Yakuza Like a Dragon: Chilled Noodle Lunch Box

Last week was Summer Games Done Quick and I could not stop watching all of the amazing speedruns. I was extremely excited to see Froob’s run of Yakuza: Like a Dragon being shared with the world during the event. This run can be extremely RNG heavy and I’m happy that the game decided to play nice, even with Tendo throwing a right hand at the very end on a protected Ichiban. If you haven’t caught any of Froob’s content, I highly recommend checking out his many Yakuza speed runs. You should know by now that the Yakuza series holds a special place in my heart, and watching someone else with a passion for the series play it extremely well is a delight. I am always impressed how fast these games can be played with the correct routing and skipping all of the story.

During the Yakuza: Like a Dragon speed run, there is a stop at Survive Bar to get several meals to carry your team through the run. Often, Joon-gi Han is the one responsible for keeping the party healthy while snacking on these items. One of those items is the chilled noodles lunch box. This dish has been on my to-do list since I played the game. It has a lot of pieces that can be prepared ahead of time before you are ready to serve. The only part that you should make right before serving is the noodles. I found that noodles in the refrigerator tend to dry out too much.

Sake Soaked Tamago
6 eggs
½ cup sake
¼ cup water
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp salt

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Gently place the eggs in the pot, cover, and cook for six and a half minutes. Once cooked, immediately take the pot off the stove and place under cold running water. Move the contents to a bowl with ice cubes and water. Let rest for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the shells from the eggs.

Mix the sake, water, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in a resealable bag. Add the eggs. Seal and make sure the eggs are fully covered. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 24 hours. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Shredded Kimchi Chicken
2 chicken breasts
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 bay leaf
½ chicken bouillon
5 black peppercorns
2 szechuan peppercorns
water
2 cups kimchi, thinly sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
½ tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp honey

Place the chicken breasts, garlic, bay leaf, chicken bouillon, black peppercorns, and szechuan peppercorns in a small pot. Fill with water until the chicken is just covered. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat to low and allow the chicken to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken registers a temperature of 165°F. Remove the chicken from the water and set aside to cool.

Once the chicken has cooled, shred it by hand and place in an airtight container. Add the kimchi, bean sprouts, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and honey. Toss until the chicken is coated. Seal and place in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

Noodles (Enough for 3 – 4 portions)
12 oz somen noodles
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp mirin
1 tsp ginger, finely grated
½ tsp sesame oil

Additionals
1 cucumber, julienned
1 thick ham slice, cut into thick slices
menma
1 tomato, thickly sliced

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the somen noodles in the water and cook for 3 minutes, stir to make sure they don’t stick to each other.

Strain the noodles and run under cold water. Transfer to a bowl with ice cubes and water. Allow to rest there for 5 minutes.Drain the water and discard the ice cubes. Add the soy sauce, mirin, ginger and sesame oil. Toss until the noodles are coated. Split between 3 to 4 bowls.

Top with a handful of cucumbers, ham slices, and menma. Place a tomato slice and ½ a sake soaked egg (I personally like to give a full egg per portion). Add a generous portion of the shredded kimchi chicken.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Cold Noodle Lunch Box

Inspired by Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Sake Soaked Tamago

• 6 eggs
• ½ cup sake
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Shredded Kimchi Chicken

• 2 chicken breasts
• 3 garlic cloves smashed
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ chicken bouillon
• 5 black peppercorns
• 2 szechuan peppercorns
• water
• 2 cups kimchi thinly sliced
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp honey

Noodles (Enough for 3 – 4 portions)

• 12 oz somen noodles
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp mirin
• 1 tsp ginger finely grated
• ½ tsp sesame oil

Additionals

• 1 cucumber julienned
• 1 thick ham slice cut into thick slices
• menma
• 1 to mato thickly sliced

Instructions

Sake Soaked Tamago

• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Gently place the eggs in the pot, cover, and cook for six and a half minutes. Once cooked, immediately take the pot off the stove and place under cold running water. Move the contents to a bowl with ice cubes and water. Let rest for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the shells from the eggs.
• Mix the sake, water, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in a resealable bag. Add the eggs. Seal and make sure the eggs are fully covered. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 24 hours. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Shredded Kimchi Chicken

• Place the chicken breasts, garlic, bay leaf, chicken bouillon, black peppercorns, and szechuan peppercorns in a small pot. Fill with water until the chicken is just covered. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat to low and allow the chicken to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken registers a temperature of 165°F. Remove the chicken from the water and set aside to cool.
• Once the chicken has cooled, shred it by hand and place in an airtight container. Add the kimchi, bean sprouts, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and honey. Toss until the chicken is coated. Seal and place in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

Assembly

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the somen noodles in the water and cook for 3 minutes, stir to make sure they don’t stick to each other.
• Strain the noodles and run under cold water. Transfer to a bowl with ice cubes and water. Allow to rest there for 5 minutes. Drain the water and discard the ice cubes. Add the soy sauce, mirin, ginger and sesame oil. Toss until the noodles are coated. Split between 3 to 4 bowls.
• Top with a handful of cucumbers, ham slices, and menma. Place a tomato slice and ½ a sake soaked egg (I personally like to give a full egg per portion). Add a generous portion of the shredded kimchi chicken.