Popular in Hawaii as a potluck dish, fried saimin is a yummy combination of fresh saimin noodles topped with char siu, Spam, kamaboko, and veggies. Seasoned with saimin dashi, shoyu, and oyster sauce, it is easy to make and delicious to eat.
It’s all about the prep …
Depending on how good your knife skills are, prepping this dish can take anywhere between 10-20 minutes. Or if you’re like me and have two hungry pups waiting for handouts, it can take longer. There isn’t a lot of fancy knife work required, but generally you want your toppings to be about the same size.
… and the noodles
My choice for noodles is Sun Noodles Saimin. As shared in other posts, saimin is unique to Hawaii and is a chewier cousin of ramen. Saimin noodles are also curly compared to other types of Asian noodles. Sun Noodles can be found in stores outside of Hawaii. You can check out their website for a store near you.
If you can’t find Hawaii-style fresh saimin noodles, use another Asian-style fresh noodle – choose a thicker noodle rather than a thin one. In a pinch you could use dried ramen (the kind you ate in college). In either case the texture will be a little different than what you would find in Hawaii.
Other Modifications
- Often you will find egg in fried noodles – fried as a simple omelet and then sliced into bite-sized pieces. Our family is not keen on eggs so we leave it out.
- If you don’t like Spam (then you’re not from Hawaii, jk), you can substitute with ham.
- Kamaboko, Japanese fishcake, adds texture and color to the dish. If you can’t find it, you can leave it out.
Fried Saimin
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Fried saimin, a popular local Hawaii dish, is a yummy combination of fresh saimin noodles topped with char siu, Spam, kamaboko, and veggies.
Ingredients
1 package Sun Noodle Original Saimin or other fresh noodles, about 10–11 ounces
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 ounces low-sodium Spam, julienned (half a can)
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 cup cabbage, thinly shredded
3 ounces kamaboko fishcake, julienned (half a package)
4 ounces char siu, julienned
3 green onions sliced
Sauce
1 packet of saimin dashi (included with the noodles)
2 tablespoons shoyu
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
Instructions
Boil a medium pot of water. Drop the noodles in the boiling water and cook according to package directions. Drain and rinse well. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients. Set aside
In a large frying pan or wok, heat the vegetable oil. Fry the Spam to release some of the fat, about 1 minute.
Add the onions and carrots and stir fry for 1-2 minutes to soften (you still want a little crispness to the carrots).
Add the cabbage and stir fry until the cabbage begins to wilt, about 30 seconds.
Add the kamaboko fishcake and char siu. Stir fry to heat through, about 1 minute.
Add the noodles to the frying pan and combine with vegetables and meat. If the noodles are clumped together, rinse with a little cold water before adding to the pan.
Pour the reserved sauce mixture over the noodles and stir to combine.
Sprinkle with green onions before serving.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Dishes
- Cuisine: Japanese-American
Nutrition
- Calories: 669
- Sugar: 5 g.
- Sodium: 1185 mg.
- Fat: 23 g.
- Saturated Fat: 6 g.
- Carbohydrates: 92 g.
- Fiber: 5 g.
- Protein: 22 g.
- Cholesterol: 30 mg.
Keywords: fresh saimin, Spam
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