Omu Soba (Omusoba, オムそば) is Yakisoba noodles wrapped with a thin egg crepe, looking like an omelette. It’s found at a lot of Okonomiyaki restaurants in Japan that also serve Yakisoba noodles. At a restaurant, skilled Okonomiyaki cooks make noodles and thin round eggs, wrap noodles with the egg on the hot griddles using two Okonomiyaki spatulas right in front of you. That may be hard for us to imitate at home. However, it is not hard to make Omu Soba yourself with a frying pan.
Some say Omu Soba was originally created at an Okonomiyaki restaurant in Osaka, but others say a different restaurant in Tokyo. Whoever made this first was so clever and is much appreciated because people have been enjoying this dish ever since. Omu Soba became popular enough, and people started making it at home too.
We made simpler Yakisoba noodles for Omu Soba, but you can put any vegetables and meat you like or have on hand. But it is easier to make if the egg crepe isn’t too stuffed, and for that consideration, bulky and chunky vegetables may be avoided. In general, cut all the ingredients thinly so they fit well with the noodles inside the egg.
There are good store-bought Yakisoba sauces a lot of people like using at home, but you can use other sauces if you can’t find it. Okonomiyaki sauce works well, and Tonkatsu or Worcestershire sauce is OK but keep in mind it may lack some sweetness. We have a home-made Yakisoba sauce recipe available in our Yakisoba recipe if you like.
Omu Soba is tasty for lunch or dinner. If you think the dish involves a little more than you want for a weekday meal, try it on a weekend. Hope you and your family like this fun-shaped Yakisoba!
Omu Soba
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Ingredients
- 1 cup cabbage
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1/2 carrot small
- 2 green onions
- 5 oz pork thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp oil divided
- 2 pkgs Chuka men Chinese style noodles
- 6 Tbsp Yakisoba sauce or Okonomiyaki Sauce
- salt and pepper
- 3 eggs
- Japanese mayonnaise
- Aonori green dried seaweed flakes
- Katsuobushi dried bonito flakes
- Benishoga pickled red ginger
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables and pork. Cut cabbage into 1/2" (1.2 cm) width strips. Wash and strain bean sprouts. Cut carrot into thin matchsticks. Slice green onions thinly. Cut sliced pork into bite-size pieces.
- In a large frying pan, add 1 Tbsp oil and heat at medium high heat. Cook meat first until browned. Add carrot and cook about 1-2 minutes. Then add cabbage and bean sprouts, and cook until the vegetables are wilted. Once water seeps out from the vegetables, add Chuka Men, stir under the vegetables, lower heat and cover, and cook about 2-3 minutes until noodles soften.
- When the noodles get loose and soft, keep stirring to mix with vegetables, then add sauce stirring the whole thing for a couple of minutes to coat evenly with the sauce. (Season with salt and pepper to taste.) Set aside.
- Whisk eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt. Heat a medium frying pan with 1/2 Tbsp oil. Pour half of the egg mixture in the pan, spread it thin with a swirl motion of the pan, and cook for 15-30 seconds. Put some Yakisoba in the center of the egg. Do not overstuff. Wrap the filling with the egg using a spatula. Flip the pan over a plate, turning the egg out onto the plate. Shape the omelette into an oval shape with hands. Make another one.
- Top with Yakisoba Sauce, mayo, Aonori, Katsuobushi, chopped green onions, and Benishoga.
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