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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Elena says
I just made this 15 minutes ago and the sauce is DELICIOUS!!!!! It pairs well with Poached Chicken.
Joyce Lee says
Hi Elena!
So happy you liked this! I love it on poached chicken as well! It's such a versatile sauce isn't it? 🙂
Debbie says
Great recipe! Since we eat this as a condiment, I could reduce the oil a bit for our taste, but overall am super happy with this over recipes I found. Thanks!
Joyce Lee says
Hi Debbie,
I'm so happy you liked this!
Brian Tam says
Delicious! So easy, love it with noodles or hainanese chicken rice 🙂
Joyce says
Hi Brian!
I love this with noodles and Hainanese chicken rice too! heehee. I drown my rice in this! 😀 Happy you liked it! 🙂
Iñigo says
Super sonic recipe !!!
I added two cloves of garlic and green chilies!!!!
Perfect for my grilled prawns and chicken !!!
Tried it also as a congee toppings , marvelous!!!!!
Joyce says
Hi Iñigo!
Amazing idea adding the garlic and chillies! I tried adding the garlic last night to it and it was delicious! Thank you for the awesome idea! 😀
Eaglestar says
Sorry, forgot the second question. How long will this keep on the shelf? Need refrigeration?
Joyce says
Hiya Eaglestar,
You should refrigerate it if you are not using it. I would only keep it for 1 week in the fridge - I usually make it in a small batch.
Thanks for pointing this out as well! I will update my website with this information. 🙂
Eaglestar says
I have not made this but have a question. It does not say in the recipe so I assume you use the ENTIRE scallion, not just the green?
Joyce says
Hi Eaglestar,
Yup, you use the white and the greens of the scallion! 🙂
Jane says
Fabulous! I think I’ll put it on everything. It was perfect on the Roasted Five Spice Chicken. Looks like I have a new favorite! Thank you!
Joyce says
Yay so happy you liked this! Definitely a favourite of mine too - such an easy way to flavour everything! 🙂
Alex R says
Ok I’ve made variations of this sauce and this is my personal twist . Couple of tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro, splash of sesame seed oil , splash soy sauce . I also roast whole garlic cloves and add some of the purée with this ginger and scallion sauce. I’ve seen variations of salt in this sauce at various canto BBQ places where it can be quite salty but I err on the side of freshness .
Joyce says
Oh my gosh Alex! Yes yes and yes to all of this! Your personal twist sounds super crazy fantastic - I totally love how you switch up the sodium with soy and roasted garlic belongs in everything haha! I am definitely going to be making this and I can see this being my new fave way to enjoy this sauce. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe with me, I am so super duper happy right now about this! haha 🙂