Saimin (Hawaiian Noodle Soup)

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Saimin (Hawaiian Noodle Soup)

Saimin (Hawaiian Noodle Soup) is a traditional American recipe (originating from Hawaii) for a classic soup of shiitake mushrooms, noodles, prawns, eggs, spam, roast pork and fishcake in a chicken stock base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic American version of: Hawaiian Noodle Soup (Saimin).

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Serves:

National:

Rating:

Tags : National Dish Pork Recipes USA Recipes

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Saimin is a popular noodle soup hailing from Hawaii. Although at first glance you might compare it to ramen, it's really quite unique. It's also considered the national dish of Hawaii.

Ingredients:

1.5l chicken stock
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
4 garlic cloves peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
3cm piece of fresh ginger, sliced and crushed to release its flavour
4 tbsp dried prawns (optional), pounded to a powder
2 tbsp soy sauce (preferably low-sodium) or more as needed
2 tsp instant dashi powder

For the Noodles:
500g fresh or frozen saimin, ramen, or chow mein noodles (or 4 portions if individually packaged)

Toppings (Choose Your Favorites):
2 to 4 eggs (soft-boiled or medium-boiled, peeled and halved OR cooked into an omelette and sliced)
100g ham or Spam cut into matchsticks
100g Char Siu (Chinese roast pork) sliced or cut into matchsticks
60g kamaboko (fishcake) sliced
2 spring onions, sliced

Method:

To make the stock, combine all of the ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes to develop the flavours. Strain the broth, pressing firmly on the solids to release all the liquid, and keep hot until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to their package directions. Drain.

Divide the noodles between four large, wide soup bowls. Ladle the broth over the noodles, dividing evenly between the four bowls (about 1 ¼ cups per bowl). Garnish with your favourite toppings and serve immediately.

Ideally use noodles specifically labeled saimin noodles, which are made with wheat and egg. If you can't find those, other wheat noodles such as ramen or fresh chow mein noodles will work too.

Julienne pieces of ham or spam are perfect for garnishing saimin. You can also use Chinese roast pork (char siu) sliced or cut into matchsticks, or a combination of ham or spam and char siu.

Either top each bowl with one or two halves of a peeled boiled egg (depending on preference), or with slices of egg omelet. If making an omelet, use two eggs to serve four people (half an egg per serving).

Kamaboko: Kamaboko, or steamed fish cakes, are sliced and used for topping noodle soups such as saimin and ramen. You may not be able to find the kind used in Hawaii (uzumaki) depending on where you live, so you can swap for the other kind most often used in ramen (narutomaki) if you need to.