Since the beginning of time, people have been coming up with ways to create wonderful food while using techniques and ingredients out of necessity. In the biblical times, they milled wheat into flour to bake bread; Eskimos salted and cured fish to preserve it; Slaves learned to cook- using the parts of animals that were left after the prime cuts were used for their masters. Today, a lot of our favorite foods are the same foods that our ancestors were forced to use because of their limited resources. Some of these dishes are regional dishes that you rarely find anywhere outside of that region that are still eaten today. Florida has its conch chowder, New Orleans has etouffée, and Hawaii has everything spam. If you are from South Eastern Virginia, we have Yok.
I now live in North Carolina, and people here have never heard of it. When I describe the dish to them, they say “yuck" but its Yok, not yuck. As the name might imply, Yok has some Asian influence. It is a very simple dish that consists of boiled chicken (we always used wings), noodles (spaghetti or Yok noodles), hard boiled eggs, thinly shaved onions, and a spicy sauce. The dish sounds really simple right? But everyone can't make it- not like my grandma anyway. My grandma put a lot of love into her yok and I make mine the same way she taught me.
The first step is to simmer the chicken wings in seasoned water. You really want to cook the wings until they are falling off the bones. Once cooked, you reserve the leftover broth to boil the eggs. Now, I personally don’t eat eggs, but I am the only person that I know to have ever eaten yok without the egg. Once the eggs have simmered for about 6 minutes they can be removed, cooled, and shelled…save the broth. The broth gets recycled yet again to cook the pasta. In Virginia, in some of the lower end grocery stores you can buy noodles that are specifically for Yok, but spaghetti is an acceptable substitute. After the pasta is cooked, all the hot prep is done. Next is the sauce and that's what brings everything together. It consists of ketchup, hot sauce, vinegar, and soy sauce. There is no specific ratio for the sauce. It is based on who’s making it, some people like it sweeter so they use more ketchup, while some people use more hot sauce for a spicier version. The last part is the onions. I like to have an onion with less bite such as a Vidalia or Spanish Onion. The onions need to either be minced or sliced as thin like paper.
Growing up in my grandma’s house Yok Night was just as fun as any other activity night that she would have for us. It was right up there on the list with Pizza Night, Build Your Own Sub Night, and Donut Night. Grandma did all of the prep work for the dish, so there wasn’t much work for us, but we got a kick out of being able to layer in however much noodles, onions, and sauce we wanted. I would always make mine very saucy with a lot of onions.
I don’t know a lot of history behind the dish. Some people say that the sailors brought the dish with them after returning from Vietnam. Others claim that is was created in a neighborhood in Norfolk, Virginia. I don’t know nor am I looking for its roots. What I do know is that on any given Saturday in Hampton Roads, Virginia, you are liable to find someone having a yok sale and if I find one you can believe I’m headed to get some!
Make it a great meal- the choice is yours!
-Chef Marcus
Chicken Yok
Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 whole chicken wings
1 gallon water
¼ cup salt
1 pound spaghetti noodles
4 eggs hard boiled
½ yellow onion diced small or minced
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup Texas Pete hot sauce
¼ cup regular soy sauce
In a medium stock pot cover chicken with water and add salt. Bring water to a boil and reduce down to a simmer. Cook chicken for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove chicken from broth (reserve broth)
Bring broth back up to a boil and add pasta. Cook for 12 minutes or until done. Remove from heat
For the sauce: Mix together ketchup, hot sauce, and soy sauce.
Assembly: On each plate portion 8 ounces of cooked pasta and chicken, topped with ¼ cup Yok sauce, 2 tablespoons diced onions, and 2 boiled egg halves. Enjoy!