Image: Wikimedia Commons
Yokote Yakisoba is a local-style yakisoba (fried noodles) dish that originated in Yokote City, Akita Prefecture. Its defining features are thick, boiled square noodles stir-fried with ground meat and chopped red pickled ginger in a slightly sweet Worcestershire-style sauce, finished with a soft-yolk fried egg and fukujinzuke (sweet pickled relish) on top. It is said to have been born just after the end of World War II, when a stall owner running an okonomiyaki cart in Yokote City sought to create a new menu item, and through trial and error with a local noodle maker, the noodles took their present form around 1953 (Showa 28). Its ease of preparation and delicious taste made it spread quickly, and at its peak, the city is said to have had around 100 yakisoba shops. In 2001 (Heisei 13), the 'Yokote Yakisoba Noren-kai' association was formed, and efforts to promote the dish nationwide and revitalize the local community continue to this day.
Origin
Yokote Yakisoba is said to have been born when a stall owner running an okonomiyaki cart in Yokote City just after the end of the war sought to devise a new menu item that made use of the okonomiyaki griddle. At the time, the okonomiyaki sold in the city was a thin crepe-like item eaten rolled around disposable chopsticks, and the development of yakisoba began as an alternative product to replace it.
History
Through repeated trial and error with a local noodle maker, the present-day thick boiled square noodles are said to have taken shape around 1953 (Showa 28). Its affordable price and delicious taste made it explosively popular, and since its preparation required no special equipment, it came to be sold at candy shops and in front of private homes as well — at its peak, the city is said to have had around 100 yakisoba shops. In July 2001 (Heisei 13), the 'Yokote Yakisoba Noren-kai' association was formed, and community revitalization efforts have continued through setting flavor standards and promoting the dish nationwide.
Features
The dish is characterized by its use of thick, non-wavy boiled square noodles, stir-fried with ground meat and chopped red pickled ginger in a slightly sweet Worcestershire-style sauce. The standard style of Yokote Yakisoba is to top it with a soft-yolk fried egg and serve it with fukujinzuke pickles on the side. Together with Fujinomiya Yakisoba from Shizuoka and Ota Yakisoba from Gunma, it is sometimes referred to as one of the 'Three Great Yakisoba of Japan.'
Main Ingredients
Food Culture
Born out of the postwar street stall culture, Yokote Yakisoba became a fixture of everyday life for Yokote City residents, made at candy shops and in front of homes as a food of the common people. Today, the 'Yokote Yakisoba Noren-kai' association still sets flavor standards for its member shops and, through the Yokote Yakisoba Dojo, invites yakisoba lovers from across the country to participate as certified shops — the community as a whole works together to protect and grow the local brand.
How It Differs from Home Cooking
At home, the dish is often made simply with store-bought Chinese-style noodles and Worcestershire sauce, but specialty shops differ in that each member shop uses its own house-blended sauce along with thick, purpose-made noodles, and follows the standard presentation of topping the dish with a fried egg and fukujinzuke pickles.
Famous Shops
元祖神谷焼きそば屋
秋田県横手市大屋新町中野117-67
A pioneering shop founded in 1955 (Showa 30). Its Niku Tamago Yasai (regular) costs around 750 yen and up.
藤春食堂
秋田県横手市大屋新町堂ノ前22-3
Its signature dish is the 'Tokusei Yakisoba,' made with two servings of noodles topped with ground meat, a fried egg, and pork thigh meat.