Best 4 Yaka Mein Recipes

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Yaka mein, a New Orleans classic dish, is a flavorful noodle soup with a rich and savory broth, tender noodles, and an array of toppings. Originating from the Vietnamese community in the city, yaka mein has become a beloved dish enjoyed by people from all walks of life. This versatile soup offers a symphony of flavors and textures, with each ingredient contributing to its unique character.

Our collection of yaka mein recipes caters to diverse tastes and preferences. Whether you're a seasoned home cook or just starting your culinary journey, we have recipes tailored to your skill level and preferences. From classic yaka mein recipes that stay true to its traditional roots to creative variations that incorporate modern twists, our recipes offer a wide range of options to choose from.

Our classic yaka mein recipe is a comprehensive guide that takes you step-by-step through the process of making this iconic dish. With detailed instructions and helpful tips, this recipe ensures that you'll be able to recreate the authentic flavors of yaka mein in your own kitchen.

For those who prefer a vegetarian version, we have a dedicated vegetarian yaka mein recipe that captures the essence of the original dish while using plant-based ingredients. This recipe offers a delicious and satisfying alternative for vegetarians and vegans alike.

If you're looking for a quick and easy weeknight meal, our 30-minute yaka mein recipe is the perfect choice. This streamlined version of the classic dish uses pre-cooked noodles and readily available ingredients, making it a convenient and flavorful option for busy individuals and families.

And for those who love to experiment in the kitchen, our creative yaka mein recipes offer unique twists on the traditional dish. From a spicy Szechuan yaka mein to a seafood-packed version, these recipes add an exciting dimension of flavor and variety to your culinary repertoire.

No matter which recipe you choose, you'll be able to enjoy the comforting warmth and delicious flavors of yaka mein, a New Orleans culinary treasure that has captured the hearts of food lovers everywhere.

Here are our top 4 tried and tested recipes!

YAKA MEIN



Yaka Mein image

Provided by Cynthia LeJeune Nobles

Categories     Soup/Stew     Egg     Pasta     Mardi Gras     Lunch     Boil     Green Onion/Scallion     Sugar Conscious     Dairy Free     Peanut Free     Tree Nut Free     No Sugar Added     Kosher

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 7

1 (8-ounce) package spaghetti
2 quarts beef stock
1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
2 cups cooked meat (beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, turtle), finely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

Steps:

  • Cook spaghetti according to package directions. While spaghetti is cooking, bring stock and Cajun Seasoning to a boil in a large pot. Add meat and simmer 5 minutes. Reserving stock, strain meat out. Set meat aside and keep warm. Bring stock back to a boil and stir in soy sauce. Simmer 1 minute.
  • To assemble, place drained spaghetti in 6 individual bowls. Divide meat and egg halves over spaghetti. Ladle on broth and sprinkle with green onions.

YUMMY CHINESE YAKA MEIN SOUP



Yummy Chinese Yaka Mein Soup image

Childhood memories can be a wonderful thing, and one of my fondest memories is going to Chiam restaurant in Chicago's Chinatown and having a big bowl of Yaka Mein soup, and a side order of eggrolls. It took me years to perfect the recipe, but I considered it a labor of love. It's a simple dish composed of broth, Chinese noodles, pork and a hard-boiled egg.... But, oh sooo good. Ahh memories. So, you ready... Let's get into the kitchen.

Provided by Andy Anderson ! @ThePretentiousChef

Categories     Pork

Number Of Ingredients 8

8 ounce(s) yakisoba noodles
4 ounce(s) chinese pork, not bbq pork
1 medium hard-boiled egg
THE BROTH
1 1/2 cup(s) chicken stock, not broth
1 teaspoon(s) sesame oil
1 tablespoon(s) tamari
- sesame seeds, for garnish

Steps:

