Brussels sprout & spring onion oil noodles

May 27,  2024

   

We're still revelling in the fresh noodles and rice cakes available at our local Korean grocery! I had some noodles left over from another dish and picked out this Tenderheart recipe to make use of them. I was keen to use Brussels sprouts again ('tis the season!) and also liked that the dish was spiked with black vinegar.

Finely shredded Brussels sprouts and spring onion get cooked in lots of oil until they're golden and crispy, and there's supposed to be a lot of oil left over afterwards. I didn't find that to be the case - I think I set the heat too low for the first 15-20 minutes, such that the vegetables didn't change colour much and soaked up a lot of the oil. I'm finding that some of McKinnon's recipes are lighter on the seasonings than I prefer, so I'll also use a heavier hand on the tamari and black vinegar when I make this again.

A dish with such a simple ingredient list really benefits from the special texture of those fresh noodles. Crisp-fried veges add a neat textural contrast, and I went to the trouble of grilling the leftover vegetables to keep it up.

Brussels sprout & spring onion oil noodles

(slightly adapted from Hetty Lui McKinnon's Tenderheart)

3/4 cup neutral oil

8 spring onions, finely julienned

250g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and finely sliced

450g noodles

4 tablespoons tamari

3 teaspoons white sugar

1 teaspoon black vinegar

Place the oil, spring onions and sprouts in a large saucepan or frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and sprouts are golden and crispy, up to 30 minutes. I had to keep an eye on mine and adjust the heat along the way to get them cooking fast enough to brown but not so fast that they burned. When they're ready, pour the mixture through a sieve, so that you can catch the oil and keep the vegetables crispy.

Bring a different large saucepan of water to the boil, and cook the noodles according to their instructions. Drain them.

Add the tamari, sugar and vinegar to the drained oil and whisk them together. Toss the noodles with the flavoured oil (choosing the oil quantity to suit your taste), then serve the noodles topped with the crispy vegetables.