Gluten Free and Vegan Yakisoba

Takes 20 minutes. Serves 2.

Yakisoba is a Japanese dish that literally means "fried noodles". It's one of my absolute favourite Japanese dishes, and it's not hard to create gluten free (and vegan).

Something quite lucky about soba noodles is that they are traditionally made out of pure buckwheat, meaning that they are naturally gluten free. You still need to be careful when buying them however, because most will contain a wheat/buckwheat mix. If you are in the U.K., Clearspring and King Soba both sell a gluten free soba noodle. Buckwheat has a distinctive earthy/nutty flavour which I personally love, but some people are not as partial to. If you aren't a fan of buckwheat, any gluten free noodle can be substituted into this dish.

I like to stick with the classic vegetables of Yakisoba like carrot, mushroom, onions, etc. but don't feel limited to that. Bell peppers are particularly nice, as well as bok choy, and courgette. As long as you can slice them thinly enough for a 2-3 minute fry then they will work well.

Traditional yakisoba sauce contains ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce, the latter of the two not being gluten free. Sometimes it will also contain oyster or fish sauce, which are not vegan. To get around this, but still produce the same umami flavour, the key ingredient I use Lee Kum Kee mushroom stir fry sauce and seaweed flakes, which is both gluten free and vegan. Mushrooms and seaweed are the bread and butter of the gluten free/vegetarian Japanese cooking world. You'll be hard pressed to find anything else that can replicate the same flavours, so I recommend getting your hands on the mushroom sauce and good quality seaweed.

I N G R E D I E N T S

For the sauce:

• 1 Tbsp sesame oil

• 2 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce

• 1 Tbsp of ketchup

• 1 Tbsp mirin

• 1 heaped Tbsp of mushroom stirfry sauce

• 1 tsp of seaweed flakes (I use Mara)

For the soba

• 200 grams of gluten free soba, cooked according to packet instructions

• 1 onion, sliced into half moons

• 30 grams of ginger, chopped into thin batons

• 2 carrots, chopped into thin batons

• A handle of mushrooms, roughly chopped

• 1 bok choy, roughly chopped

• 1 spring onion, finely sliced

• 1 red chilli, finely sliced (optional)

• 1 tsp of seaweed flakes for sprinkling

M E T H O D

1. Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, prepare all the vegetables.

2. Heat up a frying pan to a high heat with a dash of oil.

3. Once hot, add in the onions and ginger and fry until slightly soft.

4. Add in the carrots, mushrooms, and bok chop, and any other vegetables you'd like at this point. Fry until beginning to soften.

5. Add in the yakisoba sauce and fry for 30 seconds and then add in the cooked soba.

6. Toss for a few minutes to coat the soba and vegetables in the sauce, and make sure everything is nice and hot.

7. Serve in a wide shallow bowl or plate and top with spring onion, chilli, and seaweed. Enjoy!

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my recipe for Okonomiyaki - Japanese savoury pancakes!