Scallion Oil Noodles (Long You Ban Mian) 葱油拌面

Glossy noodles tossed in fragrant scallion oil, soy sauce and just a touch of sweetness — simple, comforting, and deeply addictive. This scallion oil is liquid gold! Coating each slippery noodle with pure umami heaven.

Scallion Oil Noodles, or Long You Ban Mian (葱油拌面), is one of those dishes that seem to defy flavour based on its humble ingredients. Spring onions are gently fried in oil until sweet, aromatic and lightly crisp, then that infused oil becomes the backbone of a glossy soy-based sauce. Tossed through hot noodles, the result is savoury, fragrant, and packed with umami goodness!

This recipe is part of my Asian and Asian Noodles & Rice collections, a what's what of bold, flavoursome Asian cuisine.

What's Ahead?

What are Scallion Oil Noodles?

Scallion Oil Noodles are a classic Shanghai dish that squeeze every last bit of flavour from the humble Spring Onion. The onions are slowly fried in oil until aromatic and lightly charred and crisp. The oil becomes fragrant and when combined with salty soy sauces and sugar, create simple dressing, which is tossed with noodles just before serving. There’s no broth, no garnish overload — just noodles bathed in an unbelievably tasty coating.

Why you'll love it

• Big flavour - minimal ingredients
• It's fast - ready in under 20 minutes
• It's naturally vegan - when you use wheat noodles
• Perfect late-night or pantry meal - or a quick side dish for other Chinese favourites

Stuff You'll Need

The ingredients are few, but each brings an essential flavour to the final dish. Here's what you'll need. You can't stray too far from the ingredients for that authentic flavour, but there's nothing here that isn't readily available at any supermarket.

• Spring onions – Slowly fried to create both crispy topping and aromatic oil. Note: known as green onions (US/Canada) or spring onions (UK/Australia).

• Oil – I use peanut oil as it's neutral and has a high smoke point, ideal for scallion oil
• Light soy sauce – The salty backbone of the sauce
• Dark soy sauce – Adds a lovely caramel and depth of umami flavour
• Sugar – Balances the soy and rounds out the flavour
• Dried noodles – I use dried egg noodles in mine, but dried wheat or ramen noodles (unflavoured) will be good too if you're vegan. You could also use fresh egg or Singapore style noodles.

Step by Step

This dish really is easy to make at home. Here's how the magic happens.

1. Heat a wok with the oil over a moderat heat until just hot, not smoking. Add the spring onion.
2. Let it cook gently for a few minutes until the onions are lightly charred. Turn off the heat.
3. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon or spider spoon and drain on paper towels.
4. With the oil still hot, stir in the sugar and soy sauces.
5. Toss the cooked noodles through the sauce.
6. Serve the noodles topped with the crisp onions.

Substitutions & Variations

While the dish is beautifully balanced as it is, there are a few additions you could make to enhance or give a separate version.

• Spice it up - Add a little chilli oil or fresh chillies at the end to create a spicy version.
• Egg - Scramble two eggs in peanut oil in a separate frying pan and stir into the final noodles.
• Tamari makes a good alternative to soy if you want to make the dish gluten free (alongside a gluten free noodle).

Serving & Storage Suggestions

• Fridge - The noodles hold up surprisingly well in the fridge, for 2-3 days. Reheat in a pan or microwave, just add 1/4 cup of water to help avoid them drying out too much.
• Freezer - I don't recommend freezing scallion oil noodles - the taste and texture suffers too much. It's a quick dish to prepare, so in the time you'd take to defrost and reheat, you can easily whip up a fresh batch.

Ready to get cooking?

If, like me, you love dishes that feel comforting and quietly indulgent, Scallion Oil Noodles deserve a place in your regular rotation. I'm all about flavour and these silky little treasures deliver big on that! Be sure to give this recipe a try and let me know if you agree...

More Chinese recipes

If you liked this recipe for Scallion Oil Noodles, I'm sure you'll love some more of my best Chinese recipes.

• Ginger Scallion Sauce (my FAVOURITE Chinese sauce for dipping)
• Chicken Foo Young
• Duck Congee
• Chinese Snow Pea Shoots with Garlic

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