Shanghai green onion oil noodles

Shanghai green onion oil noodles (葱油拌面 cōng yóu bàn miàn) is a simple dish in which boiled noodles are combined with a brown oily sauce and fried green onions. The traditional recipe doesn’t include any other toppings, but feel free to add any proteins you like.

The key ingredient — green onion oil — simmers out a pleasant fragrance when combined with fresh green onions and garlic, and gets rid of any residual pungency. You can make a large amount of green onion oil and put it in the fridge for later use. Trust me, it tastes better than any other type of cooking oil sold on the market.

Be sure to pat the green onions dry with a paper towel before frying them. Keep an eye on the heat, as green onions are easily burned. I overcooked the green onion when I first made this dish, and it turned out bitter.

YIELD

Serves 1

TIME

10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 3 green onion, julienned
• 1 bulb garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 serving of noodles

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the noodles. Cook until tender. Drain the noodles and rinse under cold water. Drain well and set aside.
2. Heat up 1/2 cup of cooking oil, add the julienned dried green onions and the chopped garlic. Fry over high heat until they start to brown. Turn down the heat.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon of dark soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of oyster sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to the oil. Simmer over low heat until the sauce starts to bubble.
4. Spoon out some oil for later use if you prefer less oily. Mix the rest with the cooked noodles. Top with fried green onions and garlic.
5. Serve hot.

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