“Yakisoba” (or “yaki soba”) is a Japanese dish of stir-fried wheat-flour noodles, accompanied by vegetables and whatever meat is desired. Many different combinations of yakisoba dishes are made.
“‘Gomoku Yaki Soba’ (fried noodles tastefully adorned with shredded chicken and vegetables)” was printed in the Los Angeles (CA) Times on June 24, 1934. “Last night we had Yaki-soba, The basis of this dish is a sort of chop suey with twenty ingredients. To this are added a few thousand other ingredients with a big plate of noodles on the side” was printed in the San Francisco (CA) Examiner on March 30, 1937. “Yakisoba. A delicious dish of fried noodles mixed with bits of pork, celery, onions, peas and some white leathery strips of goodness knows what” was printed in the book Key to Japan (1946) by Willard Price.
Wikipedia: Yakisoba
Yakisoba (Japanese: 焼きそば [jakiꜜsoba]), literally “fried buckwheat”, is a Japanese noodle stir-fry dish. Although soba means buckwheat, yakisoba noodles are actually made from wheat flour, and are typically flavored with a condiment similar to oyster sauce. The dish first appeared in food stalls in Japan during the early 20th century.
Preparation
Yakisoba is prepared by frying ramen-style wheat noodles (also called “Chinese noodles” 中華麺) with bite-sized pork and finely chopped vegetables like cabbage, onions, bean sprouts and carrots. The flavored with yakisoba sauce, salt and pepper. It can be served with a variety of garnishes, such as aonori (seaweed powder), beni shōga (shredded pickled ginger), katsuobushi (fish flakes), and mayonnaise.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
yakisoba, n.
Etymology: < Japanese yakisoba (1936 or earlier) <
/yaki- , combining stem of yaku to cook, grill, (here specifically) stir-fry + -soba wheat-flour noodles similar to ramen (specific use (in e.g. Shina-soba , lit. ‘China noodles’) of soba buckwheat noodles: see soba n.), perhaps after the Chinese etymon of chow mein n.
A Japanese dish consisting of fried wheat-flour noodles with vegetables and (usually) meat in a thick, slightly sweet, brown sauce.
1957 Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) 12 Jan. 8/4 All that remained was for me to sample my yaki-soba.
24 June 1934, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “Girls Who Hitch-Hike Over the World—On Courage” by Barbara Miller, Sunday Magazine, pg. 6, col. 4:
Chinese food was in high favor with the staff and after about six months I managed to consumer the popular “Gomoku Yaki Soba” (fried noodles tastefully adorned with shredded chicken and vegetables) without outraging the finer sensibilities of my fellow toilers.
30 March 1937, San Francisco (CA) Examiner, “Vagabondia” by Bruno Lessing, pg. 9, col. 3:
Last night we had Yaki-soba, The basis of this dish is a sort of chop suey with twenty ingredients. To this are added a few thousand other ingredients with a big plate of noodles on the side. I nibbled at the Yaki-soba, ate all the noodles and then had a fine little broiled chicken.
6 April 1937, San Francisco (CA) Examiner, “Vagabondia” by Bruno Lessing, pg. 9, col. 3:
Yakisoba. (The chef announced this: “A Chinese dish.”) Chicken, pork, bacon, smoked ox tongue, ginger root, garlic, shallot, celery, leeks, Chinese cabbage, vegetable marrow, bamboo sprouts, corn flour. And, with it, a sauce of vinegar, mustard and soya bean. I wondered why he left out watermelon, Brussels sprouts, maple syrup and sulphate of zinc.
Google Books
Travel in Japan
Volumes 4-7
1938
Pg. 40:
Men with hand-carts sell ” yaki-soba ” or a kind of toasted spaghetti placed hot on a square of newspaper and conveyed to the mouth with a toothpick, or mysterious round cakes cooked while you wait, ...
Google Books
Key to Japan
By Willard Price
Toronto, ON: W. Heinemann Limited
1946
Pg. 118:
Yakisoba. A delicious dish of fried noodles mixed with bits of pork, celery, onions, peas and some white leathery strips of goodness knows what.
12 June 1947, Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, “You Have a Mission, Mrs. A” by Stephen Kelen, pg. 9, cols. 5-6:
Another popular and tasty dish is “Yakisoba,” which consists of fried noodles mixed with bits of pork, celery, onions, and peas.
YouTube
How to Make Authentic Yakisoba | Yakisoba Recipe | Allrecipes.com
Allrecipes
Published on Apr 12, 2013
YouTube
Yakisoba Recipe - Japanese Cooking 101
JapaneseCooking101
Published on Oct 1, 2014
This video will show you how to make Yakisoba, a popular stir fried noodle dish.