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The Ginger Scallion Sauce My Dad's Made 100,000 Times

姜葱酱
Prep: 5 minCook: 5 minTotal: 10 minServes: 4

Ingredients

2 ozgreen onion
1.5 ozginger
5 tbspcorn oil
1 tbspsesame oil
2 tspsalt

Instructions

1
Mince scallions & ginger

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.

2
Heat oil, cook ginger scallions

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.

3
Season the sauce

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.

Recipe by Daddy Lau · 2× James Beard Award Winner · madewithlau.com
Ginger Scallion Sauce (姜葱酱)

The Ginger Scallion Sauce My Dad's Made 100,000 Times

姜葱酱
▶ 2.3M views on YouTube
👍 79.1K likes
Prep
5 min
Cook
5 min
Total
10 min
Serves
4
Daddy Lau
By Daddy Lau · 2x James Beard Awards · 60+ years
Published Apr 2021 · Updated Nov 2024

Why this recipe

The story
Ginger Scallion Sauce (姜葱酱) — Daddy Lau
Daddy Lau

Most ginger scallion sauce recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.

I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 2.3M views, 79.1K likes on YouTube.

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. 

Pairs well with

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Ingredients

Serves4
Understanding Flavor
FUNDAMENTALS
Understanding Flavor
Dive Deeper →
Main Ingredients
2 ozgreen onion
1.5 ozginger
5 tbspcorn oil
1 tbspsesame oil
2 tspsalt

Finding Asian 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:

  • Kadoya Sesame Oil​

I've also included some other Chinese kitchen essentials, used in many of my dad's other recipes.

  • Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce​
  • Michiu Rice Cooking Wine​
  • Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil​
  • Koon Chun Hoisin Sauce​
  • Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce​
  • Pearl River Bridge Superior Dark Soy Sauce​
  • Lee Kum Kee Chicken Bouillon​
  • Shaoxing Cooking Wine​
  • Bullhead Shacha (BBQ Sauce)​
  • Chinese Sausage - Lap Cheung​
  • Dried Shrimp​
  • Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (soak for 15-20 minutes in warm water before slicing)
  • Dried Wood Ear Fungus (a few options, depending on what's in stock):
    • https://amzn.to/3cHYFc1
    • https://amzn.to/36jgm0o​
    • https://amzn.to/36vx1OH​

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!

Other Notes

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​

Instructions

3 steps · click any step to scrub ↑
1

Mince scallions & ginger

scroll to play this step

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.

The 10 Essential Cutting Techniques
LESSON 3.3
The 10 Essential Cutting Techniques
Dive Deeper →
2

Heat oil, cook ginger scallions

scroll to play this step

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.

3

Season the sauce

scroll to play this step

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Made with love ❤️

The Lau Family

We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.

Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.

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A family-run Cantonese cooking project from Daddy Lau, Randy Lau, and a small team in the Bay Area.

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