The History of Old Sober... The Chinese, Black, and Creole Origins of Yakamein

Welcome to Season 6, Episode 32! It's food time again!In this episode, we're talking about a dish that may not be as widely known… Yakamein. It's one of those dishes that feels inseparable from New Orleans, but it does show up throughout the U.S. South as well as the Eastern seaboard. In New Orleans, where it may be best known, it shows up at second line parades, food festivals, neighborhood corner stores, and pop-ups. We love it's nickname… "Old Sober"… which it gets from its reputation as a hangover cure. But more than that, it's a dependable comfort food that may be Chinese in origin, but it's been adapted and influenced by the area both in and outside of New Orleans. We'll talk about where Yakamein or variations of it show up across the South and Eastern U.S. as well as some of the different chefs who are known for making versions of it… including NOLA's Miss Linda. In our recurring segment, we talk about the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization that documents, studies and explores the food culture in the American South. They have some great articles on how Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans have impacted food in the South. To learn more, you can visit southernfoodways.org, follow them on Instagram @southfoodways, and donate at southernfoodways.org/donate. If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Introduction 02:47 The History of Old Sober… The Chinese, Black, and Creole Origins of Yakamein 18:53 Organizations to Know: Southern Foodways Alliance