Home Improvement: Umami-Rich Scallion Oil Lapcheong Noodles

Friday, 16 March 2018

Umami-Rich Scallion Oil Lapcheong Noodles

I am not a prolific social media user, and admit to being an infrequent Instagrammer. I am content to keep my head down and chug along in my daily routine, leaving Instagram bandwidth to those who post unique, beautiful and inspiring content — or a combination of any or all three of those (and any dog accounts and Diddy’s dance moves). One account I’m drawn to again and again is that of wedding and food photographer Betty Liu. Betty’s skill as a wedding photographer lends itself perfectly to capturing the preparation of food, as well as food itself. I love to study the textures and use of light in her images.

We reached out to Betty for her favorite recipe, and she shared her family’s Scallion Oil Lapcheong Noodles, her comfort food of choice. This is an umami-rich dish, thanks to the fat in the lapcheong (Chinese sausage) and can be prepared almost as quickly as it takes the noodles to cook — perfect for last-minute or short-on-time meal prep. As Betty explains, the recipe lends itself to endless variations and experimentation, so if sausage isn’t your thing, try with something else and let us know how you like it! —Kristina

Why Betty loves this recipe: Noodles are my ultimate comfort food. Sometimes when I’m home from work, ready for dinner, I forget the salads, forget even the simple, easy-assemble toasts – I turn to this dish, a riff of a classic Shanghai dish. Every Shanghai family will have their version of scallion oil noodle (cong you ban mian), and it’s a dish I make frequently, often liberally adding additions, such as this lapcheong sausage. In my family, this was never a recipe-type of dish (though, come to think of it, there were no recipes for any dish), but instead one of those dishes with a core flavor, with an enormous potential for variability and experimentation. It’s easy, mind-numbingly fast, and a no-brainer even when I have guests over.

About Betty: Betty Liu loves photographing the stories behind food, drawing on her experience as a wedding photographer and her education in architecture and design. She teaches photography workshops around the world, delving into local culinary rituals and sharing her perspectives on capturing food on camera. Her blog started out as a documentation of her mother’s Shanghai cooking, but eventually became a celebration of the mingling of eastern and western flavors, of experimentation and novelties. She currently lives in Boston with her husband and her big goofy dog, Annie, documenting love stories and food, exploring all New England has to offer. Find Betty on Instagram and Facebook.

{Photography by Betty Liu}