Saimin, Ramen, Soba & Udon
 

I grew up eating Saimin in Hawaii. I was shocked to see the Ramen craze take hold on the mainland when I came back here. Geesh! Wasn't it the same as Saimin? Was this some sort of Saimin knockoff? Actually, there are subtle differences, such as the kinky, alkaline Saimin noodles and their distinct taste and there better be some Spam in my Saimin bowl...not so with Ramen. Good Ramen is kinda bland, IMHO and that bad Ramen that you comes freeze dried in a styrofoam cup is just plain disgusting.

Then there's Udon...thick, chewy, white, probably not too healthy, but yummy none the less. It's a texture thing.

Lots of people seem to get confused about Soba noodle soup. Soba noodles are not made with wheat, but with buckwheat, which is not a form of wheat at all. I think that they are probably the most nutritious of the bunch. They're thin and serene as they float in the bowl.

I think that my favorite is Saimin...what's yours?

PS, I have a favorite Saimin noodle recipe, if you're interested in going to the trouble of making it by hand. It's a lot of work, but soooo good!

~ C

I used to love the noodle bowls I'd get in Hawaii when I was on vacation each year. And yes to add-ins to shave ice! Alaskans also eat more Spam than the rest of the folks out there.

I've always been a soba fan, but I love big slurpy rice noodles and pad thai and just about every other option out there -- including "cheap chow mein" that seems to be made with over cooked spaghetti, sometimes that is exactly what I want!

Yesterday we took my car to the shop and stopped off at the local Thai food truck on the way back. Got Pineapple Fried Rice and Green Beans with Prawns. I'm not sure if Pineapple Fried Rice is a local thing or a "real" food, like what we call Golden Rama (or showering rama) is an American form of chicken with peanut sauce. Whatever, it typically uses a chinese style sausage and different spicing and is a favorite of mine, but low carb I haven't had it in a couple of years. I'm such a sucker for the rice :(

Our son lives HI, I always get some type of noodle bowls when we go out to eat. Love Pad Thai along with most any kind of fried rice. /Love ramen noodles for a quick lunch. Always been a noodle junkie. Spam has alwaysbeen a favorite of ours, and growing up, too. Sadly I now can't partake because of gout. I may try the turkey Spam but guess I'm afraid am going to be disappointed. Would love to see any noodle recipes.

As long as it is served with I am good. Anything with . LOL

Boy, no preference here, in that I'm really a noodle novice. I will say though, that having been born and raised in Minnesota, we grew up on spam, (cooked, cubed, fried, baked, in a hot dish, in a cold salad or cold sandwich etc) ,and we all swore that the day we left the house was the last day we would ever eat spam! So far I think all of us have avoided it!

In the 1960's we lived in a Japan (military), in a Japanese neighborhood Our children were preschool age, a little Japanese girl near by would just happen to often come to our house at lunch time, I would give her a bologna sandwich too. But my children loved the ramen noodles, so one day I gave them ramen noodles for lunch, the little girl sat in a corner and cried!
I wonder if today she remembers that bologna and craves it as we do the ramen, I've never been able to find the type that was so good there but still eat what is available sometimes, always have it in the pantry.

I was surprised to find that what I always thought of as "ramen noodles" is actually properly called "instant noodles", and ramen is something different. Instant noodles are fried, which makes them cook in hot water much faster, but also adds on the calories.

Needles, my hubby had some terrible gout issues about 10 years ago but has gone keto/high meat including preserved meats like Spam with no flare ups. He does take his allopurinol (prescription) specifically for gout, but it is the last of the many prescription medicines he was on. To clarify, he was not actively having flare-ups when he went keto, but was already on allopurinol and remains on it and has not had any flares in the last two years that he has been keto.

Anniedeb, a lot of people are anti-spam, bologna or hot dogs because of such past history. Growing up poor but resource-full in Alaska I ate salmon at least 5 days a week for years. And rhubarb, it grows surprisingly well. I can do many things with both foods, but it took me at least 10 years after leaving Alaska before I was willing to eat salmon, and 20 or so years before I actually chose it over any other option!

So, the key to making my saimin noodles is to use a bit of twice baked baking soda, which makes the dough more alkaline, thereby more chewy.

~ C