Seriously, ginger scallion sauce, just stop. You have definitively rocked my socks. And all to the point that I say bad words when I see you. You. are. greatness. When Escoffier sang the praises of his transcribed mother sauces, he missed the mark with you. If bechamel and hollandaise and and velouté rule the roost, you built the roost from ashes and sheer will.
It’s no secret that I’ve always been enamored with ginger, but this sauce paints it in the finest of lights. Grated ginger and minced scallion are barely cooked in hot oil, taking away all of the bite from the aromatics and leaving behind a condiment that can make the most stubborn palate sing. This sauce is BFFs with poached chicken as the dynamic duo, “Ginger Scallion Chicken”. I don’t limit the stuff, though – string beans, skirt steak, steamed fish, my fingertips. I’ll attack this sauce with calculating ruthlessness. It’s mine, and I don’t want to share. Ok, I’ll share, but you bring the ginger and scallions next time.
This sauce isn’t hard to make, but it’ll seem a little scary the first time you make it – don’t fret. You’ve got this. When you add hot oil to wet ginger, you’re gonna get a bit of sizzle. This subsides quickly, and if you make this expecting a science-fair baking soda volcano, you’ll be underwhelmed rather than shocked. This is a good thing. Just make sure to use a heat-proof bowl or 1-qt saucepan for the ginger-oil reunion and you’ll be golden.
Ginger Scallion Sauce
4 in. piece of ginger, peeled and chunked into 1/2 in. pieces
3 scallions, cut into 1/2 in. lengths
1/4 tsp. of salt
pinch of white pepper
1/2 c. of oil (peanut, veggie or canola work well – olive oil absolutely does not)
Plop your ginger pieces into the food processor and blitz until minced. Add the scallions and salt to the food processor and mix until a paste. Scoop out into a medium, 1 quart pot with a spatula and stir in the white pepper.
In a small saucepot, heat the oil until very warm – I take it off when you see striations in the oil (it looks like it’s swirling on its own) and little puffs of smoke arise from the top. This’ll happen after a few minutes over high heat, but really, it’s not an exact science. Once it’s good and warm, carefully pour the oil over the ginger and scallion. The whole mix will sass you some kind of nasty, spitting aromatic insults at you to beat the band. But shortly thereafter, it’ll pipe down. Let the mixture cool and then serve with whatever you’d like – roasted chicken, bok choy, cardboard. Really, it’s good on everything.