Skip to main content

Yaka Mein

4.5

(8)

A bowl of Yaka Mein with chopped chives and a hard boiled egg.
Yaka MeinPhoto: Cynthia LeJeune Nobles

Although the Delta Queen's cooks enjoyed this dish made with leftover turtle, you can use just about any kind of meat. If you don't have leftovers, try boiling a less-tender cut of beef until tender and use the stock for the soup.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    6 servings

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package spaghetti
2 quarts beef stock
1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
2 cups cooked meat (beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, turtle), finely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cook spaghetti according to package directions. While spaghetti is cooking, bring stock and Cajun Seasoning to a boil in a large pot. Add meat and simmer 5 minutes. Reserving stock, strain meat out. Set meat aside and keep warm. Bring stock back to a boil and stir in soy sauce. Simmer 1 minute.

    Step 2

    To assemble, place drained spaghetti in 6 individual bowls. Divide meat and egg halves over spaghetti. Ladle on broth and sprinkle with green onions.

From The Delta Queen Cookbook by Cynthia LeJeune Nobles, © 2012 Louisiana State University Press
Read More
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.
Spaghetti is a common variation in modern Thai cooking. It’s so easy to work with and absorbs the garlicky, spicy notes of pad kee mao well.
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
The magic of this hibachi chicken recipe comes from a combination of miso and peanut butter and how it beautifully caramelizes when it hits the grill.
Originally called omelette à la neige (snow omelet) in reference to the fluffy snow-like appearance of the meringue, île flottante (floating island) has a lengthy history that dates back to the 17th century.
The mussels here add their beautiful, briny juices into the curry, which turn this into a stunning and spectacular dish.
Instead of searing one tortilla at a time, you'll cook eight at once under the broiler.
Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.