Not only is this dish simple to make but it is ridiculously delicious. It is one of my go-to dishes. The key to simple dishes like these is to use the freshest and best quality ingredients. Two ingredients are the stars here – the noodles and the scallions/green onions/shallots.
The white-head scallions will work great but if you can find the purple head shallots/scallions, use those as your first option.
I’ll give you the recipe first and then suggest ways in which you can vary things so that you can have a different option in terms of flavour and ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
Photo by Cynthia Nelson
For scallion oil:
¾ cup thinly sliced scallions (heads and green parts)
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
¼ cup vegetable or any neutral tasting oil
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
For noodles:
1 packet dried Asian noodles (egg noodles, lo mein noodles)
2 – 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
Hot pepper sauce to taste
DIRECTIONS
For scallion oil:
Mix together scallions/green onions and salt and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan until shimmering but not smoking hot. Add scallions and cook for 15 seconds only, remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Stir in sesame oil and set aside to cool.
For noodles:
Cook noodles according to package instructions.
Transfer noodles to a large bowl and toss with scallion oil, hoisin and pepper sauce. Serve immediately.
NOTES
Use chowmein noodles as a substitute but this dish works better with thin lighter noodles.
The salt content was fine for me but if you wish, add a couple shakes of soy sauce when tossing.
Freshly grated ginger, garlic and minced hot pepper can be mixed with the scallions and then be cooked together.
Minced or thinly sliced meat as well as shrimp can be added to the dish. Stir fry with dark soy sauce and regular soy sauce first, then add noodles, hoisin and pepper sauce; toss and serve hot.
