Trick: pour hot oil over everything
Our former colleague Emma de Thouars has a great love for Asian cuisine, especially Chinese food. We’re crazy about her scrambled tofu with crispy chili. Chinese cuisine remains a source of brilliant cooking techniques that she keeps taking inspiration from. This time: pouring hot oil over your dish for extra flavor and depth.
The first dish where I came across it was this salmon with black beans from Aziatische Ingrediënten. You cover the salmon with a mixture of finely chopped black beans, garlic and ginger, then place spring onion and cilantro on top. Next, heat neutral oil in a saucepan and pour it over the salmon—and what happens next is magical. Besides creating a major wow effect, this technique adds an enormous amount of flavor to your dish in just a few seconds.
Centuries-old technique
By pouring the hot oil over the herbs and garlic, you warm and briefly cook them. In fact, you fry them for a few seconds. It takes away the rawness of the spring onion and garlic, gives all the ingredients extra flavor and releases all their aromas. For a long time, I thought this recipe was a one-off, but I discovered that it’s a centuries-old technique used much more often in China.
Chinese cooking
If you want to start cooking Chinese food, I recommend the book The Real Chinese Home Cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop. Or, actually, all her books. In this book, I suddenly came across all kinds of recipes where you first steam ingredients and then finish them with sizzling oil. Since then, I haven’t been able to get enough of it. For example, she uses the technique on steamed aubergine, which you then serve cold—an absolutely divine side dish. She also finishes her Chinese steamed eggs with a little soy sauce, spring onion and that oh-so-dramatic sizzle.
Quick noodles
Another favorite: you po mian, or “hot oil noodles.” Cook noodles and finish them with soy sauce, chili flakes, garlic and cilantro, then pour the hot oil over them. Toss everything together and you’ll have a fantastic meal on the table within fifteen minutes.
Also read:
