Yakisoba

Columbus Day Weekend, 2008.  The place: Candlewood Lake, Connecticut.  The cast of characters: ten thesis-crazed Amherst students looking for a little R&R.  We spent four days at a friend's house on the lake, surrounded by sparkling water and fiery New England autumn hills, doing our best to forget about the work awaiting us back at school.  We slept until noon and spent the afternoons drinking beer and lounging on the dock.

And, taking advantage of the huge and elegantly equipped kitchen, we cooked.  We cooked like the hungry young fiends we were, overwhelmed with delight at our temporary freedom from dining-hall blandness.  We bought everything we could get our hands on at the local Costco, and put together elaborate communal dinners full of fresh vegetables and bright flavors.  And by far the most successful meal we had that weekend was our friend Shaylon's yakisoba.

The dish itself was simple enough--noodles, vegetables and a touch of basil and garlic, stir-fried in oil and soy sauce until just barely crisp.  With high heat and constant stirring, the oil and soy mingled with the starch from the noodles to form a velvety whisper of a sauce.  The best part, though, was how easily Shaylon adapted the dish to suit ten wildly disparate tastes.  For the seafood lovers, there was garlicky shrimp to toss in with the noodles; for the meat eaters, there were hearty strips of chicken breast; and for the vegetarians, there were tiny golden brown cubes of tofu.  We fell on the food as if we hadn't eaten in days.  Afterward, I begged Shaylon for the recipe, and I've been making it (with slight modifications) ever since.

The biggest change-up I've made is the noodles themselves--the star of the dish.  At the lake house that evening, Shaylon used garden-variety supermarket spaghetti.  In the interest of health and flavor, I've experimented with different options, including soba, or Japanese buckwheat noodles.  They add a whole-grain earthiness that I quite like, but they're delicate and tend to fall apart with repeated stirring.  Lately I've compromised by using whole-wheat spaghetti, which combines the nuttiness of soba with the sturdiness of regular semolina noodles.  You can use anything you like.

As we discovered at the lake house, yakisoba is a true crowd-pleaser.  The recipe below calls for broccoli, carrots, and bok choy or cabbage, but this dish can incorporate any number of vegetables and protein options.  I've used it as a weeknight veggie drawer cleanout, tossing in everything from radishes to celery.  I've added tiny shrimp and shards of ginger for a dinner for two with my noodle-loving boyfriend.  I've even put it to my toughest entertaining challenge: a dinner party with my all-but-vegetarian parents and my aunt's husband, who believes that a dinner without red meat just isn't a meal.

Try it.  Play with ingredients.  Tailor it to your liking.  And check out Shaylon's blog for more delicious recipes from a very talented cook.

Shaylon's Yakisoba (serves 4-6)

1 pound (16 oz) whole-wheat spaghetti or other noodles

1/2 cup peanut oil (or another neutral oil, like canola)

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

5-6 fresh basil leaves, minced

1 cup carrots, cut into "coins"

One medium-to-large head of broccoli, chopped (florets and stems)

3 cups cabbage or bok choy, sliced into strips

1/2 cup cremini, portobello, and/or shiitake mushrooms, sliced (if using shiitakes, remove stems)

1 pound tofu, chicken, beef, pork, or shellfish, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the noodles according to package directions.  Drain and toss with 1 teaspoon sesame oil, to keep them from sticking.  Set aside.

In a large skillet or frying pan (preferably with deep sides), heat peanut oil, remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil, and soy sauce over medium-high heat.  Add garlic, basil, and mushrooms and stir for a minute or two, until fragrant, then add noodles and turn heat to high.  When the oil in the pan bubbles, stir the noodles continuously until they just start to crisp.  Add carrots, broccoli and bok choy or cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until all vegetables are soft and the liquid in the pan has created a sauce on the noodles.

Toss in your protein of choice and stir just until everything is heated through.  (If you've got multiple people to please, warm the meat and/or tofu separately and serve on the side so everyone can choose what they like.)  Season with salt and pepper and serve.