Ramen Style Yakisoba

After we got married, the hubby and I (sadly) did not get to go on a Honeymoon. Completely my fault. You see each year, our lab attends the College on Problem of Drug Dependence. And last year, it was hosted in Palm Springs, California from June 9th-14th. Well, being that I got married on June 30th--I decided it was most practical to just stay out there. But since, I was not in school for about a month-- I could not bare asking them to take off an additional week or two to go on a honeymoon.

The hubby and I are not lay on the beach kinda of people or short trips just to say we went. We love sight-seeing, especially culturally different and historical experiences. I knew that if I went on a honeymoon, I would want to go to China, Japan, Italy/Greece, South Africa-- and if I did go to these places, I would not want to rush to go through it in less than a week. Flash forward to now: the hubby and I would like to go on a one year anniversary trip to Thailand. Which I have heard, is a bit pricey to fly there, given the distance but quite affordable to have a fun, lavish, culturally full trip! Basically, I shared all of that- to tell you that this whole morning I have been researching flight prices and things to do in Thailand :)

And now that I mentioned China and may have also been considering if the hubby and I wanted to spend our anniversary there. I began thinking of Chinese food, which I frequently crave. And what I love most about Chinese food is chicken lo mein and crab rangoons. With that being said- I have this awesome, easy, cheap Ramen style Yakisoba recipe to share with you all. Ramen is a type of noodle we are all familiar with and Yakisoba is also a type of noodle. So how so with Ramen style Yakisoba. Well it is using a Ramen noodle package to make a Yakisoba style noodle dish. The end result? Awesome :) You are probably thinking Ramen? Just try it!

RAMEN STYLE YAKISOBA

Adapted from Budget Bytes

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SAUCE
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. ketchup
(up to) 1 tbsp. Sriracha sauce*


FOR THE NOODLES
1 tbsp. of garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 chicken breast (cut in thin cutlets and then into strips)(or substitute with shrimp)**
1 bag of 12-16oz stiry fry frozen vegetable bag, thawed and drained
3 packages of Top Ramen Noodles
1-2 tsp. of sesame oil***

*The more Sriracha sauce the more spicy the noodles will be-- add to taste.
**Take chicken breast and try your best to cut it into three thin layers (horizontally). Then cut each layer into thin strips. Can use more than one chicken breast if prefer more chicken in noodles. A great substitute would be shrimp!
***This depend on how oily and "chinese food" like taste you prefer for your noodles. The more sesame oil the more oily and chinese food like taste you will achieve.

DIRECTIONS

First, prepare the sauce: in a small bowl combine the soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and Sriracha sauce. Budget Bytes recommends that if you do not want your noodles to be spicy, add only 1/2 tsp of Sriracha sauce. Whisk together until ketchup has completely dissolved. Set aside.

Next, heat garlic over medium heat in a large skillet. Saute until slightly browned and fragrant. Add thin chicken strips and cook until no longer pink in the middle (5-8 minutes). Once chicken is cooked, add the frozen vegetables (thawed and drained!). Stir intermittently and cook, again for about 5-8 minutes until heated. Reduce to medium-low heat and pour stir-fry sauce over the chicken and vegetables in skillet. Combine well. Reduce to low heat-simmer until noodles are ready.

To prepare noodles boil water in a medium-large pot over medium-high heat. Once water begins boiling, add the noodles and cook until just tender (NO MORE THAN 2 minutes). You want the noodles to be slightly stiff or al dente because this prevents it from become mushy when tossing with the sauce, veggies and chicken. Drain liquid, run cold water through noodles (to prevent sticking), and return to pot (make sure there is not excess liquid before returning to pot). Toss with sesame oil to prevent the noodles from sticking. Do this immediately as the noodles will begin to stick to each other very quickly!

Add noodles to stir-fry chicken and vegetable mixture--tossing well to fully incorporate noodles and coat with sauce!

Enjoy,
Chika