Baltimore Yat Gaw Mein

0 0 3 minutes read

Yat gaw mein, also known as Baltimore yak or dirty yak, is Baltimore carryout comfort food at its finest. A Chinese American remix of Beijing’s zha jiang mian, the dish dates back to the late 19th century, when Chinese immigrants started settling in the city. Setting up shop in traditionally Black and working-class neighborhoods, Chinese cooks adapted their recipes to locally available ingredients, swapping fermented pastes for a simpler, soy-based gravy. Over time, something new emerged: savory wheat noodles, stir-fried with shrimp, beef, and vegetables and punctuated with a hard-boiled egg. Today you can find the beloved dish at counter spots around town like Jimmy’s Carryout, Danny’s, and Pimlico Chinese Carry Out.

In this at-home version from Steve Chu, the chef behind Baltimore’s Ekiben, smoky wok-charred noodles are tossed with umami-packed soy sauce and oyster sauce, rich fat, and sweet caramelized onions. What makes the dish “dirty” is the flavor that develops when soy sauce, sugar, and aromatics scorch against the hot metal of the wok, creating deep savory notes balanced by subtle sweetness. Be sure to keep the wok on high heat and stir frequently, since this allows the wok hei—which translates to “the breath of a wok” and refers to that elusive smokiness—to work its magic. The finishing squeeze of ketchup might sound unusual, but it delivers the acidic punch that makes the dish complete.

Ingredients

Kosher salt
1 lb. fresh wheat noodles, such as lo mein or udon
¼ cup duck fat, chicken fat, vegetable oil, or other cooking fat
1½ cups bean sprouts
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 medium scallion, thinly sliced
¼ cup dark soy sauce, plus more if needed
2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. MSG or chicken bouillon powder
1 Tbsp. sugar
1–2 tsp. Tianjin chile flakes or crushed red chile flakes
Steamed or poached shrimp or medium-rare seared beef slices, for topping
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled, for topping
Ketchup and hot sauce, for serving

Instructions

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for 1 minute less than the package instructions so they remain slightly undercooked. Drain, then rinse briefly under cold water. Set aside to cool.

Step 2

Heat a wok over high until lightly smoking. Add the duck fat, followed by the bean sprouts, onion, and scallion. Stir-fry until the mixture begins to brown around the edges, about 1 minute. Add the noodles, both soy sauces, the oyster sauce, MSG, sugar, and chile flakes. Stir-fry, tossing continuously so the sauce coats the noodles evenly and begins to brown against the wok, 1–4 minutes. (If a darker color is desired, add a little more dark soy sauce.)

Step 3

Add 1½ cups of water to the wok, scraping up the browned bits, and simmer until the noodles absorb some of the liquid, about 1 minute. (If you prefer a saucier dish, add a little more water.) Add the shrimp and hard-boiled egg, tossing gently so the egg warms through and takes on some of the dark soy color without breaking apart.

Step 4

Serve immediately, with ketchup and hot sauce on the side.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for 1 minute less than the package instructions so they remain slightly undercooked. Drain, then rinse briefly under cold water. Set aside to cool.
Heat a wok over high until lightly smoking. Add the duck fat, followed by the bean sprouts, onion, and scallion. Stir-fry until the mixture begins to brown around the edges, about 1 minute. Add the noodles, both soy sauces, the oyster sauce, MSG, sugar, and chile flakes. Stir-fry, tossing continuously so the sauce coats the noodles evenly and begins to brown against the wok, 1–4 minutes. (If a darker color is desired, add a little more dark soy sauce.)
Add 1½ cups of water to the wok, scraping up the browned bits, and simmer until the noodles absorb some of the liquid, about 1 minute. (If you prefer a saucier dish, add a little more water.) Add the shrimp and hard-boiled egg, tossing gently so the egg warms through and takes on some of the dark soy color without breaking apart.
Serve immediately, with ketchup and hot sauce on the side.