The Kitchen Workout: Saimin a la Kreecha

So, when I was younger only two people called me Kreecha. My mom, and my dear friend Mahi. No that's not her real name but our Spanish teacher called her that during summer school and it stuck. That was probably one of the summers I felt like the coolest underclassman in town. Dear sweet Kahi. What a beautiful person inside and out. Gone way too soon as another warrior against cancer. If there was one part of that summer I loved it was the upper class men letting me hang with them during lunch breaks. Oh lunch breaks. Saimin. Mmmm. If you want the best saimin you'll need to check out Shigee's in Wahiawa on O'ahu. But since I'm in the middle of the desert I decided I'd need to come up with something because, quite frankly, I don't trust many Asian restaurants up here in AZ. So this is what I came up with,

Saimin a la Kreecha

Noodles

3/4 C flour
1 egg
Dash of salt
(This is per person)

Broth

Chicken stock, one box (per two people)
Green onions, chopped
Ginger, thinly grated OR cut into 1" x 1/2" bricks
Chicken bouillon, one cube (optional)

Toppings

Char sui (I'll share the recipe later)
Egg
Bean sprouts
Bok choy
Fish cake

Noodles :
Make a well with the flour and crack the egg into the middle. Sprinkle a dash of salt on the egg. With a fork, slowly and carefully whisk the egg, incorporating the flour a little at a time. Once it gets a little ticket you can use your hand and start to knead it, adding flour when it gets sticky.

Place the dough balls into a bowl and cover with a moist towel. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

While your dough is sitting, go ahead and start your broth. Obviously you can add whatever spices you like. I usually just add my spicy mustard and chili pepper paste at the end.

Place all broth ingredients into a pot and heat to medium high.

In a separate pot, boil about 7 cups of water. Dump a bit of salt in the water to keep the noodles from sticking to the bottom.

If you have a noodle maker, go ahead and use that as you normally would. If not, you can use a rolling pin and roll out the dough. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to make the dough into strips.