Scallion Oil Noodles

This is an A1 example of finding flavor in simplicity. Because we already know (and love) the fresh crunch and lil’ peppery kick from raw scallions (aka green/spring onions). But what you may not know (but will 100p love), is what you get justtt by slow cooking em’ with oil. As the sugars in the scallions caramelize, the oil is infused with this new, complex savory-sweetness. And now we have an aromatic oil and a perfectly crunchy scallion topping – both incredibly flavorful and incredibly different from what we started with. You can use the oil for dressings & dipping sauces, stir-frying veg or frying an egg, as a finisher for whatever the heck you want… or, to make these ~Scallion Oil Noodles~

A humble dish originating as a street food in Shanghai, Scallion Oil Noodles combine just a few simple ingredients – wheat noodles, scallions, oil, soy sauce, and sugar – to create a lovely nuanced flavor.

Ingredients Substitutions

Dark Soy Sauce: more so used to give food a deep, appealing color, and can be subbed with light (regular) soy sauce

Soy Sauce: can be subbed with shoyu, tamari (gluten-free), or coconut aminos (soy-free)

• Note that these subs usually have a lower sodium content, so you may want to add some salt to taste

Scallion Oil

Scallion stalks are cut into 2-inch pieces, with whites separated from the greens. Since the whites are thicc, we roughly slice them so they can evenly crisp up, as well as to open them to release more flavor. Since the greens are hollow, you can choose to leave them whole, or roughy slice them as well (more for aesthetics).

Add only the whites to a pan (have a longer cook time) with just enough oil to cover. We slow-cook them over med-low heat to maximize flavor extraction as well as scallion crispiness, stirring frequently to ensure even cooking (pans get hotter at the edges). Once the whites have wilted (~2 min), add the greens.

Continue slow cooking and stirring. When they’re fragrant and have more of a caramelized golden color (~10 min), take it off the heat. Residual heat will continue to cook them, and scallions have a slim threshold between caramelized and burning (although some people like the added bitterness from some burning, so you do you).

Infused scallion oil is a whole flavor-bomb on its own, so I like to make larger batches of it to be used as a finishing and cooking oil. Store leftovers in the fridge to preserve oil quality. Also, I’d recommend storing leftover crispy scallions separately to best maintain their crunch.

putting it all together

While making the oil, you can also be cooking your noodles of choice – bring salted water to a boil and cook to al diente, then strain and briefly rinse in cool water.

To assemble, simply add the scallion oil, noodles, dark and light soy sauce, and sugar to a pan, and mix over med-high heat to melt the sugar and integrate the sauce.

Optionally (and since I’m a fan of getting your greens in), you could also first use the scallion oil to stir-fry some green beans with a pinch of salt, and then proceed in the same way with the rest of the ingredients.

Some other vegetables I think would go great include bok choy, broccoli, choy sum, or spinach (for spinach I’d add it at same time as rest of ingredients b/c short cook time).

For more protein, I also just decided that stir-frying crumbled up firm tofu, or any kind of ground meat, or frying an egg, would hit.

Then, you just top it off the crispy scallions and get. in. there.

Scallion Oil Noodles

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook TIme 15 minutes mins

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

Scallion Oil

• 1 bunch scallions (~6 stalks)
• Enough cooking oil to cover (~1/4 c)

Scallion Oil Noodles

• 2 tbsp scallion oil
• 2 servings noodles of choice (~4 oz. dry pasta)
• 1 tbsp light (regular) soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1-2 tsp sugar

Optional

• Handful green beans (~75g or 1/2 c), ends removed, cut into 2-in pieces

Instructions

 

Scallion Oil

• Remove scallion ends, cut into 2-inch pieces, separating whites from greens. Roughly slice whites, and optionally slice greens as well.
  1 bunch scallions (~6 stalks)
• Add scallion whites to a pan with oil, and turn heat to med-low. When softened (~3 min), add the scallion greens.
  Enough cooking oil to cover (~1/4 c)
• Stir consistently for even cooking, and cook until fragrant and golden (~10 min). Remove from heat and pour into a heat safe container to cool / store. ¹

Scallion Oil Noodles

• While making the scallion, bring salted water to a boil and cook noodles to al diente. Drain and briefly rinse with cool water.
  2 servings noodles of choice (~4 oz. dry pasta)
• Add scallion oil to pan over med-high heat.
  2 tbsp scallion oil
• If using green beans – add to oil, along with a pinch of salt, and stir fry until they have a wrinkly appearance.
  Handful green beans (~75g or 1/2 c),
• Add noodles, and rest of sauce ingredients. Mix will to combine and to melt sugar.
  1 tbsp light (regular) soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1-2 tsp sugar
• Serve topped with crispy scallions from the scallion oil, and enjoy!

Notes

1. Storing oil: measurements for scallion oil give enough for 4 servings. Store leftover oil in fridge to preserve oil quality (I like to story oil & scallion pieces separately so the latter keeps its crisp better). Stays good for at least two weeks. 

Keyword recipe, scallion oil noodles