Photo from Slimbolala: slimbolala.blogspot.com
It comes with many spellings: Yakmein, Yaka mein, Yak-a-mein, and even Yak a Men are just a few. It is also often referred to as “Old Sober” for its supposed hangover curing properties. Although found in restaurants and take-out joints, NOLA’s unique Asian/Soul Food hybrid soup known as Yakamein is also a street food staple at parades, fairs, and festivals. Like many other quintessential New Orleanian foods, Yakamein comes surrounded by myth and debate. It’s a spicy noodle soup that is generally made with a beef and soy sauced based broth; spaghetti noodles; some sort of protein such as beef brisket, chicken or shrimp (or all three); onions and/or chopped scallions, and a hard-boiled egg sliced in half. Cooks often add or have available on the side Creole or Cajun seasoning, Old Bay Spice, or some signature combination spices. Additional soy sauce, Worchester sauce, hot sauce, and even ketchup are often added as condiments, or snuck into the broth, depending on the chef’s own signature recipe.
Courtesy Laura Bergerol Photography. http://www.timecaptured.net/ Copyright, all rights reserved.
No one is quite sure how or when this Asian inspired soup made it into the African American cuisine and community of New Orleans. One story has the soup returning with servicemen from Japan after WWII or the Korean war (accompanied with their Asian war brides) where it was introduced then adapted into becoming a distinctive fusion dish. Another story traces Yakamein back to Chinese immigrants in the 1800s who came to Louisiana to work first on plantations then later on, the railroad lines often side by side with African Americans. The name does have Asian roots. Mein is the Chinese word for noodle, while the phonetic “Yaka” remains a bit of a mystery in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisines. The food obsessed RiceBall has written a pretty comprehensive blog post on the subject here. Leah Chase, one of the grande dames of New Orleanian food history also has a pretty comprehensive take on Yakamein as well:
No matter the mysterious origins, a hot sloppy soup might not seem the easiest to transport and eat on the street. Yet, Yakamein is well loved on parade routes served in Styrofoam containers slurped with plastic spoons and forks. A handful of bills at about $6 dollars gets you a belly full. Linda Green, simply known by many as the “Yaka Mein Lady”, is the most well known parade and festival Yakamein purveyor. Look for her on the neutral ground near parade routes, at official New Orleans festivals, and where ever else there’s a big old NOLA style celebration. You can also follow her on twitter @oneofTEAMBREEZY.
Yakamein: A little bit funky, a little bit fusion, and a whole lotta NOLA.
This dish is news to me, and I am Asian who grew up in NOLA!! I just wanted to add that ‘yaka’ might come from the Japanese word ‘yaki’ which means to grill or saute, like the dish ‘yakisoba’ or Japanese stir fried noodles.
I’m dying for some, but I live in Dallas now. I’m a New Orleans native. The best place to find some is at Manchu on South Claiborne Ave.
Negative.
Manchu is good, but the orange store, on Rampart and Kerlerec is better.
I don’t know when you grew up here in NOLA, but yaka mein has been around since I can remember and I’m in my 50′s. I must say that anywhere outside of NOLA they look at you like you have lost your mind when you ask about the dish. Most Asians outside of here never heard of it before.
Yaka is likely from Yuk gaw (pronounced “yuk-gkaw”, the ‘gk’ being a nasal ‘g’), which means “cattle bred for beef”.
Thanks for sharing Jean
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I’m from New Orleans too. The yakamein could also be a twist on ‘yat- a popular slang for New Orleans natives. Just saying. Sometimes the simplest explanation is best. While the Japanese etymology is interesting, it’s a lot simpler that a noodle dish made NOLA style would be yat-ca-mein. We like to shorten food names, like po’boy..
IM COOKING THIS TONIGHT NEW ORLEANS BORN AND RAISED AND I MISS MY HOMETOWN COOKING…SO YAKAMEIN IS ON THE MENU FOR DINNER
Yaka Mein in the U.S. goes back at least as far as 1918. Here’s a link to an ad by a Japanese Restaurant in San Antonio.
http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap/FreePdfPreview.aspx?img=69280847
Hi,
I’m a naitve New Orleanian but joined the military at 17 years old and have lived in numerous places both stateside and abroad in the past 25 years. My old high school ghetto girlfriend Gloria locked me on to Yakimein in the late 1980s and when I worked at the Shreveport Meps I decided to make a big pot just to see if I could. OMG! I invited a group of co-workers to the house for a Memorial Day party and my yakimein was the hit of the party. I have people today still asking me about that dish. It’s a pretty time consuming dish to put together and could be pricey depending on which meats you put in it. And I was told to boil the egg last and slice it up and lay it on top like a garnish. I’m telling you, I cooked it in a huge gumbo pot and I had people stopping by the house after work to get some more of that yakimein. I don’t know why I never made it since but I think I will make a pot of it this week. I have a taste for it now since I’ve returned back to the area. Also, I was stationed in Okinawa and used to eat a popular dish there called Yakasoba…which was a stir fried broad noodle in soya sauce and chicken. It was delicous! I’m not sure where the origin of the name comes from but I know black people, speaking from experience, can put their spin on anything and make it taste awesome!!!….self included. LOL>
There are so many great places to eat. If you get the chance hit up acme oyster for dinner and Lowes Hotel for lunch. The Lowes Hotel has great food and 25 cent Martini’s.