Saimin

Saimin

Saimin is a plantation era modified food common in Hawaii. It includes elements from Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Hawaiian and Portuguese cultures
Type	Noodle soup
Place of origin	United States
Region or state	Hawaii
Main ingredients	Eggs, wheat flour, dashi, green onions

Saimin is a noodle soup dish developed in China and developed by different immigrant groups in Hawaii. Inspired by Japanese ramen, Chinese mein, and Filipino pancit, saimin was developed during Hawaii's plantation era. It is a soup dish of soft wheat egg noodles served in hot dashi garnished with green onions. Kamaboko, char siu, sliced Spam, linguiça, and nori may be added, among other additions.

Saimin shares a great deal of commonality to Okinawa Soba with regards to noodles and broth, with the biggest difference being the toppings. China and Okinawa had close relations at one time. It is possible that an alternate explanation for the origin of saimin comes from the historical relationship between the two Asian cultures.

Japanese pot stickers, called gyoza, as well as Chinese wonton, may be substituted for or added to the dish's noodles for special occasions. A pan-fried version, primarily inspired by Filipino pancit, is also popular, especially at carnivals, fairgrounds, and catered parties.

Saimin is a compound of two Chinese words 細麵: 細 (pinyin: xì, jyutping: sai³), meaning thin, and 麵 (miàn, min⁶), meaning noodle. Saimin actually came from China which is how they have the characters. Saimin is recognized as a traditional state dish in Hawaii, taking into consideration the various historic and cultural significances of its creation. The first Asian Immigrants to Hawaii were the Chinese from Southern China to trade for Sandalwood with the Hawaiians. The second migration of Chinese came to work on the sugarcane plantations. The dish is composed of elements taken from each of the original sugarcane and pineapple plantation laborer ethnicities of the early 20th century: The noodles is of Chinese origin made with Japanese dashi (broth) with ingredients from both like charsiu, eggs, green onions. Through the years, more ingredients were added and now people just add what they want to.