Yakisoba

Directly translated, yakisoba means burned buckwheat noodles. As you can see, these noodles are not burned. I think it would be more descriptive to call yakisoba fried noodles. Yakisoba is a mix of a tangy sauce, noodles, vegetables (usually cabbage) and meat all fried together on a griddle with ginger and seaweed flakes sprinkled on top.

If there is one food that can always be found at any barbecue or festival, it would be yakisoba. The group I worked with the first year I was here decided to have an "American" style barbecue. This meant hamburgers and hotdogs. There was plenty of food with some left over, but in the end, someone brought noodles and cabbage and fried up yakisoba. I guess it just isn't a barbecue without yakisoba for Japanese.