~Ginger and Green Onion Dipping Sauce for Chicken~

Now, this recipe is really for the sauce.  But, I will write a little bit about the chicken.  If you ever been to a Chinese restaurant where they serve Soy Sauce Chicken or Salt Steamed Chicken, you probably have seen this sauce. Traditionally, these chicken dishes are made with whole chicken.  But, even though I used to watch my grandfather kill and gut chicken on his farm, I still don't want to deal with a whole chicken when I cook.  So, I substitute with just drum sticks or wings.  

I haven't tried making Salt Steamed Chicken.  I usually use Lee Kum Kee's 1-step recipes - Chicken Marinade (available in most international food stores) for making Soy Sauce Chicken.  It's not 100% like the ones made in the restaurant, but close enough for me :)

Basically, you take the sauce, put it in a pot, bring it to a boil and drop the chicken in.  After a few minutes of boiling in high heat, turn it down to medium and let it simmer for another 8-10 minutes.  Then, you are done.  Last night, I made it with a different sauce (secret recipe from my Dad), so the drumsticks didn't turn out soy sauce color.

Now back to the dipping sauce.  Basically, it's ginger, green onions, salt and oil.  I have seen it done without the green onions.  It's so good that my fiance and I can eat a bowl of plain rice mixed with the sauce and nothing else.

Step 0:  Clean ginger and green onion

Peel the skin off the ginger with a peeler.  I usually get a piece of ginger that's the size of two of my thumbs.  Rinse the 3 stalks of green onion.  Use more or less green onions based on your tastes.

Step 1:  Chop up ginger and green onion

For the green onion, I don't like to use the leafy part because it's too soft.  So simply cut the the root and cut of the dark green part.  Light green is ok.  You can save the dark green part for other things.  Then, just chop everything up.  

Step 2:  Boil oil in a pan/pot

We need enough oil to cover the green onion and ginger.  What I do is take a spoon and measure how many spoonfuls of chopped green onion and ginger I have and use that much oil.  The oil is hot enough when you see a little bit of smoke coming from the pot or you see ripples in the oil.  Vegetable oil or canola oil is fine.  Just no olive oil please.

Step 3: Pour oil on the ginger and green onion

Put your chopped goodies into a decent size bowl.  Then, at arm's length pour the oil into the bowl.  Warning:  The mixture will sizzle.  Don't be scared.  

Step 4:  Add salt and mix

Add in a little than a teaspoon of salt and mix.  Taste and add more salt if necessary

There!  All done.  It takes less than 10 minutes to make the sauce.  Even less if you have a food processor/chopper.  And you can make this while the chicken is simmering in the pot.  By the way, ginger is good for you!  According to Oohoi.com, In traditional Chinese medicine, ginger is used to calm upset stomachs, soothe nausea and stop diarrhea."  According to what I have learned from my "elders", it's also good for circulation and will keep you warm in winter.

Enjoy~!