Japanese Fried Noodles with Bacon and Cabbage

Salty-sweet, umami-packed Japanese stir-fried noodles called yakisoba are a wildly popular type of casual comfort food. The mix of well-seasoned noodles and vegetables (and sometimes protein) might even be tucked into a hot dog bun—yes, a bun—to make a sandwich called “yakisoba pan” or “yakisoba dog.” At home, yakisoba can be made “instantly,” much like instant ramen, or it can be prepared using kits sold in the refrigerator section of the supermarket. We prefer to boil (non-instant) dried ramen, which is sometimes sold as bricks (similar to instant ramen) and sometimes as spaghetti-straight strands, then create our own seasoning mix, which is no more difficult than combining a few ingredients in a bowl. If you’re able to purchase a yakisoba kit, you can discard the seasoning packet and use only the noodles, which are precooked (if using noodles from a kit, you’ll need 10 to 12 ounces). If Italian pasta is the only type of noodle available, see How to “Ramenize” Pasta. Yakisoba typically is garnished with aonori (powdered seaweed) and beni shoga (bright pink pickled julienned ginger). We use nori snacks and gari, the type of pickled ginger served with sushi.