In China, noodle dishes come in all kinds of forms and flavors depending on the region. In Beijing, I grew up eating Fried Sauce Noodles (Zha Jiang Mian) and Pork Gravy Noodles (Da Lu Mian). In Southern China, fried noodles such as Chow Mein, Lo Mein, and Mei Fen are everyday staples. If you like spicy food, try spicy cold Dan Dan Noodle from Sichuan and mung bean noodles in hot and sour soup (Suan La Fen) from Chongqing. You can find fat noodles with chili oil (Biang Biang Mian), hearty beef noodle soup (Lan Zhou La Mian) and spicy tingling Cumin Lamb Noodles in central China. Today, I want to share one of my favorite noodle dishes from Shanghai cuisine – scallion oil noodles.
What is scallion oil noodles
Scallion oil noodle, or 葱油拌面 (cong you ban mian), is a famous Shanghai dish. It is a super simple and flavorful dish you can get from street vendors or hole-in-the-wall restaurants. To make the sauce, you use a bunch of green onions to make a fragrant scallion oil while producing crispy caramelized scallions that are mildly sweet. The oil is then quickly cooked with soy sauce and a touch of sugar, to create a savory noodle sauce that is simple yet big in flavor. Just mix the sauce and crispy scallions with thin wheat noodles, and you will get a rich and fragrant noodle dish that is so satisfying to eat.
A slightly improved recipe
The key to making great scallion oil noodles is to nail the scallion oil, and to use a good sauce-to-noodle ratio. I shared this recipe a while ago using the traditional approach, but I updated it slightly for an even better result based on my experience over the years. Traditional scallion oil noodles use quite a bit of oil. You will need to slow cook the scallion for a long time to infuse the oil. In this recipe, I reduced the amount of oil so it’s just enough to make a batch of the sauce. By reducing the oil, the scallions will char quickly so you can reduce the cooking time. You will also get a very fragrant sauce since the scallion-to-oil ratio will have increased. Most of the traditional scallion oil noodles recipes do not contain garlic, but I found that a small amount goes a long way. It makes this simple sauce even richer with a very complex and balanced flavor.
Scallion oil noodle ingredients
What type of noodle to use
Thin wheat noodles work best for scallion oil noodles. I used Wife’s Noodles from Havista. It is a type of semi-fresh noodles that have a really good texture and taste very similar to fresh noodles. If you don’t have access to them, dried thin wheat noodles such as udon noodles will work great. The main ingredients should be wheat and water.
How to cut the scallion
Cut the scallions to 2” (5 cm) long slices. Thinly slice the scallions. Depending on the size of the scallions you use, you can either quarter them lengthwise, or julienne them.
It’s important to thinly slice the scallions into even pieces so they will crisp up nicely.
Mise en place
The ingredients you need for scallion oil noodles are super simple.
Light soy sauce Dark soy sauce Sugar Oil (any neutral oil would work) Minced garlic Julienned scallions Noodles
How to make scallion oil noodle
Once you’ve made the sauce, simply mix the sauce with cooked noodles and garnish by sprinkling the crispy scallions on top. The sauce might not look like a lot, but it is very rich and flavorful so a small amount goes a long way. Infused with the aroma of the scallion and garlic, the noodles are quite bold in taste. The crispy scallion is mild and slightly sweet, adding a nice texture to the mix.
How to serve scallion oil noodles
Scallion oil noodle is originally a street food and is usually served as a snack or as breakfast. When making the dish at home, I enjoy serving it as a side dish along with other veggies and protein dishes. In the warmer months, I also like to serve it as a light meal for lunch. To make it a more significant meal, top the noodles with some sliced cucumber and tomato, plus some shredded leftover chicken or beef. You can also brown some ground meat (chicken, pork and beef all work well) and add it to the noodle sauce, to use as a topping. Scallion noodle sauce can be made ahead and saved for later. You should store the fried scallions separately so they remain somewhat crispy.
Other delicious noodle recipes
Easy Soy Sauce Noodles (阳春面) Chongqing Noodles (重庆小面) Green Bean Noodles (豆角焖面) Chinese Chicken Noodle Salad (鸡丝凉面) Da La Pi (大拉皮, Northern Chinese Potato Noodles in Sesame Sauce)
