Steps

1. Prepare a large bowl.
   🕒 00:47
2. Remove the core from 200g of cabbage, peel off a few outer leaves, and rinse quickly.
   🕒 00:53
3. Thoroughly drain the cabbage and roughly chop it into bite-sized pieces. Cut the tougher parts smaller. (This is the secret!) Cutting the tough parts smaller allows them to cook through evenly.
   🕒 01:55
4. Loosen and add the chopped cabbage to the bowl.
   🕒 02:14
5. Measure out 150g of pork belly and cut it into bite-sized pieces using scissors or a knife.
   🕒 02:45
6. In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp Cooking Sake (Rice Wine), 1 tbsp Mirin (Sweet Rice Wine), and 2 tsp Reduced Salt Hondashi (Bonito Seasoning). Mix well to create the sauce.
   🕒 04:32
7. Prepare 1 tbsp Sesame Oil and 2 tbsp Water. Have Salt ready for easy access.
   🕒 05:36
8. Cut a small corner off the bag containing the 2 portions of udon noodles, place them in a microwave-safe container, and heat for 3 minutes at 600W.
   🕒 05:50
9. Add the heated udon noodles to the bowl, then add 1 tbsp Sesame Oil (prepared earlier) and mix well to coat the noodles. (This is the secret!) Coating the hot, loosened udon noodles with sesame oil prevents the starch from dissolving when stir-fried, resulting in the best non-sticky yakisoba.
   🕒 06:37
10. Heat a frying pan over low to medium heat and add oil.
    🕒 10:00
11. Add the cabbage to the frying pan, sprinkle with a pinch of salt (about 2 pinches) and 2 tbsp Water (prepared earlier), and stir-fry. (This is the secret!) Slowly stir-fry the cabbage until very soft to blend well with the noodles.
    🕒 10:15
12. Once the cabbage has softened, turn off the heat and return it to the bowl.
    🕒 11:34
13. Heat the same frying pan over low to medium heat and add oil.
    🕒 11:55
14. Add the pork belly to the frying pan and stir-fry until lightly cooked.
    🕒 12:05
15. Add a pinch of salt (about 2 pinches) and stir-fry briefly.
    🕒 12:28
16. Once the pork is cooked, turn off the heat, drain the excess oil, and return the pork to the bowl with the cabbage. Leave the rendered pork fat in the frying pan.
    🕒 13:21
17. Add the sesame oil-coated udon noodles to the pork fat remaining in the frying pan and mix well to coat the noodles with the pork fat.
    🕒 14:00
18. Once evenly coated with oil, heat over low to medium heat and cook for about 2 minutes without moving too much to develop a browned surface. (This is the secret!) Developing a good char creates a fragrant yakisoba reminiscent of being cooked on a hot plate.
    🕒 14:35
19. Flip gently and brown the other side.
    🕒 15:34
20. Once both sides are browned, return the vegetables (cabbage and pork) to the frying pan and gently mix with the noodles.
    🕒 16:06
21. Once mixed, pour the prepared sauce over the noodles.
    🕒 16:43
22. Mix everything quickly after adding the sauce. Be careful as soy sauce and mirin can easily burn, so mix rapidly.
    🕒 17:08
23. Once everything is lightly combined, turn off the heat. Done.
    🕒 17:50