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If you’re in the mood for quick and easy comfort food, Teriyaki Noodles are a solid choice. Soft, chewy noodles tossed in sweet and spicy teriyaki sauce is ready in 15 minutes or less. Enjoy as-is or add cooked vegetables or your favorite protein for a complete meal.
Reminiscent of ramen noodles, this easy Teriyaki Noodle Bowl is simple comfort food ready fast. Make the teriyaki sauce in advance and keep your fridge for when the mood strikes, then stir-fry with cooked noodles, no wok required.
Customize your bowl with any number of cooked proteins like chicken, steak, shrimp, or pork. Or, add cubes of fried tofu or a couple of jammy eggs. Just be sure all your proteins are cooked in advance (or stir-fry in vegetable oil before adding to the noodles).
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Mirin: Mirin is a Japanese cooking wine that is widely available at grocery stores, Target, and Walmart. If you can’t find it, substitute 2 tablespoons dry white wine OR rice vinegar AND 1 teaspoon sugar for the 2 tablespoons mirin in this recipe.
- Ginger: Store the whole root in the freezer, as-is and grate it when you need it. Some grocery stores also sell tubes of grated ginger in the produce area and it works perfectly here (I usually pick up a tube of the garlic paste, too, if I’m going to make teriyaki sauce).
- Red pepper flakes: Maybe omit these if you’re feeding children (I always do) or add more if you love heat.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large nonstick skillet, combine soy sauce, sugar, water, mirin, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes, if using. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer. To make the cornstarch slurry, remove 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce to a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch. Return to the saucepan and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring 4 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt to boil. Add noodles and stir to separate. Boil until tender but still firm, about 4 to 6 minutes depending on package instructions. Drain well, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
- To the skillet with the teriyaki sauce, stir in noodles and toss gently until coated and heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 4 cups noodles and 1 cup teriyaki sauce.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Sweeteners: Substitute brown sugar for the white sugar. Stir in a teaspoon of honey, maple syrup, agave, or pineapple juice to the finished sauce.
- Garlic: Substitute ¼ teaspoon garlic powder for the fresh garlic clove if desired (or add garlic powder to taste).
- Teriyaki vegetables: My favorite thing to do is use the leftover homemade teriyaki sauce in the skillet to sauté veggies. To the empty skillet with teriyaki drippings, add ¼ cup water and turn to medium high heat. Add about 4 cups (or more) assorted fresh stir-fry veggies such as broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, sliced bok choy, asparagus, snow peas, snap peas, shredded cabbage, and sliced celery to the skillet. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 3 to 5 minutes longer. Canned water chestnuts and bamboo shoots are awesome too!
- Add a protein: To make a complete meal, add cooked beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, or even vegan tofu. Halves of jammy eggs are always welcome, too.
- Easy teriyaki noodles: Lo mein noodles were my favorite during testing, but you could try gluten free rice noodles, soba noodles, or udon noodles.
- Lower sodium: Low-sodium soy sauce is an easy swap that I always use in my own kitchen. There’s plenty of salt in everything, so I cut it out whenever I can.
- Teriyaki Chicken: For every 2 chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds), use ¼ cup teriyaki sauce. Marinade at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator. Grill or sauté the chicken breasts and serve with extra teriyaki sauce on the side.
- Hibachi Steak: Plain old meat and potatoes get a major flavor overhaul with this Hibachi Steak Cheesecake Factory copycat recipe. Juicy flank steak served with grilled wasabi potatoes and a delicious teriyaki sauce make this homemade version better than anything from the restaurant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Teriyaki sauce is made from a combination of soy sauce, sugar, mirin, ginger, and garlic. Some recipes add red chili flakes for spice, cornstarch for thickness, or honey as a finishing sweetener.
Choose a gluten free soy sauce such as tamari (always check your labels).
Unlike westernized versions that are sweetened with honey and flavored with garlic and ginger, traditional Japanese teriyaki sauce is made with sake (Japanese rice wine), soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
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Teriyaki Noodles
Ingredients
For the teriyaki sauce:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons mirin (see note 1)
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger grated (from one 6-inch piece, see note 2)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional (see note 3)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the noodles:
- 8 ounces lo mein noodles or rice noodles
- thinly sliced scallions
- sesame seeds
Instructions
To make the teriyaki sauce:
- In a large nonstick skillet, combine soy sauce, sugar, water, mirin, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes, if using. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer.
- To make the cornstarch slurry, remove 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce to a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch. Return to the saucepan and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.
To make the noodles:
- Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring 4 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt to boil. Add noodles and stir to separate. Boil until tender but still firm, about 4 to 6 minutes depending on package instructions. Drain well, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
- To the skillet with the teriyaki sauce, stir in noodles and toss gently until coated and heated through, about 2 minutes. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Mirin: Mirin is a Japanese cooking wine that is widely available at grocery stores, Target, and Walmart. If you can’t find it, substitute 2 tablespoons dry white wine OR rice vinegar AND 1 teaspoon sugar for the 2 tablespoons mirin in this recipe.
- Ginger: Store the whole root in the freezer, as-is and grate it when you need it. Some grocery stores also sell tubes of grated ginger in the produce area and it works perfectly here (I usually pick up a tube of the garlic paste, too, if I’m going to make teriyaki sauce).
- Red pepper flakes: Maybe omit these if you’re feeding children (I always do) or add more if you love heat.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 4 cups noodles and 1 cup teriyaki sauce.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Perfect timing. I was so ready for a change of flavors. LOL
Well hello there! I hope you love the noodles, we couldn’t stop slurping them down in the test kitchen. 🙂 Happy weekend Dave! -Meggan