Abstract

Saimin is a ‘soup noodle unique to Hawaii,’ says Arnold Hiura, writer of Hawaiian food history. Being popular on the Hawaiian Islands for more than 100 years, it started in the early 20th century among immigrant Asian laborers on sugar plantations. To this day, saimin can be frequently consumed in small noodle shops, or found in home cooking. Whereas the name saimin appears to come from Cantonese, this popular dish has been sold not exclusively by Chinese immigrants, but also often by ethnic Japanese. Today Hawaiian residents widely recognize saimin as “local,” “comfort” food, and care less about its ethnic origins.
Saimin has such a long history as an important part of the local food culture and tradition, yet it is almost never heard of outside of the islands, for reasons in part because no serious or academic studies could be located. This paper is the result of fieldwork and literature searches over the past three years; and presents new findings about saimin’s development in Hawaiian history, as well as its symbolic meanings in a dynamic multi-ethnic society of immigrants.
Recent theoretical discourses in food studies often are concerned with the question of “origin” or “authenticity” of a popular food with a long history. This paper begins to investigate such questions about saimin. However, at the end we discovered that it is not an issue among different ethnic groups in Hawaii. It is more important for people in Hawaii to value becoming a proud member of the “local” Hawaiian community, and to share a common local food tradition in a multi-cultural society without a majority ethnic population.