Chinese Scallion Oil Noodles—a really simple and humble noodle dish that’s packed full of flavour.
The scallions or green onions are cooked down in oil until it releases all its aroma and flavours before the sauces and noodles are added into the wok.
This Chinese scallion oil noodles recipe uses simple very simple ingredients–wheat noodles, scallions, oil, soy sauce, and sugar.
A PERSONAL FAVOURITE
A personal favourite of mine is a bowl of scallion oil noodles (also known as spring onion oil noodles) from a local Chinese restaurant the specialised in hand-pulled noodles. This version uses dry wheat noodles that I cooked until chewy to get that nice bite when enjoying a bowl.
IMPORTANT NOTES FOR THESE SCALLION OIL NOODLES:
- Cook down the white parts of the scallions/green onions first and then add the green part halfway through. This is helpful because the white parts are tougher and take longer to cook.
- Cook the noodles until still very chewy. You can cook them 1-2 minutes less than package instructions. This way you’ll still have chewy noodles with a good bite after tossing them in the wok.
- Run your noodles through some water to stop the cooking and also to wash out any excess starch
- For another version, you can enjoy these with some sautéed mushrooms and bok choy!
See below these noodles I made during a separate occasion. I really LOVE these noodles!
SCALLIONS OR GREEN ONIONS
Okay so this is where it gets a bit confusing. Scallions, green onions, spring onions, onion leeks.. what’s the difference?
It can vary depending on where you’re from and what you have access to. Here in the Philippines, scallions or green onions can actually be called onion leeks since these are a lot thicker than spring onions. See a photo below:
Whatever you choose to use, you’ll need a generous amount!
If using scallions/onion leeks, be sure to chop off the ends, then divide each stalk into 3-4 parts. From there, thinly slice the onions into thin strips. Separate the white and green parts.
DARK SOY SAUCE
I used dark soy sauce or mushroom soy sauce for the darker brown caramel colour. It’s not as salty as regular soy sauce but adds an extra umami flavour to the noodles.
PREPARING THE NOODLES
Again, it’s important that your noodles are ready or cooking down before or while you prepare the scallion oil. I like to undercook my noodles so they’re still very chewy even after being tossed in the wok.
I didn’t have fresh wheat noodles so I used dried noodles for these! I cooked the noodles until still very chewy.
I then drained the noodles and ran them through water before adding these into the pan later on.
Here’s how I cooked down the scallions to create that really aromatic scallion oil:
I started with a wok and heated it at medium before adding in the neutral oil.
Afterwards, I added in the scallions. The photo below uses spring onions so I just added everything at once.
But if using the thicker scallions that you’d thinly sliced, add the white part first.
Add the green part of the scallion halfway through cooking the white part.
It’s best to adjust the heat to make sure it isn’t too hot that the scallions will easily burn.
From a bright green, the scallions will cook down and turn into a browner shade.
When the scallions are almost brown and slightly crisp, remove them from the pan so they don’t burn.
At low heat, add in the sugar and soy sauces. The sugar will beautiful melt in the hot hot oil.
Once the sugar has dissolved, add in the noodles.
Mix the noodles into the oil mixture to coat them well. Turn up the heat to medium and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
You can season the noodles with more soy sauce, if desired.
ENJOY YOUR CHINESE SCALLION OIL NOODLES
Turn off the heat and enjoy by mixing in the crisp scallions back into the noodles.
And there, these Chinese scallion oil noodles are basically done!
Get the recipe below for these Chinese Scallion Oil Noodles. Hope you enjoy it!
You can also check out my other vegan noodle recipes:
- Easy Spicy Miso Noodles
- Ginger and Scallion Noodles
- Chili Garlic Oil Noodles
- Mie Goreng (Indonesian Fried Noodles)
- Chili Garlic and Black Bean Eggplant Noodles
If you make any of my recipes, please tag me on my Facebook or Instagram and use the hashtag #thefoodietakesflight 🙂
Are you looking for more delicious, vegan recipes?
You can get a copy of my cookbook, Vegan Asian!
If you crave vegan-friendly versions of classic Asian dishes, this cookbook is packed with Southeast and East Asian dishes inspired by those I grew up enjoying at home and those I’ve tried from my travels. From iconic Thai dishes to piping-hot Japanese fare and everything in between, the recipes in this will take your palate on a delicious food trip across Asia, and hopefully keep you coming back for more!
