Scallion Oil Noodles

Scallion oil noodles (cong you ban mian — scallion oil tossed noodles) are a Shanghai staple dish whose reputation rests on doing very little, very well. Five ingredients: noodles, scallion, oil, soy sauce, sugar. No broth, no protein unless you add it separately, no complexity beyond the ratio and the timing. The dish has developed something of a cult following among both local Shanghainese and food writers who find it a useful argument against the idea that more ingredients always produces better cooking.

The scallion oil is the critical component. A large quantity of scallions — far more than would seem reasonable — is sliced into sections and placed in a generous amount of neutral-flavoured oil (vegetable or canola) in a cold wok or pan. The heat is raised slowly and the scallions are cooked at a very low temperature for an extended time, anywhere from twenty to forty minutes, until they turn dark brown, slightly caramelised, and aromatic. The objective is to extract as much flavour from the scallions as possible without burning them. Burned scallion oil tastes bitter; properly cooked scallion oil tastes of a deeply concentrated, slightly sweet allium.

The browned scallion pieces are removed from the oil. The remaining scallion oil is mixed with light soy sauce and dark soy sauce (for colour) and a small amount of sugar to balance the salt. Fresh thin wheat noodles — the thin round variety common in Shanghai, sometimes called longxu mian — are cooked separately and drained well. The hot noodles are tossed with the sauce until every strand is coated.

The dish is eaten immediately, plain or with the crisped scallion pieces scattered on top. A fried or soft-boiled egg alongside is the most common addition. The flavour is savoury, slightly sweet, and deeply aromatic; the texture of properly cooked thin noodles dressed in oil rather than broth is smooth and slippery.