Today, Daddy Lau will be teaching us his recipe for his deliciously addictive ginger scallion sauce.
This sauce is one of my all time favorites, and it’s commonly paired with bak chit gai, a classic Cantonese chicken dish. It goes well with meats, tofu, leafy green vegetable stir fries, rice or noodles, and basically everything.
Check out a quick story summary of our recipe!
Main Ingredients
Some of these ingredients are hard to find in a typical grocery store.
If you don't live near an Asian market, most or all of what my dad uses in this recipe can be found on Amazon:
I've also included some other Chinese kitchen essentials, used in many of my dad's other recipes.
These links are affiliate links, which means that if you use our links to purchase these ingredients, Amazon pays my family a small amount for the sale - at no extra cost to you. If you use these links, we really appreciate the support!
In our video, I mentioned that we have an industrial grade infrared thermometer. Ken, my soon-to-be brother-in-law, also an engineer, got one for me for Christmas because he kept watching me ask my dad how hot his wok gets. Thanks Ken!
If you want to nerd out like us, here's a link to get your own: https://amzn.to/3bSkebB
We'll start by mincing our green onions (2 oz) and ginger (1.5 oz).
My dad said the exact ratio and raw amounts don't really matter too much. Most recipes I've seen use more green onion than ginger.
Having a surplus of sauce is a great problem to have, since you can use it on pretty much everything. (I LOVE dousing my rice and vegetables in this addictive sauce)
For the green onions, we'll be using the white stems (about 4 stems at the default serving size). Cut each stem in half, length-wise, and then into strips. Then, mince the strips into fine pieces.
For the ginger, we'll be cutting them into thin slices, strips, and then fine pieces.
One little detail is that my dad is using separate plates to hold the green onions and ginger. The ginger will be cooked first in the next step, so this makes it easier to just pour all of the ginger in at once.
Also, feel free to use a food processor here instead of mincing.
We'll heat up our wok on high heat and add corn oil (5 tbsp).
The oil should be around 350-400F before we add the ginger.
This is where my infrared thermometer really shines, but a good visual cue is to wait until the oil starts "shimmering", or forming ripples across the surface due to the heat.
Why do we do this? By cooking everything in oil, we unlock the aromatics of the ginger and green onion.
Once the oil is hot enough, add the ginger and cook for about 15 seconds before adding the green onions. Cook everything for another 20-30 seconds before transferring the sauce to a bowl.
We'll add salt and sesame oil (1 tbsp) to the bowl, and mix for 30-60 seconds.
Do a taste test. If it's not salty enough, feel free to add more.
My dad emphasized multiple times how important it is to add sesame oil here, so make sure you don't skip it.
Main Ingredients
Start by mincing green onions (2 oz) and ginger (1.5 oz).
For the green onions, use just the white stems. Cut each stem in half, length-wise, and then into strips. Then, mince the strips into fine pieces.
For the ginger, cut them into thin slices, strips, and then fine pieces.
Make sure to keep the two ingredients separate.
Also, feel free to use a food processor here instead of mincing by hand.
Heat up the wok on high heat and add corn oil (5 tbsp).
The oil should be around 350-400F before adding the ginger.
Once the oil is hot enough, add the ginger and cook for about 15 seconds before adding the green onions. Cook everything for another 20-30 seconds before transferring the sauce to a bowl.
Add salt and sesame oil (1 tbsp) to the bowl, and mix for 30-60 seconds.
Do a taste test. If it's not salty enough, feel free to adjust to your liking.
I have so many memories eating this with my family, especially during all of our epic holiday feasts and Chinese banquets.
Now, hopefully, you can create your own memories with this tradition with your loved ones.
Cheers, and thanks for cooking with us!
Feel free to comment below if you have any questions about the recipe.
