Otaru Ankake Yakisoba: Why "Yakisoba" Here Means Noodles Under a Thick Glaze

In most of Japan, yakisoba means noodles fried with sauce. In Otaru, it means crisp-fried noodles smothered in a thick, glossy sauce full of seafood and vegetables. Here is the story of this local soul food, said to be served at around 80 places in town, and how to eat it.

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Yakisoba Is Different in Otaru

In most of Japan, yakisoba is noodles stir-fried with a Worcestershire-style sauce. Order yakisoba at a diner or Chinese restaurant in Otaru, though, and you get crisp-fried noodles buried under a thick, starch-glazed sauce called an. In Otaru, yakisoba usually means this ankake version. Around 80 places in town are said to serve it. It does not top the guidebooks like sushi or ramen, but for locals it is the taste of home they grew up with, which is why they call it soul food. Sandwiched between the canal and the sushi, it is easy to miss, yet it is one of the most Otaru lunches you can have.

Born in Postwar Chinese Restaurants

Otaru ankake yakisoba is believed to have come out of the city's Chinese restaurants after the war. Accounts of the timing vary: some say shortly after the war, others the late 1950s. Many people name a Chinese restaurant that closed in 2013 as the originator, but there are other theories, so it is hard to say for certain. Two explanations are given for why it caught on. One is that it became the treat families ate together after shopping in town. The other is that it warmed people up through long, cold winters. The thick sauce holds its heat, perfect after a walk through snowy Otaru streets.

A Dish With No Fixed Recipe

Interestingly, there is no official definition of Otaru ankake yakisoba. The common ground is well-fried noodles and a generous amount of sauce. Everything else depends on the shop. The sauce is usually soy-based and lighter than it looks, packed with seafood such as shrimp, squid and clams, plus pork, wood-ear mushrooms and vegetables like napa cabbage. The noodles vary too: some shops press them on the griddle, others deep-fry them until crisp, and some let you choose. Portions tend to be large, so sharing is common. Since the same name can bring quite different plates, comparing a few shops is part of the fun of an Otaru trip.

A Citizens' Fan Club and the National Stage

How much locals love this dish shows in a citizens' group. In 2011, residents eager to promote it nationwide formed the "Otaru Ankake Yakisoba Shinseitai" (fan guard). The group entered the B-1 Grand Prix, a contest that promotes towns through local food, for the first time in 2014 and finished ninth in the visitor vote, then returned the following year. Thanks to efforts like these, packaged products bearing the Otaru ankake yakisoba name are now on sale too. But the real thing is the moment freshly fried noodles meet piping-hot sauce, so if you are in Otaru, eat it at a local restaurant.

How to Eat It, and Where

Many plates come with a dab of karashi mustard. Mixing a little into the sauce halfway through gives the dish a pleasant kick. The sauce is very hot, so start from the edges and let it cool as you go. As you eat, the sauce soaks into the noodles, so you get crisp bits and soft bits together. The easiest place to find it is the covered shopping arcades in the city centre, on the way down from Otaru Station toward the canal. Long-running Chinese restaurants and diners cluster here, a short step away from the busy canal and into a more local atmosphere. Before filling your day with sushi and seafood bowls, consider making one lunch an ankake yakisoba.

#Otaru#Ankake yakisoba#Soul food#Shopping arcade#Hokkaido comfort food