onion.
7. In a pan or wok, heat the oil over high heat and sauté the onions, cabbage and carrots for 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked but still crisp.
8. Add the sauce mixture and let it reduce for 1-2 minutes.
9. Add the noodles and cook another 1-2 minutes.
10. Serve on plates and garnish the noodles with green onions, white sesame, crumbled nori and beni shōga.

Inspiration for this recipe comes from the amazing book Vegan JapanEasy by Tim Anderson.