Yakisoba with Tonkatsu BBQ Sauce

[Alien BBQ]

Yakisoba with Tonkatsu BBQ Sauce

I have traveled the world and eaten many interesting things in my life. I have found that BBQ can be found in every corner of the globe and different countries bring different taste to the table. One of the most enjoyable adventures have had was on the little island of Okinawa, Japan. There I lived for many years and learned to adapt to the culture and the food. In fact, it was in Okinawa that I was first introduced to Mongolian BBQ… but that’s another story. I use to love driving by the street vendors on my way to and from work every day. I lived atop a jungle escarpment overlooking the East China Sea. In the valley was a converted bus that a Japanese BBQ vendor was working out of and I could smell the BBQ cooking everyday from my house. Okinawa is a mixture of Japanese, Polynesian, and American cultures and foods. Many of the dishes served there were a mixture of one, two, or many different foods and styles of cooking. Okinawa is Japans poorest prefecture and a dense jungle as well. While electricity and fuel were expensive, there were plenty of trees, and a 55 gallon drum was the BBQ cooker of choice for many.
One of my favorite dishes from the BBQ vendor was Yakisoba, with Tonkatsu sauce. As an American, I had never had anything with so many layers of flavors going on in my mouth at one time. As it is cooked by the street vendors, this is Japanese BBQ at its best. While soba (noodles) are normally buckwheat or Chinese egg noodles, I actually prefer spaghetti noodles that have been prepared the day before and refrigerated. For some reason, the taste is closer to the original vendor’s BBQ. Fresh noodles have a tendency to become mushy. In fact, this dish is perfect for left over pulled pork and noodles that you have prepared earlier and placed in the freezer to firm up. According to whom you have translating, “Yakisoba” basically means “burnt” or “fried” noodles. You can put just about anything into Yakisoba, and that is probably the reason it is Japans favorite dish.
This recipe will focus on using pulled pork (without any sauce) for the meat, a few vegetables (for the wife and kids) and fried noodles. One word of caution, the Tonkatsu is very addicting, in fact once you taste it on the pork, and you may not want to try it on the noodles. My daughter tried this for the first time and her comment was that she loved it but could not tell me why. The flavors in her mouth changed as she ate the pork and Tonkatsu sauce. All she could say was: “You can make this again, anytime.”

Will feed 10 hungry people easily.

We’ll start with the Tonkatsu BBQ Sauce

In a bowl mix:

1 Cup Ketchup
½ Cup Worcestershire
½ Cup Sake, Rice Wine, or Vodka
¼ Cup Brown or Turbino Sugar
2 Tblsp Sri Racha sauce
2 Tblsp Ginger
2 Tblsp Roasted garlic
2 Tblsp Balsamic Vinegar

**** The Soy sauce will be used when cooking the soba with the vegetables.







Cooking outside is part of the fun with this meal. While I did not have a 55 gallon drum lying around, I did get a fairly good fire going in my Brinkman water smoker (without the lid.) I am using a 16 inch carbon steel wok (from Target) to cook in and a lid from one of my other pans.


In the pan, place some already prepared smoked pork (from another meal) or fresh pork with a garlic and pepper encrusted rub applied. Either will do great as long as it has only had a dry rub applied. Additionally I poured about 1 oz. of olive oil in the pan to help promote the cooking. Place the pork, fat side down (don’t worry; you will be flipping it thought the cook.)




When the meat reaches 190 degrees internally (145 if previously prepared), take a fork and pull the pork away from the bone. Add in ½ of the Tonkatsu sauce, and stir until well mixed.




Add in any type of vegetables at this time to allow them to cook down and infuse their flavors with the sauce and meat. I chose: Sugar snap peas, a broccoli and carrot medley, Texas 1015 onions, and one each red and yellow sweet pepper. I cooked the onions and peppers with the meat and the other ingredients with the soba to save on space.





After the meat and onion/peppers were cooked, I removed them from the wok and placed 2 oz. of olive oil back into the wok.


When the oil was hot enough, I placed the noodles and the remaining Tonkatsu sauce in the wok and stirred until thoroughly blended.




I then added the remaining vegetables to the frying noodles and cooked till the vegetables were done but still slightly firm. Add the soy sauce to taste at this time.



To serve, place the noodles on the plate and serve the Tonkatsu sauce and meat on top.



You can change the vegetables around or try a different meat like chicken. Once the family tastes this dish, it will quickly become a staple at your house. The final added bonus is the entire meal was cooked in one pan and outdoors. You do not have to stand over this meal and watch it. This would be a great meal for a party where everyone watches you cook while chatting. Bon Appetit.
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[don06]

It be fine as frog hair-ah.



