Yakisoba with Pork and Vegetables, Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener
International dishesNoodlesJapanAbout 30 minutes
For a rushed dinner this takes about 30 minutes. The pleasure is noodles that have taken up the sauce, vegetables still crisp and pork cooked just through. The difficulty is the noodles, which break down if they boil too long.
The noodles go in for exactly 1 minute and are shaken loose with tongs, then lifted onto a large plate to drain before they hit the pan. The sauce is mixed in a bowl first and poured in whole, then stir fried for about 2 more minutes so the noodles take it up evenly.
This batch weighs about 1.4kg, at roughly 205 calories per 100g.
Method
Bring 300ml water to a boil, add 480g yakisoba noodles and cook for 1 minute, shaking them loose with tongs, then lift them onto a large plate to drain.
Soak 5 shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes until soft, trim the stems and chop them. Rinse 250g pork, rub it with salt and rinse again, remove the skin and slice thinly.
Peel 1 carrot and cut it into strips, cut 100g cabbage into pieces about 1.5 finger joints long, cut 1 onion into wedges, and cut 50g Japanese pickled ginger into strips. Separate the white parts of 4 spring onions and chop them, and cut the greens into 2 finger joint lengths.
Make the sauce by combining 4 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon ketchup, 1 teaspoon dark sweet soy sauce and 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend in a bowl and stirring for about 2 minutes.
Set a pan on the stove, add 1 tablespoon cooking oil with the onion and the spring onion whites, and fry for about 20 seconds over medium heat.
Push everything to one side of the pan, add another 1 tablespoon cooking oil and the pork, and stir fry for about 3 minutes until it is just cooked.
Add the carrot and cabbage and stir fry for another 30 seconds, then add the shiitake and toss.
Add the noodles and the bowl of sauce, toss to combine, and stir fry for about 2 more minutes so the noodles take up the sauce. Add the spring onion greens, toss quickly and turn off the heat, then plate up and scatter the pickled ginger strips over the top.
Tips
Without yakisoba noodles, fresh noodles or egg noodles given a quick blanch stand in.
Without worcestershire sauce, a fermented sauce with a sour and salty edge, add more oyster sauce and ketchup plus a splash of vinegar to balance.
Japanese pickled ginger can be swapped for young ginger cut into strips and steeped in vinegar.
Boil the noodles for exactly one minute and shake them loose, because strands still stuck together never take up the sauce in the pan.
High heat and quick tossing are what keep the vegetables crisp.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.