  • Chef's Note: My sister and I are in the back seat of our car, and dad is driving with mom at his side... No seatbelts in those days. We've just left Sunday services at Saint Dennis parish, and we're headed to Chinatown to meet up with my Uncle Charlie, and Aunt Adele. Plus my Uncle Ed and Aunt Josephine and my two cousins Jody and Little Adele will be there too. We're headed for Chiam restaurant. As the snow slowly falls, I spend my time looking out at the city of Chicago, slowly being covered in a blanket of white. When we arrive, we get a large table, and I order what I always do... A big bowl of Yaka Mein soup, a side of pork eggrolls, and a "kiddie" cocktail. To those of you that don't know what that is, it's ginger ale with some cherry juice, and a little umbrella. I spend the time talking and laughing with my cousins, and just enjoying life. Ahh, memories.
  • Gather your ingredients.
  • Cut the pork into 1/4-inch slices.
  • Baton the slices.
  • Chef's Note: You can get Chinese pork in most Asian markets: however, I just posted a recipe for Asian Oven-Roasted "Red" Pork that I think is exactly what I remember from my youth. You're not looking for Chinese BBQ pork here... although that will do.
  • Cook the hard-boiled egg.
  • Add the ingredients for the broth in a saucepan.
  • Bring the broth to a lite simmer.
  • Add the noodles and allow them to simmer in the broth for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the noodles to a serving dish.
  • Use just enough of the broth to cover the noodles, and add half the pork.
  • Add one half of the hard-boiled egg.
  • Sprinkle with some toasted sesame seeds.
  • Chef's Note: Repeat for the second serving.
  • Serve while still hot. Enjoy my memory.
  • Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

YA-KA MEIN (AKA "OLD SOBER")



Ya-Ka Mein (aka

Pronounced Yock-a-MAY, and often called "Yock" by locals, this fragrant concoction is typically served at African-American bars, Second Lines and festivals. It's also called "Old Sober" in New Orleans because of its divine powers to physically reverse the toxins consumed the night prior as a result of a night on the town....

Provided by Donna Graffagnino

Categories     Beef Soups

Time 3h10m

Number Of Ingredients 13

3-4 lb beef roast (chuck, round, rump)
4-5 qt water
2 Tbsp beef base (better than bouillon)
1 tsp seasoned salt
1-2 tsp cajun seasoning - to taste (tony chachere's)
1 tsp onion powder
4 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb spaghetti, cooked as directed
8 hard boiled eggs, peeled and halved
2 green onions, sliced thin
soy sauce, hot sauce to taste
worcestershire sauce & ketchup (optional)

Steps:

  • 1. Fill a stockpot halfway with water. Add the beef base, seasoning salt, Cajun seasoning, onion powder, oil, pinch of salt and couple turns of the pepper grinder to the pot and whisk to mix up. Place the meat in the stockpot - the water should cover the meat plus about an inch. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, or until the meat is tender and begins to fall apart.
  • 2. Remove the beef from the broth and using forks, pull it apart and return the shredded beef to the broth. Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasonings. Hold the soup over low until needed.
  • 3. Meanwhile, boil the eggs, cool and peel them; set aside. Cook the spaghetti noodles according to package directions.
  • 4. To assemble the soup, place a serving of spaghetti noodles in the bottom of a bowl. Use a slotted spoon to extract a serving of the shredded beef and add that on top of the noodles. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles and beef and garnish with green onions and half of a hard-boiled egg.
  • 5. Dress it up with a few dashes of soy sauce, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Some folks also like to also add a bit of ketchup to theirs.
  • 6. SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS You can also prepare the meat in the crockpot - a good idea if you want to put this on before bedtime in the wee hours of post-Mardi Gras morning! Put the roast and seasonings in the crockpot cover and cook on high for 1 hour, then on low for 6 to 8 hours longer, or, cook on low for up to 10 hours, until meat is falling apart. Boil the noodles, eggs and assemble as above.
  • 7. HISTORY, cont. Ya-Ka Mein is a N.O. dish made from a mix of noodles, meat, green onions and hard-boiled egg in a spicy salty broth with an Asian twist from soy sauce. Some dispute the origins of Old Sober in the N.O. area but it's believed that Yakamein was introduced when Chinese workers relocated there from south Louisiana plantations. Chinese immigrants were brought in alongside African slaves to work the railroads in the mid-1800's, and again later when more immigrants arrived to work the sugar plantations in Louisiana following emancipation.
  • 8. The Chinese population settled into a section of town on South Liberty, near a newly established Chinese Mission. Soon shops, hand laundries, food markets, and eateries catering to the Chinese population expanded from the Mission and into the 1100 block of Tulane, creating a geographical hub for the Chinese community and what would become known as New Orleans Chinatown. It is believed that Yakamein grew out of this time in history.
  • 9. If you're lucky enough to find the Ya-Ka Mein Lady serving this curbside in a local neighborhood, the broth is always ladled into a large styrofoam cup, then drained and repeated several times so that the hot broth will heat the cold noodles. It is then topped with half a hard-boiled egg and sprinkled with green onions. Here is a recipe so that you can have your own hangover cure on hand for a morning after a night to remember - even if you can't.