Don

[favre1]

What a great looking recipe. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

[Alien BBQ]

Believe me, it taste a lot better than it looks.
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[bigabyte]

That looks great! Can't wait to try it. Nice change of pace for leftovers!
_________________
--Chris Baker
--Mad BBQ Scientist
--When my lab fills with smoke, that means it's working!

[Alien BBQ]

Check your email.
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[Texacue]

Nice recipe Alien.

I'll have to give it a try. My daughter loves Asian cuisine. I've always have chilled rice ready to go in the fridge for Fried Rice Surprise which usually consists of veggies and left over grilled meat I have on hand with Teriyaki sauce or Chinese Style brown sauce.

Although she loves fried rice she'd kill for Lo Mein noodles. I've had no luck finding Lo Mein noodles like what we get at the local Chinese restaurant. I've never thought to use spaghetti noodles as an alternative.

A light bulb just went off in my head after reading your Yokisaba post.

Thanks!
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There's no such thing as bad barbecue - some of it's just better than others.

[Alien BBQ]

The Tonkatsu BBQ sauce is sometimes referred to as Japanese Brown Sauce. The noodles in this are better if they are a day old or have been refrigerated. This dish is great for getting rid of leftovers. At my house it seems that there is always something left over, just not enough to feed everyone again. This dish will help you get rid of a number of items from the week.
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[Texacue]

Made a variation of this dish for my daughter tonight and she was floored !!!

She loves fried rice and homemade sweet 'n sour chicken but I think she's found a new favorite.

I didn't have a few of the ingredients listed on your BBQ sauce recipe so I did a Teriyaki flavored brown sauce. Just used onions and carrots (wish I had some cabbage) but didn't. It's a hit and now an official staple in my household. I hesitated to add any ketchup because I didn't want a too sweet of an offset to the teriyaki and soy but all the Yokisaba recipes I've researched including your own insist on ketchup as a key ingredient. I guess I'll take the plunge next time.

Thanks for adding a new wrinkle to my arsenal Alien. I ate my daughters leftovers with some mesquite grilled chicken I cooked up last night. I must say it tasted like it was meant to go together.
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There's no such thing as bad barbecue - some of it's just better than others.

[Alien BBQ]

It is surprisingly good isn’t it! I felt the same way about the ketchup as you did. In the end it was a good balance of flavor. My daughter was giddy about the way the flavors changed in your mouth as it hit different taste buds. I am glad you liked it.
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[BigOrson]

Made this last night with some smoked country-style ribmeat I had smoked and shredded. I also substituted sambal oelek for the sri rachi (it's what I had open). The kids thought it was really spicy, but they polished off their portions. Wife agreed, saying that she couldn't believe that she'd eaten the whole plate of it. Aside from tasting it, I haven't had a plate yet, but I'm looking forward to it for lunch!

[Markbb]

Now I know what to break in my new wok on Thanks Alien

[BigOrson]

Unlike a lot of Asian food, I think this was even better the next day!

[mutha chicken bbq]

What a great recipe, Thank you

Do you also have the dipping sauce and salad dressing recipe found in most Japanese Resturaunts? Love that stuff. Just don't know what it is called to google it.
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The only thing consistant in BBQ is, it is always the Judges fault!

KCBS CBJ
www.galvinell.com
www.realdealbbq.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUcTvhyof8I&feature=related

[Alien BBQ]

If you have the name for it I will look. Many times it is Hosen sauce.
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[mutha chicken bbq]

well I guess there is a reason to take the wife out!
_________________
The only thing consistant in BBQ is, it is always the Judges fault!

KCBS CBJ
www.galvinell.com
www.realdealbbq.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUcTvhyof8I&feature=related

[Hell Fire Grill]

I made this for dinner a few days ago and it was great, everybody loved it.

[subcooling]

alien

that looks wonderful and i can't wait to try it sometime. although it isn't what i remember about yakisoba from my time in Okinawa. right outside of gate 3 at Kadena Air Base was the best yakisoba on the island. Mickey's i think was the name of the place.

anyway if you are eve in Dallas make sure to try Gengis Grill from some great mongolian BBQ. they have several locations.

[Alien BBQ]

Naw, Gate three at the motorbus that was parked on the side of the road in 1982.
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[subcooling]

now that i think of it it might have been gate 2. anyway i was there from 1991 to 1994. so it could have been 3 and it's just changed so much since 92.

i don't remeber that well. i've slept since then so you can't hold me to anything i say.