SUBGUM CHOW MEIN

Before Miss Shirley moved her Chinese restaurant from Metairie to Magazine Street, she had a dish called Subgum Noodles on the menu.  It was my absolute favorite thing to eat there.  Me rendition is pretty good, too.  Okay, better than pretty good.  My Red Wok sauce (recipe on this site) is an amalgam of recipes I’ve come across and is greatly inspired by the Woks of Life cookbook (also reviewed on this site), as well as Miss Shirley’s Subgum Noodle dish.  This is definitely a comfort dish for me.  Last night, I had some left over pork chops in the frig, some vegetables that needed to be cooked, and a carton of already-peeled shrimp from Dorignac’s.  I went to the Asian market off of Veterans and found some refrigerated chow mein noodles (which wasn’t easy because frankly the staff isn’t very helpful there)!  But the right kind of fresh noodles makes a huge difference in this dish.

“Subgum,” in American Chinese cuisine means “assorted,” or a mixture of ingredients.  It typically means a stir-fry or soup loaded with a variety of diced meats, seafood or vegetables, served over rice or crispy noodles or in a rich broth.

The earliest known mention of subgum is in 1902 in a list of Chinese dishes in the Chicago Daily Tribune.  An early indirect mention of sub-gum is in 1906; in 1909, there is a more explicit reference to sub gum deang at a Chicago restaurant, and in 1913, to sub gum gai suey at a New York City restaurant.

From the internet: Subgum reflects the adaptation of traditional Chinese cooking to local ingredients and tastes in North America. Its flexibility allowed Chinese immigrants to create a dish that was both familiar and appealing to American diners, making it a staple in Chinese-American cuisine.  In summary, subgum is celebrated for its colorful mix of ingredients, balanced textures, and savory flavor, offering a versatile and satisfying meal that can be customized with different proteins, vegetables, and sauces.

By the way, I included pictures of Zelda and Peanut Too! because… well, because I wanted to.  Check out my blog where you can hear Peanut Too! sing along with Harry Styles with a full orchestra behind them.  Isn’t Harry Styles amazing?  He is my new heart throb and his version of Bridge Over Troubled Water brings tears to my eyes (especially when Peanut Too! throws his head back and joins in).