Teppanyaki Hibachi Grilling | The 9 Best Japanese Noodles in Hibachi

As you might have guessed, "Japanese hibachi noodles" is a generic term. While the ingredients in the recipe may vary, the cooking method is the same, and they all go through hibachi cooking before serving.

But the best noodles are wheat flour noodles. There are many types, but I'll explain why yakisoba noodles are best for hibachi, and I'll introduce 8 other types of noodles you can try or substitute when you have noodles on hand.

While you can make hibachi with soba noodles, they are soba noodles, and typical noodles are made with wheat flour. Yakisoba is made with wheat ramen or "chukamen" noodles and is perfect for hibachi.

My favorite brand to use is Hime, and it's not just for ramen soups, but also for teppanyaki hibachi grilling. They're great with a little oil and fry well, so if you have some left or plan to buy some, that's great.

Another perfect option is udon noodles, a thicker type of noodle with a richer flavor that will leave you with heavier noodles.

Chukamen ramen (yakisoba) noodles

Ramen noodles are made from wheat flour, dried ears and brine, and are usually thin and pale yellow with a tough and elastic texture.

The technique of making ramen was introduced from China during the Meiji period (1868-1912), and a distinctive feature of ramen is that it is first fermented with yeast before the dough is rolled, pulled and stretched.

Noodles can vary in shape, width and length and are usually served in a broth. Curry, tonkotsu, miso, shio, and shōyu are examples of ramen noodles.

Udon

The thickest Japanese noodles you will find are udon noodles. They are bright white wheat noodles that can be 4 to 6 mm thick.

You can eat udon in one of two ways, and like many Japanese dishes, it's a very seasonal food:

• Serve with a cold sauce for dipping and slurp. They are eaten cold in summer.
• Eat them in warm recipes and soups, which you want to do in winter and fall when it's much colder outside.

You'll find udon in the following dishes:

• Kitsune Udon
• Yaki Udon
• Nabeyaki udon
• Curry Udon

You might think that every dish with "udon" in its name would have the same noodles in the recipe, but Sala Udon is an anomaly, it's made with crispy noodles.

Shirataki

The noodles are transparent and have a rubbery texture. It's made from konnyaku and it's chewy to eat. Cabbage is great for Japanese dishes such as oden and sushi yaki.

Soba

Made from wheat flour and buckwheat, the noodles are usually pale yellow or beige in color. Soba noodles are available dry or fresh, and they can be eaten in a variety of ways, either hot (as in soup noodles) or cold with a dipping sauce.

If you've ever tried tororo, kitsune, tempura, kake or frozen zaru soba, then you must have tried some Japanese soba!

A dish of soba should not fall into this category, as it is actually made with Chinese noodles (chūkamen) and is not exactly "buckwheat noodles"

Somen

Somen is another wheat noodle. But unlike the usual thick yellows and pale yellows, this one is thick white.

Although it can be used in soups and other hot dishes, it is usually served cold or refrigerated. Especially in summer, people do this to help the Japanese stay cool.

Somen noodles are very similar to hiyamugi and udon noodles except they are thin, 1.3mm wide, while others are slightly thicker. When making somen noodles, an important factor in success is the oil.

Hiyamugi

Hiyamugi is also made from wheat and is similar to udon and somen noodles. Its thickness is roughly between the two types of noodles mentioned earlier, and is also very similar to udon and somen noodles.

You will often see hiyamugi noodles as white, but there are also cases where they are bundled with brown or pink noodles.

Harusame

Harusame is a little different and is a glass noodle. They are the only known noodles made from potato starch.

Tokoroten

This Japanese noodle is the weirdest of all but I kind of like it because of it! It is made from a type of agar, which has a gelatin-like substance.

It's not actually agar, but another type of red seaweed grown specifically for these noodles! You can read more in the post I wrote about tokoroten.

Even the cuts of the noodles are weird as the noodles are shaped like thin rectangles of jelly.