A quick and easy homemade ginger scallion sauce made in 5 minutes with 4 ingredients that is full of flavor and honestly one of the greatest sauces you'll ever try.

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I put this stuff on everything, especially plain rice. It's salty, gingery, onion, and delicious. What's odd is I was not really a fan of ginger but the ginger melds into the green onions so well that it transforms the sauce into an explosion of flavor.
This is literally the best Chinese condiment ever invented, next to chili oil.
This easy Chinese ginger scallion sauce is most popularly known as the sauce you serve with Chinese white cut chicken (aka Cantonese poached chicken) and Hainanese chicken, but it also pairs wonderfully with my Oven Roasted Peking Chicken recipe as well, so don't be afraid to try this sauce on any type of meat.
Don't be alarmed by the amount of oil in this sauce, this sauce is supposed to have a bit of oil it in, which is why it is also sometimes called ginger scallion oil. The green onions and ginger flavors actually get infused right into it the oil so you are supposed to also use the oil to flavor your dishes as well.
Ingredients for Ginger Scallion Sauce
- Scallions\Green Onions - Green onions (aka scallions) are the main star of this sauce and you cannot substitute this out.
- Ginger - You must use fresh raw ginger for this recipe.
- Neutral Oil: Any type of oil works for this recipe, but a heavier flavored oil (like olive oils) will overpower the flavor of the sauce so avoid using that if possible. I like to use avocado oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, canola oil, or corn oil but avocado oil is my go-to because of its high smoking point.
- Salt - To keep things traditional and simple I use salt to give this sauce its savoriness. You can also use soy sauce as well in place of salt.
- Garlic (Optional) - Although this is not a traditional ingredient in this ginger scallion oil, adding 1 clove of grated garlic will also give you some wonderful extra flavors as well.
Difference Between Green Onions and Scallions
They are actually the same thing with different names. Some call it green onions, others call it scallions and they both can be used interchangeably.
They both taste the same and can be used the exact same way. So any recipe that uses green onions, can also use scallions as well and vice versa.
How to Make Ginger Scallion Sauce
This green onion and ginger sauce is very simple and easy to make and literally takes 5 minutes.
- Finely minced the green onions
- Grate the ginger, or chop it very finely
- Add the green onions (scallions), ginger, and salt into a small bowl and mix everything together
- On the stove, heat up the oil in a frying pan or small saucepan until it is hot and smoking. The oil must be hot, to 'cook' the sauce.
- Pour the hot oil into the bowl with the green onions. You should hear a sizzle. If you don't, the oil is not hot enough - heat the oil up hotter and try pouring it on the green onions again.
- Mix it up, and it's done!
What Can You Use Ginger Scallion Sauce On?
Everything and anything, but if you must choose here are a few suggestions:
- Noodles - I like to stir-fry this sauce right in with my fried noodles. You can also add it to freshly boiled noodles with some chili oil and soy sauce.
- Rice - It is delicious on steamed plain white rice, but if I have extra sauce I will sometimes add it right into my fried rice as well.
- Seafood - Any type of steamed fish or shrimp dishes, pan-fried fish, and shrimp is delicious with this as well.
- Any type of Meat - Any type of roasted or grilled meat like beef or pork but I also find it works very well on delicate meats like chicken as well especially when they are steamed.
- Vegetables - You can mix this right into any stir-fries to give it some delicious flavor!
- Dumplings - Mix a bit of this sauce, with chili oil and soy sauce for a delicious dumpling dipping sauce!
- Congee - I like to mix it right into my congee when I have it to give it a boost in flavor.
Recipes That I Use With This Sauce
How Long Does Ginger Scallion Sauce Last in the Fridge?
You can store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in a sealed container.
More Sauces You May Like
- Miso Garlic Chili Oil
- Easy Chinese Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Easy Thai Peanut Satay Sauce
- Vietnamese Fish Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)
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Recipe Card
Ginger Scallion Sauce
Joyce's Recipe Notes
- This sauce can keep for up to 2 weeks and should be stored in the refrigerator when not being used.