YAKA MEIN RECIPE



Yaka Mein Recipe image

Provided by oppro2000

Number Of Ingredients 13

1 (3 to 4 pound) stewing beef roast (chuck, chuck tender, round, rump)
4 to 5 quarts of water
2 tablespoons of beef base (like Better than Bouillon)
1 teaspoon of seasoned salt (like Lawry's)
2 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama, or to taste)
1 teaspoon of onion powder
4 tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 pound of spaghetti noodles
8 hard boiled eggs, peeled (or count one half egg per soup bowl)
1 green onion, sliced
Soy sauce, hot sauce, to taste
Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, optional

Steps:

  • Fill a stockpot halfway with water. Add the beef base, seasoning salt, Cajun seasoning, onion powder, oil, pinch of salt and couple turns of the pepper grinder to the pot and whisk to mix up. Place the meat in a stockpot - the water should cover the meat plus about an inch. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, or until the meat is tender and begins to fall apart. Remove the beef from the broth and using forks, pull it apart and return the shredded beef to the broth. Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasonings. Hold the soup over low until needed. Meanwhile, boil the eggs, cool and peel them; set aside. Cook the spaghetti noodles according to package directions. To assemble the soup, place a serving of spaghetti noodles in the bottom of a bowl. Use a slotted spoon to extract a serving of the shredded beef and add that on top of the noodles. Add a boiled egg, either whole, halved lengthwise or cut into chunks. Spoon about 1-1/2 cups of the beef broth on top and sprinkle with sliced green onion. Add a few dashes of soy sauce, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce

Tips:

  • Mise en Place: Before you start cooking, make sure all your ingredients and utensils are prepped and ready to go. This will help you stay organized and avoid scrambling during the cooking process.
  • Use Fresh Ingredients: Whenever possible, use fresh ingredients for the best flavor and texture. Fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices will make a big difference in the final dish.
  • Don't Overcook the Noodles: Yaka mein noodles should be cooked just until they are al dente, or slightly firm to the bite. Overcooked noodles will be mushy and unpleasant.
  • Use a Good Quality Broth: The broth is the foundation of yaka mein, so it's important to use a good quality broth. You can use chicken, beef, or vegetable broth, depending on your preference.
  • Add Vegetables and Protein: Yaka mein is a versatile dish that can be customized to your liking. Add your favorite vegetables and protein, such as chicken, shrimp, beef, or tofu.
  • Garnish with Fresh Herbs: Before serving, garnish your yaka mein with fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil, or green onions. This will add a pop of color and flavor to the dish.

Conclusion:

Yaka mein is a delicious and easy-to-make noodle soup that is perfect for a quick and satisfying meal. With its flavorful broth, tender noodles, and variety of vegetables and protein, yaka mein is a dish that everyone will enjoy. So next time you're looking for a comforting and flavorful soup, give yaka mein a try!

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