Vietnamese Scallion Oil Recipe for Mỡ Hành for Seafood Dishes
This Vietnamese scallion oil recipe for mỡ hành makes a Vietnamese dressing that’s as much about the unctuous mouthfeel as the fresh, rich, sweet flavours and vibrant colour. In Vietnam, mỡ hành is the vivid green onion dressing spooned over seafood, particularly grilled clams, cockles and oysters, the sweetness of the spring onion oil providing the perfect balance to briny molluscs that taste of the salty sea.
Servings: 1 Servings
Calories:
Equipment
- 1 stainless steel bowl,
- 1 small sauce pan,
Ingredients
- 6 scallions also called spring onions or green onions, green parts only, washed and dried, and thinly sliced
- ½ cup vegetable oil or another neutral oil such as canola
- ½ tsp caster sugar or super-fine white sugar, optional
- ½ tsp fish sauce or, if you prefer, salt to your taste
Instructions
- To a stainless steel mixing bowl, add the finely-sliced green parts of the scallions — or spring onions or green onions, depending on where you are and what you call them.
- In a small pan over medium-high, heat the vegetable oil just until it begins to smoke then immediately pour the oil into the stainless steel bowl and stir until the sliced scallions are fully coated and start to soften.
- To the same bowl, add the half teaspoon each of caster sugar and fish sauce (or, if you prefer, salt, to taste) and stir until well-combined and the oily dressing takes on a smoky appearance and unctuous texture.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning to suit your palate, then set the bowl aside to allow the scallion oil to reach room temperature.
- If you’re not serving the scallion oil straight away, transfer it to a screw-top jar and refrigerate it, but note that it won’t be as vividly coloured the next day.
- Before storing, leave the scallion oil on the kitchen counter to return to room temperature, and give it a thorough stir before transferring it to a serving a dish or spooning it over seafood.