Friday, September 4, 2009

Jade: Bitemyonion


My mum makes these amazing noodles, a cross between sarawak kolok mee and kl wantan mee. Simple stuff, takes all of 5 minutes to throw together, THE ULTIMATE comfort food. For years, I've been trying to replicate it but somehow something was just not right. I played with proportions, different seasonings, never quite got there. See the key to all that flavour in an otherwise unremarkable plate of noodles tossed in soy sauce, is the OIL. Shallot oil, born of hours of slaving over a hot stove, gently simmering thinly sliced shallots until an entire wokful of oil is infused with the subtle aroma of the sweet little bulbs.

Since shallots are fairly pricey over here, [translate: since i'd rather spend my money on clothes
than bits of onion that end up fried, eaten and therefore cannot be passed on to my children], I fried up some leftover spring onions that I found at the back of my fridge and half an onion that I found at the back of my cupboard. I'm disgusting i know, but i'd like to think I sound very Nigella right now.
It takes a while, but the possibilities are endless.......homemade wantan mee, a light drizzle over steaming hot porridge, sprinkled over hearty broth, extra dimension to a simple stir fry.....

There is no other way to describe it. This, to me, is liquid gold.

No comments:

Post a Comment