Chinese Scallion Oil Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 servings dry thin wheat noodles , around 150 g dry
Scallion Oil
- 1/4 cup neutral oil like rice bran, canola, vegetable oil
- 1-2 cups chopped scallions, green onions or spring onions, around 4 large stalks (see notes)
- 2-3 tsp soy sauce to taste, see notes
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce , see notes
- 2 tsp sugar
- Dash white pepper , optional
To Serve
- More chopped scallions or chopped cilantro for topping (optional)
Instructions
- You can watch the video in the player to see a complete step-by-step on how these noodles are made 🙂
- Prepare the scallions/spring onions:If using scallions with thicker stems, cut these into 3-4 segments of around 3 inches (7.5 cm) each. From there, thinly slice or julienne the scallions. Divide the white and green parts.If using spring onions, you can just divide these into 3 segments and then slice in half or diagonally.
- Heat a pot of water. Once it boils, add in the noodles. Cook until still very chewy and then drain from the water. You'll want the noodles to be very chewy so they won't overcook once added to the pan/wok.
- While the pot of water is heating for the noodles, heat a large wok or pan. Add 1/4 cup oil.
- If using a wok, leave to heat on medium low heat. If using a regular pan, you can use medium heat. Add in the white part of the scallions.Leave to cook over low heat (for wok) or medium (for pan) for 3-4 minutes or until lightly brown before adding the green parts. Leave to cook for 2-3 more minutes until brown and crisp.
- When the scallions are lighly brown and crisp, remove the scallions from the oil.
- Add in the sugar, soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Maintain the low medium/medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Meanwhile drain the noodles from the water and quickly rinse through running water to remove the starch.
- Add the cooked noodles into the scallion oil and mix well to coat the noodles. Turn up the heat to medium then toss the noodles. Feel free to add more soy sauce, to taste.
- Add a dash of white pepper (if using). Mix well and then leave to cook for a 1-2 more minutes over medium high heat.
- Serve in a bowl and then top with the fried scallions and some fresh herbs, if you'd like. Enjoy while hot!
Notes
GREEN ONIONS/SCALLIONS
- Okay so this is where it gets a bit confusing. Scallions, green onions, spring onions, onion leeks.. what’s the difference?
- It can vary depending on where you’re from and what you have access to. Here in the Philippines, scallions or green onions can actually be called onion leeks since these are a lot thicker than spring onions.
- Whatever you choose to use, you’ll need a generous amount!
- If using scallions/onion leeks, be sure to chop off the ends, then divide each stalk into 3-4 parts. From there, thinly slice the onions into thin strips. Separate the white and green parts.
- Cook down the white parts of the scallions/green onions first and then add the green part halfway through. This is helpful because the white parts are tougher and take longer to cook.
NEUTRAL OIL
- It’s essential to use neutral oil since other types of oil such as coconut, olive, and sesame oil can overpower the scallions.
SOY SAUCE
- For the soy sauce, start with 2 tsp then just adjust according to desired taste!
DARK SOY SAUCE
- I used dark soy sauce or mushroom soy sauce for the darker brown colour. It’s not as salty as regular soy sauce but adds an extra umami flavour to the noodles.
- You can do away without dark soy sauce but do note that the noodles get the nice brown colour from the rich dark soy sauce. So without it the noodles can be much lighter in colour.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
You can pin these images:
This Post Has 11 Comments
Absolutely DELICIOUS! It was a big hit in my home. LOVE all your amazing recepies!
Hi Janice!! So happy you enjoyed these. Really appreciate it hehe 🙂
hii Im cravings those noodles that I used to have in shanghai ??may I know which noodles you used here? Thanks in advance
Hi Shadia! I used Kuan miao wheat noodles from Taiwan 🙂
Your recipe looks amazing! I have everything except for the wheat noodles at the moment. I plan on following the exact recipe at a later time.. but to satisfy my current craving, do you think the wheat noodles could be substituted w/ normal spaghetti? Or would the flavors be so off that it just wouldn’t work?
Hi Jocelyn, thank you so much! As for spaghetti, yes that should work well too. Of course it’s a bit thicker than the wheat noodles I used but I can imagine it being really chewy and al dente–perfect to be coated n the scallion oil mix. Please let me know how it goes. 🙂
I always adore your recipes because no matter how easy it is to make they are always so flavourful and delicious. My toddler especially love this one!
This was so easy and delicious! We used rice ramen noodles but will try some wheat noodles we have on hand next time. Will definitely be in the rotation. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thanks so much Maria!! happy to hear ◡̈
This is so easy to prepare and absolutely delicious! I used wheat noodles and its perfect! Haha can’t get enough to this recipe. Will try next time to ramen noodles. Also an ideal substitute to packed noodles in the grocery!
Yay glad you liked it. Thanks so much Irene ◡̈