One of the submissions for my “5 Pineapple Dishes From 5 Countries” came from Evan, who lives in NYC but grew up in Hawaii. His submission is for pineapple saimin, a dish that perfectly encapsulates Hawaiian food culture. 

According to Evan, saimin is a Hawaiian dish whose name originates from the Chinese word for “small noodles.” To those unfamiliar with saimin, it basically looks like a bowl of ramen. There is a broth, noodles, usually meat, and various toppings. Saimin is so popular in Hawaii that Evan says many people in Hawaii refer to all ramen and noodle soups as saimin! In Hawaii, saimin can be found everywhere, from fast food joints to fine dining restaurants. 

Usually, a basic saimin consists of a dashi broth with green onions and noodles. Everyone has their own individual toppings that they love. Evan mentions that some popular toppings include kamaboko, (a pink and white rolled Japanese fish cake), spam, Portuguese sausage, egg, and chashu. 

This dish has really helped Evan stay connected to his roots while living in a faraway city. Evan says that moving to NYC from Hawaii was very difficult, as he missed all the Hawaii food. When Evan went to a 7/11 in New York, he was shocked that they didn’t carry spam musubi. Today, Evan stays connected to his ancestors with the warm and nostalgic flavors of saimin.   

One day, while Evan was cooking some Hawaiian saimin, he decided to throw in some leftover pineapple that he had lying around. The end result was amazing. Although not a traditional topping, the pineapple contrasts perfectly with the salty spam and dashi broth. 

I just had to make this delicious-sounding dish. I jump to make any recipe that includes spam, so I was glad to see that this version featured spam as the main meat. The recipe I followed had spam, pineapple, and noodles in a dashi broth. I couldn’t find saimin noodles, so I used udon noodles, which are a good substitute. It was also my first time using dashi powder in a broth. This dish is incredible! It is one of the best soups I have ever eaten. The rich broth pairs perfectly with the contrast of salty spam and sweet pineapple. This dish tastes like eating a bite of pure Hawaii and is a must-try pineapple dish.