This is a simple garnish of scallion and oil for Vietnamese foods. It’s found on a lot of dishes such as bún chả giò (egg rolls with noodles), thịt nướng (grilled pork), bánh hỏi, sườn nướng (pork chops), bánh bèo, cơm tấm bì and many others. So it goes very well with grilled meats or rice noodle dishes.
What is it?
Mở hành litterally means onion oil in Vietnamese. It’s a good way to add a nice aroma and some richness to a dish. The vibrant green color creates a nice color contrast too.
The green onions
Try to find onions that have leaves no longer than half an inch wide. These are easier to work with and look much nicer in the final dish.
For some reason, lately, many markets I’ve gotten these at are jumbo sized, maybe 3/4″ wide each when flattened. They’re a bit harder to slice when bunched and looks a bit older, but still are fine if you have no other choice.
Green onions are shockingly cheap at the Asian and Mexican markets near me, sometimes ranging from 4 or 5 stalks for $1 or $1.25. American supermarkets or Trader Joe’s I shop at never get anywhere near this.
I have a post that goes into how to cut green onions in different ways, but for mỡ hành applications, these circular or bias cuts work just fine.
Some people like to use only the green part of the onion, but I include the white portion too. I think it looks nicer, and it tastes good. No point in wasting it! You also have the option to regrow green onions from the leftover white bulbs and roots for unlimited green onions in the future.
The oil
You want to use a neutral oil for this since mỡ hành is used to accent dishes that are pretty forward in flavor already.
This means sticking to oils like vegetable, or canola oil since their flavors are more tame, and will absorb and highlight the aroma of these green onions better.
Oils like olive oil, or coconut oil impart a very strong aroma, which are good for some recipes, but not typically Vietnamese recipes that require mỡ hành.
Storage in the fridge
Mỡ hành stores incredibly well, just put it in an airtight container and fridge it–it will probably outlast whichever dish you’re using it on to accent, whether it’s grilled clams, thịt nướng (grilled pork) or sườn nướng (pork chops).
Sliced green onion that you haven’t cooked down stores much better in an air tight container that being exposed to the air. It tends to wilt much less this way.
Vietnamese Scallion & Oil Garnish Recipe (Cách Làm Mỡ Hành)
Ingredients
- 4 stalks scallion green onion
- 1/4 cup oil neutral one like vegetable, canola oil
Instructions
- Wash and thinly slice scallions
- Heat oil over medium heat. After 30 seconds, test heat by dropping in one piece. If it sizzles, it’s ready.
- Add all the sliced scallions, mix scallions in the pan for about 30 seconds or until softened.
Hi anh Huy, Em rất thích blog của anh và đã theo dõi từ rất lâu rồi. HIhi. Cám ơn anh đã giới thiệu món ăn Việt cho bạn bè các nước.
Nhưng mà nhìn tới món mỡ hành này tự nhiên em thèm quá 😀 giá như có thêm vài tóp mỡ nữa thì ngon anh nhỉ 😀
Chúc anh ngày càng có nhiều bài viết anh nhé!
Please bear with me on this.. haha: Quỳnh, Huy rất vui khi nhận được lời góp ý của Quỳnh. Lần tới, Huy sẽ bỏ tóp mỡ vào món ăn này cho Quỳnh.
I was wanting to make a larger portion of this so I could have it on hand when I need it. How long does these keep? Or should I refrigerate it?
I haven’t really kept this past a day or two, but I imagine the oil preserves it a bit longer than whatever you’ll be eating it with. Personally I’d just make a small batch and make a fresh one a few days later.
Thanks for the reply.
Do you serve this hot with the pork bowl or can it be cold/room temperature? Also I purchased some refrigerated “fresh rice stick noodles” as they looked better, but have since heard they don’t have much flavor. The noodles are called banh pho tuoi.
I always like to serve this warm. Fresh noodles have a different taste for sure, and even a different texture. Some pho restaurants give you the upgrade option of fresh for a little extra cost, but not all people prefer it (such as me :)).
thank you for your recipes! 🙂
This was so good! Always my fave condiment when I eat Vietnamese food! It went great on top of your pork chop recipe 🙂
How much oil?
I have the volume listed but really you can do any ratio of onion to oil you like! I like it heavy on the green onion.
Huy:
In the Midwest, each summer weekend, we have to make several new batches (to share with our friends) of Mo hanh to put on grilled fresh corn-yes and of course Cojita cheese on top is a must……so good.