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A futuristic Cyberpunk-style food photo. A plate of Ginger Chicken and rice is at the center, with glowing red chopsticks in front and another plate in the back.
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Ginger Chicken

A fantastic ginger wok dish that succeeds even without a wok and is not as ginger-y as the name suggests.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 2 people

Equipment

  • 1 cleaver recommended
  • 1 wok with a lid can be flat-bottom wok or large pan
  • 1 digital timer recommended

Ingredients

  • 350 g boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 shallots
  • 2 stalks scallions
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 nub ginger 2-3 cm long
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil for frying
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch for thickening
  • 30 ml Shaoxing wine

Sauce

  • 250 ml chicken stock
  • 0.5 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 0.5 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1/8 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce

Instructions

Prepare ingredients

  • Remove any skin and bones from the chicken thighs, then cut the meat into 3x3cm chunks.
  • Separate scallions into green and white parts. Cut each into 5cm long pieces.
  • Peel the garlic cloves and cut them in half.
  • Peel the ginger and cut it into 3mm thick slices. You want about 6 of those, but feel free to add more to make it more ginger-y.
  • Peel and quarter the shallots.
  • Using a cleaver, smash the cut garlic, ginger slices (more force!), shallots, and white parts of green onions so they will release more flavor when cooking.
    (If you've never done this: Put the cleaver on the piece, then give it a good smack with the side of your fist or the palm of your hand.)
  • If you're going to eat rice on the side, now's a good time to pop it in the rice cooker.

Prepare the sauce

  • Set aside 30ml of Shaoxing wine. (Do not mix in with the rest.)
  • Make a slurry by mixing the corn starch with equal parts water and set aside for later.
  • Dissolve the appropriate amount (see packaging) of chicken stock in the water.
  • Add all the other listed sauce ingredients to the chicken stock and mix well.

Fry

  • Spread the oil around your large wok or sauce pan. Set it to high heat and keep it there the whole time.
  • When it just starts smoking, add the smashed ginger slices. Don't touch for 15 seconds.
  • Quickly flip them and add the chicken in a single layer. Fry for 45 seconds, then flip them around and keep going for another 30 seconds.
    The ginger slices should be nicely browned, and the chicken no longer pink on the outside.
  • Add shallots, white parts of scallions, and garlic. Stir-fry for 30 seconds.
  • Deglaze with the Shaoxing wine and stir for a few seconds.
  • Stir in the pre-mixed sauce, then cover with a lid. Cook for 5 minutes.
  • Remove the lid and turn the heat down to medium.
  • Stir in the green parts of scallions.
  • Give the corn starch slurry another good stir.
  • Keep simmering for a little bit to reduce the sauce. You want a little bit of liquid at the end, but the chicken shouldn't be swimming in it. Add as much of the slurry as you like (at least half); the sauce will be thicker and stickier the more you add.
  • Serve with rice!