A classic Japanese home-cooking dish with a funny twist, inspired (if not stolen) from one of my favorite Yoshoku cuisine restaurants in NYC.
Instead of the classic choice of using the classic chinese-style wheat noodles typical in Yakisoba, this variation uses Bucatini from Italy. This gives much more bite to the noodles, and is far more handy than keeping around fresh noodles in the fridge for when you want the meal. I always have some kind of Pasta on hand, usually Bucatini, so it became the obvious choice for when I'm craving this dish.
I also give this dish the moniker "Crazy Style" because it has a few toppings that I really love that I don't see all too often on Yakisoba, that being benishoga (red pickled ginger), katsuobushi (smoked and dried skipjack tuna), and kizami nori (seaweed). It's a lot going on at once, but it's wonderfully fishy, smokey, sweet, fragrant, and acidic all at the same time.
A note on Arabiki:
Arabiki sausages are tiny smoked sausages made in Singapore, Japan, and Hawaii. They're small, snappy, and flavorful, and work perfectly when cut on a bias and quickly browned for this dish. This is not going to be an easy ingredient to find for most people, as it's typically sold only in Japanese grocery stores in the frozen section. An interesting replacement for this that I've actually tried out is Andouille sausage. It adds a nice little spice, and contributes the same smokey flavor. I think any sort of smokey hotdog or sausage could work well, but be careful and mindful about your choice.
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Yields: 2-3 servings
Ingredients
- 1/4 green cabbage sliced into pieces about 1.5 x 1.5 inches in size, more as desired.
- 1/2 white onion cut into medium slivers
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 1 bunch green onions, whites and greens sliced thinly and separated
- 6oz Arabiki sausage sliced on a diagonal, about half a package
- 4oz thinly sliced pork belly
- 140g bucatini
- ~3-4tbsp Yakisoba sauce (mostly to taste)
- Benishoga (pickled ginger)
- Katsuobushi (Shaved smoked skipjack)
- Kizami nori (small pieces of seaweed)
Directions
- Set salted water to boil
- Prep vegetables and aromatics, slicing as stated
- Start Bucatini cooking in the water according to timing listed on packaging, or cook until desired done-ness is reached. This will be timed so the pasta should be ready around when the vegetables are finished.
- Cook arabiki sausages and thinly sliced pork belly until sausages are slightly browned and pork belly is cooked through but not crisp. These can be removed to a plate as they finish
- Remove excess oil from the pan using paper towels or capture it for later use, leaving enough oil for sauteeing of the vegetables
- On medium high heat, start sauteeing onions
- After about one to two minutes, or until onions have started to become slightly colored and beginning to turn translucent, add the garlic, ginger, and white parts of the green onions
- Add the meat back to the pan
- Once those have cooked for about a minute, add the cabbage and reduce the heat. We want to preserve some crunch in both the onions and cabbage. Turn off the heat if the pasta is not ready after the cabbage has cooked for a little
- Once the bucatini has finished and still has a bit of a bite, drain and add to the pan with the vegetables
- Add yakisoba sauce, a small bit of pickled ginger, katsuobushi, kizami nori, and stir/toss to combine while cooking. We just want to add a little bit of these flavorings so they're well dispersed
- Take the pan off of the heat, and serve in plates or bowls
- Top with katsuobushi, kizami nori, and benishoga to the eater's taste (I like a lot!)
