This beloved noodle soup — unique to Hawaii and its local food tradition and thought to be a mashup of ramen, pancit and chow mein — is all about simplicity, according to Mark Noguchi, a chef and educator at Punahou School in Honolulu. “That is how we are preserving a part of our culture,” Noguchi said. His saimin recipe is made of a dashi-based broth enhanced with dried shrimp and black peppercorns, saimin noodles, wontons stuffed with pork and scallions and all the fixings: barely set eggs, char siu, kamaboko (Japanese fish cake) and scallions. Cook the hot components of the dish — broth, noodles, eggs, wontons — so they finish at the same time and can be assembled together quickly for hot, happy slurping.

Saimin

Recipe from Mark Noguchi
Adapted by Elyse Inamine

Ingredients for the saimin dashi:

• 2 bunches scallions (8 ounces), trimmed

• 1 medium yellow onion (8 ounces), thinly sliced

• 2/3 small daikon (8 ounces), thinly sliced

• 1 small carrot (4 ounces), thinly sliced

• 2 to 3 napa cabbage leaves (4 ounces)

• 2 ounces kombu

• 2 ounces small dried shrimp (preferably ‘opae)

• 1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon instant dashi (preferably Hondashi)

• 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Ingredients for the (optional) wontons:

• 1 pound ground pork

• 5 scallions, thinly sliced

• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, plus more for tossing, if necessary

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

• 40 wonton wrappers (from about 2 packages)

Ingredients for the fluffy dashi eggs:

• 4 to 6 eggs

• Salt

• Ground black pepper

• Soy sauce, to taste

Ingredients for the saimin:

• Saimin dashi

• 10 portions (4 1/2 to 5 ounces each) prepared saimin or ramen noodles (preferably Sun Noodle brand)

• 20 to 30 wontons (optional), cooked or uncooked

• 1 pound char siu (Chinese barbecue pork), sliced

• 1 (6-ounce) piece kamaboko (fish cake), sliced or julienned

• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

Directions for the saimin dashi:

In a large pot on high, combine 6 quarts of water with scallions, onion, daikon, carrot, cabbage, kombu, dried shrimp and mushrooms. Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a bare simmer and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Add soy sauce, instant dashi, salt and peppercorns. Taste, adjusting seasoning to your discretion. The dashi should be thin — it won’t have body like a bone broth — but flavorful and umami-rich.

Strain solids, then chill and freeze or use immediately for saimin.

Directions for the wontons:

In a bowl, mix together the pork, scallions, oyster sauce, black pepper, sesame oil, soy sauce and salt until well combined. To test for seasoning, cook a small piece of the pork mixture. Adjust seasoning, if needed.

Assemble the wontons: Fill a small bowl with water. Scoop 1 scant tablespoon of the pork mixture and place it in the center of a wonton wrapper. Using your fingertip, wet the borders of the wrapper with a little water and fold the wonton in half so it’s shaped like a triangle, encasing the filling and gently pressing out any air. Carefully poke the filled flat side of the triangle, creating a slight crease in the center. Take the ends of the two opposite corners and bring them together over the filling, overlapping and sealing them together with more water.

Repeat, placing the wontons on a sheet pan and covering them with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out. (You may not use all the wrappers.) Freeze to boil and eat later or reserve for saimin.

When ready to cook: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Carefully add wontons, in batches if necessary. Stir gently to make sure none are sticking to the bottom of the pot. When the wontons have floated to the top, about 2 minutes, let cook for another 15 seconds, then use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a sheet pan or plate. Toss cooked wontons with a little sesame oil to keep them from sticking. Set aside until ready to use.

Ingredients for the fluffy dashi eggs:

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Season the water with salt and a dash of soy sauce. Using a pair of chopsticks, carefully swirl the boiling water in one direction and drizzle in the eggs. The eggs should almost immediately cook and have a fluffy texture. Remove the eggs with a strainer, drain well and set aside until ready to use.

Directions for the saimin:

Warm up the saimin dashi, so it’s hot but not scalding.

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the noodles according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If using wontons and you haven’t cooked them ahead of time, you can cook them at the same time as the noodles.

For each serving, add a bunch of cooked noodles to a wide noodle bowl and finish it with the toppings: a few slices of char siu, 1 or 2 slices of kamaboko, a scattering of scallions, a big spoonful of fluffy dashi eggs, and 2 or 3 wontons (if using).

Ladle some of the saimin dashi into the bowl and slurp while hot.

Total time: 3 1/2 hours, serves 10.

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