- Any type of oil works for this recipe, but a heavier flavored oil (like olive oils) will overpower the flavor of the sauce so avoid using that if possible. I like to use avocado oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, canola oil, or corn oil but avocado oil is my go-to because of its high smoking point.
- To keep things traditional and simple I use salt to give this sauce its savoriness. You can also use soy sauce as well in place of salt.
- Garlic (Optional) - Although this is not a traditional ingredient in this ginger scallion oil, adding 1 clove of grated garlic will also give you some wonderful extra flavors as well.
Ingredients
- 5 stalks green onions/scallions (approximately 1 packed cup, finely chopped)
- 5-6 slices ginger (approximately 2 tablespoons, finely chopped or grated)
- ½ teaspoon salt (plus more to taste, if you like it saltier)
- 7 tablespoons oil (avocado, peanut, canola, grape, sunflower, vegetable, corn - do not use olive oil)
Instructions
- Grate the ginger, or finely chop it. Try to chop it as fine as possible so you don't bite into chunks of ginger when serving.
- Finely mince the green onions.Use the whole green onion, the greens, and the whites but discard the very end of the white where the roots are.
- Combine the ginger, green onions and salt into a small bowl and mix together
- Heat up the oil in a small saucepan until almost smoking (add a small piece of green onion into it to test if it's hot enough, if it sizzles the oil, it's good to go).Alternatively, you can also use a wooden chopstick or a wooden spoon handle to test the heat of the oil by dunking it into the oil. If the oil bubbles, the oil is hot enough.
- Pour the hot oil into the ginger onion mixture. (You should hear and see it sizzling. If you don't, the oil wasn't hot enough - re-heat the oil until it is hot again and pour it onto the green onions.)
- Mix everything together and it's done!
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*
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Karen says
It’s delicious. I’ve made this several times now and even made some in small jars for gifts for my friends and family. They all love it and put in on all kinds of foods. The only thing I do different is I put a splash of soya sauce in. So good!
Joyce Lee says
Hi Karen!
Wow!! That is incredibly creative and so kind of you to make them into gifts! 🙂
I'm so happy everyone liked it, and adding the soy sauce is brilliant! I bet it adds a bit of umami to it too! I definitely need to do this next time! Thank you for sharing this!
Amber E Cancienne says
This was so good. Definitely a keeper.
Joyce Lee says
Hi Amber!
Thanks so much for coming back to let me know! I am super happy you liked it! 😊
Nicholas Prokop says
This was epic. No more bland white person roast chicken from me anymore. Lovely colour and flavour
Joyce Lee says
Hi Nicholas!
Haha this is awesome! I am so happy you liked this! I love this sauce, I put it on practically everything whenever I make it! 🤣
Craig says
I am familiar with a very similar sauce, but it is not cooked.
Joyce Lee says
Hi Craig!
Interesting is it chimichurri? I actually want to try chimichurri, but never go the chance to make it! Thanks for reminding me to try this sauce! 😊
Kelly Malo says
Perfect. I added more salt and ginger. Super easy to make. I had this at a restaurant many years ago and been looking forever for the right recipe. This is it!
Joyce Lee says
Hi Kelly!
Yay! I'm so happy you found the recipe! This is definitely one of my favorite sauces, especially on rice!
Patricia says
Just made this and I've got my peking chicken marinating in the fridge. Dinner is going to be SO good 😉
Joyce Lee says
Hi Patricia!
Hope you have a wonderful dinner!!
Arden Le says
delicious! the salt and green onion to oil ratio is perfect! personally i would put more ginger! but that is a personal preference!
Joyce Lee says
Hi Arden!
I am so happy you liked this! Did you pair this with the Peking chicken? 🙂 I love this stuff on white rice!