The next stop on my culinary adventures around the World Showcase is Japan. I am not going to lie, this one made me nervous. Would I have the right cooking equipment? Was I going to be able to find all of the ingredients I needed? Have no fear! I am happy to report back that my dish of Pan Fried Noodles was a huge success and a big hit with the family.

Pan Fried Noodles

Japan Pavillon
Teppan Edo

Out of the three sit down dining options located in Epcot’s Japan pavilion, Teppan Edo, Tokyo Dining, and Takumi-Tei, Teppan Edo is truly the star. Teppan means “iron griddle” in Japanese, so the name is very fitting for this hibachi style dining experience.  My family and I have been dining here for as long as I can remember. It is especially my husband’s favorite as he studied Japanese in college. Depending on the size of your party, you will be seated alone, or with a combination of other families all around a large flat top grill. Here your chef will cook your dinner with flair and serve an amazing meal along with a show. The recipe I used to recreate Teppan-Edo’s delicious noodles is by Dinner at the Zoo and can be found here.

Ingredients:
4 serving

• 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup white onion
• 1/2 cup green onions
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 12 ounces cooked fresh noodles
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Directions:‍

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over medium high heat in a large pan. Add the carrots and white onions to the pan.
2. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
3. Add the green onions and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the vegetables from the pan, and cover to keep warm.
4. Rinse the noodles under hot water to separate them.
5. Heat the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil in the pan. Add the noodles and cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until browned and crispy on the edges.
6. Add the vegetables back to the pan.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of cold water.
8. Add the bean sprouts to the pan, and toss to combine.
9. Add the sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until sauce has just thickened and bean sprouts have wilted.
10. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and additional green onions if desired, then serve.

Since this meal did not require too much cooking on the stovetop, my little ones were able to be a lot more hands-on, which they loved!

The veggies that this recipe calls for are shredded carrots, white onion and bean sprouts. I chose to shred the carrots and onions at home with my grater. However, you can buy them pre-shredded at the grocery story if you prefer.

The kids got to shred the carrots and onions and mix together all of the ingredients for the sauce. Mom stepped in when it was time to start cooking.

One tip I found online that turned out to be my saving grace was buying precooked noodles, which you can find in the international isle of your grocery store.

Since these noodles come precooked, all you need to do is rinse them and throw them in the pan and voila! The longer you keep the noodles in the fry pan, the crispier they get. The texture is needed in this dish so that everything is not too soft.

The best part of these noodle is that it can easily be a side dish or a main course! We decided to cook up some chicken to mix in with the noodles for the first night. For night two, we had the noodles as a side dish.

To make your Japan experience even more authentic, open a bottle of sake and bring out the chop sticks! We have sets that we purchased from the gift shop located directly underneath the restaurant.

All in all, this dish was much easier to make than I anticipated. Cooking it myself may not have been quite as fun as watching it made hibachi-style at Teppan-Edo, but this recipe is definitely one we will be making more often.

I planned on making the green tea mousse cake from Teppan-Edo’s dessert menu as well, however, it was not as easy or as successful as the noodles. It is The Japan Pavilion that has had me conceding that I am a much better cook than I am a baker!

Enjoy! (Tanoshi!)

Follow us on social media so you can follow our Cooking Around the World Showcase journey. Next week, we are recreating a special dish from Italy! Can you guess which one we chose?

About Me

Hi everyone! My name is Kara and I am so excited to help you plan a magical Disney vacation. My love of Disney started during my very first trip there in March of 1994. Disney quickly became my family’s “happy place”. There was never any question, when it was time for a vacation, we packed our bags and headed to the most magical place on Earth. Nowadays, it is extra special for me to experience the Disney magic again through the eyes of my 4 year old son, Liam, and 2 year old daughter, Jennie. Seeing their eyes light up when Mickey and Minnie pass by and seeing their faces all sticky from Mickey ice cream bars make special memories that only Disney can bring. I can’t wait to help you build those memories together as a family!