Also known as dirty yak, this stir-fried noodle dish with dark soy gravy is woven into the city’s culinary fabric.
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.
Instructions
Step 1…