Yaki Soba – Fried Noodles with Japanese Sauce

Yaki Soba is a kind of Chinese style Japanese dish that is sometimes cooked with ramen noodles rather than soba noodles. However, it tastes much better with soba noodles but, of course, you can also use instant egg noodles – just don’t add flavour that comes in the sachet when cooking them.
 
For 2 you will need:

2 bundles of dried soba noodles (about 150 grams), cooked in boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes and rinse in cold water and drained
250 grams chicken or pork, cut into thin strips
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 spring onions, chopped to 3 cm length
200 grams Chinese cabbage or Shanghai Bok Choy, chopped
1 medium carrot, julienned or sliced thinly
Vegetable oil for frying
A dash of sesame oil for flavouring
½  sheet Nori, cut into very thin strips for garnish, scissors work best (optional)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
 
Sauce
1 tablespoon sake (or dry sherry)
1 tablespoon mirin
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I use Kikkoman)
1/3 cup dashi stock or chicken stock
2 teaspoons Worcester sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Fry garlic in a little bit of oil in a wok over medium heat until fragrant. Add chicken and fry until cooked. Add carrot and bok choy fry further for a couple of minutes then add spring onions and half the sauce mixture. Keep turning until the vegetables are soft and well coated then add noodles. Use two wooden spatulas to separate the noodles before adding the remaining sauce. Taste and add more soy sauce if needed.

Serve warm with sesame seeds and nori sprinkled on top.