With flu season wearing us down at home, I recently took to the kitchen to build on the simple yet restorative combination of ginger and scallions with a host of other savoury condiments. The result is nothing short of spectacular with these ginger and scallion chilli oil noodles serving up just the soul-stirring comfort needed to fix your sinus, reverse that fatigue and get your partner to tell you that they love you.

This recipe was originally published as part of my column for Live Mint Lounge, here.

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If you’re even the slightest bit active on social media, you might have seen your feeds soundtracked by the ASMR hiss of sizzling oil being poured over hot noodles. Truth be told, the tingling sounds are just as compelling as the steaming hot spicy noodles which provide chop-stick after chop-stick of unabashed pleasure.

Of course, there is nothing new about the simple act of emptying out your favourite aromatics and spices in a bowl and pouring searing hot oil on top. The method is intended to release and intensify the flavours, amalgamating them into a fiery chilli oil. An alternative approach that is less quick (and perhaps not as Instagrammable) involves actively frying the ingredients in a skillet for a more robust and full-bodied flavour.

Whichever approach you take, you’re never far away from a quick and remarkably delicious meal once you have your base chilli oil at hand. Noodles are the most obvious and popular candidate, with a splash of soy sauce and rice vinegar balancing the dish with a welcome boost of umami. However, a versatile chilli oil can just as easily elevate a humble cucumber salad or even transform a block of silken tofu with nuanced shades of heat.

Once you start tinkering with add-ins, the possibilities are truly endless as I recently discovered using cookbook editor, Francis Lam’s ginger scallion oil as a starting point to calibrate a cosy pile of carbs, transforming them into robust spicy miso ginger scallion noodles.

You might recognize Lam’s legendary ginger scallion sauce as a staple Cantonese condiment traditionally served as an accompaniment to roast meats. Its salty depth of flavours is as primed for local Chinese barbecue shops, as it is for enlivening your weeknight supper—you can toss it on to anything from eggs, tofu to poached chicken and fish.

Here, I build on this base sauce with a host of other spicy and savoury condiments that come together in a steam-billowing bowl of ginger and scallion chilli oil noodles. Save this recipe for the next time you need a carb-laden boost of comfort. It won’t disappoint you.

Much like all my recipes, the one below is endlessly adaptable too with the ingredients easily adjustable to your preference, taste and spice tolerance. The miso is optional, but if you experiment with Asian-inspired dishes often enough, I’d definitely recommend keeping a jar on hand for the inimitable kick of sweet-and-savoury umami.

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