Saturday Recipe: Ginger Scallion Sauce

Today's recipe is something I made this week for the first time, and trying
it was like a revelation. It's simple to make, it's got an absolutely
spectacularly wonderful flavor - light and fresh - and it's incredibly
versatile. It's damned near perfect. It's scallion ginger sauce, and once you
try it, it will become a staple. To quote David Chang, whose cookbook
I learned this from: if you've got ginger scallion sauce in the fridge, you'll
never be hungry.

There are two main variations of this: there's a cooked version, and a raw version. Mine is the raw version. I love the freshness of flavor, and while cooking it will intensify some of the flavors, it will also detract from that delightful freshness.

Ingredients

  • Fresh ginger - roughly one inch, peeled.
  • A bunch of fresh scallions.
  • A teaspoon, give or take, of coarse salt.
  • 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar.
  • 1/4 cup oil - peanut oil, canola oil, or something
    other neutral oil.
  • A dash of sesame oil.

Instructions

  • Mince the ginger. Toss the minced ginger into a food
    processor.
  • Cut the roots off of the scallions, cut them coarsely, and
    add them to the food processor.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor.
  • Run the food processor until everything is finely ground into a
    smooth sauce.

That's it. Ginger scallion sauce. Taste it - make sure it's
got enough salt. Don't add any soy sauce - just use plain salt if it
needs any.

So what can you do with it? Just about anything. A few
great ideas:

  1. Ramen noodles. Just cook up a batch of ramen, and toss it
    with a tablespoon of the sauce. You can also add some stir
    fried meat and veggies to make it a bit more filling.
  2. Grilled meats. Use a bit of the sauce as a marinade,
    then grill it, and dress it with a bit of the sauce
    when it's done.
  3. Use it instead of mayo on a sandwich.
  4. Add a bit more vinegar, and use it as a vinaigrette
    over a salad.
  5. Sautee some shrimp, and toss some ginger-scallion
    sauce in just before they're done.
  6. Get a nice whole fish, steam it cantonese style
    with just a bit of salt, soy, and sake. Spoon
    a bit of the sauce over it when it's done.

If you wanted to try to cooked version, you take the ginger, scallions, and salt, and puree them in the food processor. Then put them into a large pot. In a different pot, heat the oil up until it just starts to smoke, and then pour it over the ginger/scallion/salt mixture. When it cools, whisk in the rest of the ingredients.

But like I said - I think it's best to just stick with it raw.

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By Venture Free (not verified) on 28 Jun 2010 #permalink

I made the recipe without the salt I cook for someone who has a blood pressure problem. I put some in a stir-fry, after everything had finished cooking, and I also had some on a wrap with seared greens and edamame. Both were quite yummy. As you suggested, this sauce is quickly becoming a staple.

P.S. I can't tell: is Venture Free a dick head, or is he just pretending to be a dick head?

It was meant to be a ridiculous post mocking those people that seem to appear on every blog with a large enough following. You know, the ones that immediately accuse you of wasting their time if every post isn't exactly on a topic that interests them specifically. Phil Plait seems to get more than usual on his blog, but I've seen it on a lot of different blogs.

Apparently I use body language a lot in my communications, because I'm often accused of being a dick online...usually when I'm trying to be funny. I'm not a dick in real life, I swear. No, really. I mean it. I'm not trying to be funny this time.

By Venture Free (not verified) on 30 Jun 2010 #permalink