Ya Ka Mein (Old Sober)

I still make and eat yock to this day. I grew up in Portsmouth and served so me to my 8 month old for the first time just this past week and she loves it. Momma Chan's was and still is the 'yock joint' that me and my family frequent... Otherwise...and since moving to Los Angeles, I just make it at home.

i grew up in N.O. and the best yacamein soup i found was a tiny asian restaurant on the corner of Tulane Ave & Broad, diagonally across the street from the court house...I have been craving it for some time now, and been wondering if they re-opened after Katrina, etc. or, if like a lot of the rest of the city, just packed it in. thanks for the recipe, I can't wait to try it, however they used Udon noodles, NOT spaghetti, which makes it about 100 times better.

I grew up in a small town in mid-west Nebraska. I was eating Yat Ca Mein (pronounced Yock Koo May) in the mid 60s at a local Chinese/American restaurant. It was the best thing I ever tasted, but ours was made with 'square' noodles, not round ones like spaghetti. It came topped with a portion of shredded beef, pork, and chicken along with a quartered hard-boiled eggs and chopped green onions. There were no vegetables in the broth...no onions, celery, or mushrooms. It was simply broth and noodles with the toppings and was served with soy sauce.

We eat it in the Toronto area, too. But with a fried egg and flatter noodles. My Japanese-Canadian grandfather says it was brought to this area from the west coast in British Columbia. He says it was being served there in the 1930s/1940s when he lived there before WW2. So it has been around for a while. He seems to think it was a blend of Chinese/ Japanese / western cuisine. A fusion of all of those.

I grew up in Portsmouth and had my first encounter with yock when I was pumping gas at the old Tankar Station in Truxton (Gosprt rd now Portsmouth Blvd) There was a black restuarant behind the old Johnson's Gas station across the street that served Yock....one of the best things I have ever had...cant find it anywhere in Ohio where I now live and work....

It's so cool to see so many people with old stories about yock o mein. I forgot to post a link to a scan of a photo of my grandfather's old restaurant. If you look on the right-hand window, near the top, it says "Yock A Mein".

riceball.com/pictures/tokyorestaurant/

The photo was from the 1930s. My family left there, I think in 39. They got there on or after 1928. So this was the Great Depression. (No wonder they didn't make money.)

I think the overall recipe is based on udon, because the onions and soy sauce and egg are all basic udon. The noodle is probably more due to there being some Chinese noodle factories around, first. The Chinese came over first, and then when the immigration laws blocked them, the Japanese came.

Oh wow: "The noodles are not the round udon noodles but the flat noodles"

That's an old style Japanese noodle called "yoko giri" udon, which means cut sideways. It's flat. That's probably where the name comes from!

I've done some research on the yoko giri udon, and it looks like the main, or maybe only factory making it is the Nanka Seimen factory down in Vernon CA, which is next to Los Angeles. It's an old business, and I grew up eating their product. Anyway, I do remember my mother, who's from Japan, saying that the side cut style is "old fashioned" and not really that popular in Japan. So, it is one of those things that probably got brought over in the early 1900s, and then faded out in Japan, while it held on in the US.

There's also yacamein noodles manufactured in the midwest by Chinese noodle companies, and it's a kind of udon - eggless flour noodle.

The last thing I wanted to add was that I heard some stories that, back in VA in the 20s and 30s, there were some Chinese men who were basically illegal immigrants. The Chinese weren't allowed to come over, but they did anyway. But they were allowed to live in the Black community, and some of them married into African American families.

Yock, It reminds me of oodles of noodles, but then again the Filipino Dish call Pansit; you can also put bits of pork and shrimp in it and it is very good! And by the way, I am from Suffolk, VA .
I know all about those church fundraisers too! A little sandwich shop called "the Bus Stop" use to make and sell Yock, but I think they recently closed!

Hi,

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Creole cuisine

I grew up in Suffolk VA. I use to eat yock all the time. I left Suffolk in 1964 and moved to New York. Although lots of the southern population migrated to the north, no one knew what yock was. In 1991 I went back to Suffolk but the Horseshow was no longer there. I think the owner had passed away and took the recipe with him. My step pop use to work at the horseshoe when I was a kid.He would not tell how to make yock, or maybe he didn't know. I use to love the stuff and if some one knows the real recipe I would like to have it. The yock from the Horseshoe in Suffolk was made with pork or beef. The recipe above is close but that's not it. My mom use to get it for us kids every friday night. Also, I use to eat at the Horseshoe when I was a teen. I know what real Suffolk yock is. Real Recipe Anyone??? Decoyise

Wow...The true Black Folks "yock" is definitely a Norfolk, Virginia and surrounding area thing. People in New Orleans once stationed in the military probably got it from Norfolk. Norfolk is a Navy Town with the largest Filipino community on the east coast, although I doubt if the dish came from the Philippians.

