The Iconic New Orleans Soup Known For Its Hangover Curative Powers

General enjoyers-of-good-things might get a little bummed when the masses start digging their favorite things. But, foodies worldwide know that the New Orleans food scene rules, with its po' boys, gumbo, and red beans and rice. Today, we're talking about one lesser known regional favorite from The Big Easy — and you can say you knew about yakamein "before it was cool."

Yakamein (also written as ya-ka-mein) is the Creole beef noodle soup that doubles as a knockout hangover cure. It starts with a base of hot beef or chicken broth loaded with Creole seasoning, bobbing with spaghetti, cooked protein (typically beef, but pork, shrimp, and chicken aren't uncommon),a halved hard-boiled egg, chopped green onions, and parsley or cilantro. It also commonly includes the Cajun mirepoix (onion, celery, and bell pepper) plus more seasoning elements like soy sauce, Louisiana-style hot sauce, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce for a spicy, salty, intoxicatingly aromatic peppery perfume. The proprietary spice blends vary from one bowlful to the next, often a secret ratio of ingredients, but typically include some combination of paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne peppers.

In a bowl of yakamein, complex flavors meet restorative properties. This noodle soup is the warming, healing, spicy remedy that knocks hangovers into the dust — which is why yakamein is also colloquially known as "Old Sober." Each serving is packed with high-protein meat, high-sodium broth to help the body rehydrate, and glutathione-producing eggs, which is the antioxidant that metabolizes alcohol out of the body.

Yakamein is a dish that exists without a written recipe, and it's the center of mucho variation and hazy origin stories. Per one theory, the soup was created by Chinese laborers who immigrated to New Orleans en masse during the railroad boom of the 1800s, fusing Cantonese noodle soups with Creole-style flavors. Another theory proposes that yakamein was the result of NOLA culinary tradition melding with the cravings of returning soldiers post-Korean War or World War II who developed a taste for noodle soup during their tours abroad. 

Either way, yakamein is New Orleans regional fare through and through, and it's an effective cure to whatever ails you — utility which can be especially helpful after knocking back a few of The Big Easy's official cocktail. The sazerac combines absinthe and rye whiskey over ice, sans mixer. At 45% ABV, sazeracs are more potent than a shot of straight liquor (40%) and as physically large as a mixed drink. (Enter: yakamein.)

Befitting such an accessible comfort dish, yakamein is served family-style. The soup is cooked in a large pot and slow-simmered for two to three hours, ideal for ladling out to feed large crowds. This might be part of the reason why yakamein is more commonly served in mom and pop shops and corner stores than sit-down restaurants. It's even cropped up as an affordable street food served in Styrofoam cups, common at festivals and Second Line neighborhood parades.