| A story cooked in mystery |
| Saimin Boy's History of Saimin |
| E-mail: Saiminboy@gmail.com Copyright 2007 NMWW All rights reserved. |
| As mentioned on my homepage for this Web site, no one can say definitively that saimin originated in this culture or that culture. Linguistically, some people may note that the word "min" in "saimin" can be interpreted as a variation of the Cantonese word "mein" meaning noodle and the word "sai," meaning small. Yet this is speculation. Someone could just as easily point out the Japanese words "ramen" and "somen" and note the similarity in endings: "min" versus "men." Even professionals discussing the subject of saimin cannot seem to agree upon which culture saimin originated in. Consider the following examples: "The Chinese brought egg noodles, and with them, the beloved Saimin was created, a noodle soup unique to Hawai'i." - Joanne Fujita, author of Little Hawaiian Noodle Cookbook "Saimin is a term peculiar to Hawaii. We do not know when or how it was coined. Local Chinese think saimin is a Japanese dish; local Japanese think it's a Chinese dish." - Dr. Shunzo Sakamaki, Asian history professor at UH-Manoa, of which Sakamaki Hall was named in honor of. (Click on link to find out more about him.) "[Saimin] is Hawai'i's favorite soup: thin Chinese-style egg noodles served in a Japanese-style broth..." - Joan Clarke, author of Local Food: What to Eat in Hawai'i |
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