A beef-and-noodle soup with a boiled egg and green onion, sold from corner stores and at second-lines — Black New Orleans's own dish, famed as the morning-after 'Old Sober.'
Yaka mein is one of the purest expressions of Black New Orleans street culture — sold at second-lines, festivals, and corner stores by Black cooks, many of them women, who are local institutions. It is community food in the most literal sense: made by the neighborhood, for the neighborhood.
Yaka mein delivers real protein, iron, B12, and zinc from beef and egg in a warming, hydrating broth — the reason for its hangover reputation. The main caution is sodium in the seasoned broth and refined noodles. Built on a homemade low-sodium beef broth and whole-grain noodles, it becomes a genuinely restorative bowl.
Simmer beef until tender and shred it, season the broth boldly, cook spaghetti or noodles, and assemble with the beef, a halved hard-boiled egg, chopped green onion, and a shake of Creole or soy seasoning. To lighten: use a homemade low-sodium beef broth, lean beef, and whole-grain noodles, and add more green onion and vegetables.
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