Tidewater or Hampton Roads Va. "yock" was popularized by Blacks but now enjoyed by all groups in that region as the "yat gaw mein" soup style of choice. This "yock" has it's roots in North Carolina BBQ. The yat gaw mein soup broth is usually pork or chicken base seasoned with a Carolina "holy trinity" of: ketchup, NC hot sauce, red pepper, soy sauce, and vinegar(optional). Vinegar isn't needed if pork meat is seasoned with vinegar. Boil original Yat Gaw Mein wheat noodles and eggs. The meat and it's broth are put in bowl where the NC Holy Trinity mixture is added along with raw onions. If preferred green onions can be added for additional flavor and as a garnish. WE NEVER USED BEEF!!! That is the real Norfolk Yock!!

Best spots for "Yock" back in it's hey days: Hampton-Newport News Va Charlie Chan, Portsmouth Va Mama Chans, Norfolk's most popular was the Chinese Restaurant on Merrimac and Va Beach Blvd. Chesapeake Va Soul Food on corner of Liberty St and Chesapeak Ave...formerly South Norfolk.

I'm making a comic about yock. If anyone on this thread is interested in being involved could you please message me at soulfoodstories-at-gmail.com?

You will get a copy of the project in return!

Thanks!
Fereshteh
garlicandgreens.info/

"Yock" is a traditional food found in the black community of Norfolk, and Tidewater area of Va. The interesting thing about it is that is is considered a chinese dish but if you go outside of these areas, they won't have a clue as to what you are talking about. I know this because I grew up in Norfolk, Va, but have lived in other places including New Orleans. It doesnt look like the picture but it is similar. Its less soupy and more saucy. Its made with "yock" noodles that can be purchased at the asian market as well as the seasoning. The meats that are added are either boiled chicken wings, or fried pork chops. You'll need boiled eggs cut in half, onions, ketchup, hot sauce and red pepper. You can get the recipe from any baby boomer African American woman from Norfolk, Va that is active in a baptist church. It can also be purchased in chinese take-out joints located near or in the black community of Norfolk, Va. You can try Far East or China Castle on Princess Ann Rd, or Sun Wah on Tidewater Dr. These joints are different from other chinese eateries in that they have special dishes that are a result of the mixing of the African American and Chinese cultures. This "Chinese Soul Food" is unique to the area and is worth a trip to the hood in the daytime. While you're at it you'll want to try a "smoke", which comes in large or small, that is cut up pieces of smoked sausage over a bed of rice, covered in gravy. The gravy is what makes the dish, so make sure you get a reference from a local.

@stinsonfreelance - I think the yock is really Japanese, not Chinese. Chinese noodles are mostly egg noodles. Japanese noodles don't contain egg. Also, the onions and boiled egg in a soy sauce soup is basically "udon". It's a significant difference, even though a lot of people mistakenly call all Asians "Chinese", it's not the case.

Far away from all of you -yakamein was also served as a staple soup on the menu at what was was formerly known as The American Legion in the Balboa Yacht club building in the Canal Zone (Panama) from 60's-80's (as early as my childhood memories go) I remember it being a thin broth without the egg but have never forgotten the unique taste and like many have asked many a chinese restaurant owner if they knew what I was talking about and none ever did in Florida, Georgia, or Texas. Lived in VIrginia for a awhile but ex did not eat Chinese food ever so ... Panama when I was growing up had a unique culture similiar to New Orleans with many people from the West Indies as well as Asian backgrounds. I imagine the recipe also made its way to the Canal Zone through the mix or as some Virginia people have credited - with all the military that lived in the Zone over the years this amazing yakamein may have traveled through Navy channels to kitchens around the oceans.

Maybe yacamein really has origins in the Navy. My grandfather enlisted in the navy shortly after immigrating to the US. He was a sailor for Standard Oil and came from a fishing family so it was a natural that he'd sign up, then eventually end up in a naval city, living near the naval station. The way we ate it was my mom's variation, but it's not that authentic because she Japan-ized it. It was udon noodles and soup - soy sauce, chicken broth - a piece of steak, and chunky cut up raw green onions. My father spiced it up with cayenne pepper.

The Yock Yok comic project has been published! Contact the fine folks at Regional Relationships if you would like a copy: regionalrelationships.org/toosi/

I had Yoc on the day i entered Hampton off 64. Went to casbah on shell road... Tried to bring my mom some before she passed away...but didn't make it. This was in 2007. What i want to say is. Asian chefs here and abroad everywhere never heard of Yoc...its specific to Tidewater. Those that travel... Ask for Yock / Yoc. And you will be given Yock a Mein! Which is nothing close to Tidewater Yock / Yoc etc. So any posters here with bad experiences....go to Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth etc and ask for Yock! If not in tidewater they will give you you Yock a Mein. People...from tidewater list where you get it from and how they spell it on their menu! I moved away to DC 23 yrs ago...i understand things do change etc.