Late-Night Saimin

Served up by LANI, the Stewardess with all the world’s recipes.

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 25 min · Serves: 4

Why surfers love it: When the surf wraps after dark and the drive home is long, you want something hot, salty and fast. Saimin is one pot of broth, a boil for the noodles, and toppings you can throw on from the fridge.

Ingredients

• 8 cups water
• 1 piece (about 4 in) kombu
• 1 cup loosely packed katsuobushi (bonito flakes), or 2 tsp dashi powder
• ¼ cup soy sauce or shoyu
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt, to taste
• 12 oz fresh or dried saimin or ramen noodles
• 4 slices Spam or cooked ham, pan-seared
• 4 slices kamaboko (fish cake), or leftover cooked fish
• 2 soft-boiled or jammy eggs, halved
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Optional: a handful of chopped won bok (napa cabbage) or spinach, stirred into the hot broth

Method

1. Make the broth: put the water and kombu in a pot over medium heat. Just before it boils, pull out the kombu. Add the katsuobushi, simmer 2 minutes, then strain. (Or whisk dashi powder into hot water.)
2. Stir in the soy sauce, mirin and sugar. Taste and add a pinch of salt if it needs it. Keep the broth at a gentle simmer.
3. Cook the noodles in a separate pot of boiling water according to the package, then drain well.
4. Divide the noodles among four deep bowls. Ladle the hot broth over them.
5. Top each bowl with a slice of seared Spam, kamaboko, half an egg and a shower of green onion. Add the greens if using. Serve right away.

Tip: No kamaboko? Leftover grilled fish or a few shrimp work fine. Make the broth ahead and keep it in a thermos; boil the noodles when you get home so they stay springy.

Surf-town roots

Saimin is Hawaii's own noodle soup, with Chinese, Japanese and Filipino roots, and it has been a late-night and lunch-counter staple in the islands for generations. We bring it home for the cold drive back from the beach.