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For the longest time, I thought this was a Japanese condiment. My Gichan (grandfather) would prepare it, my mom would make it, and now Tomiko and I make it. My cousins on the Japanese side of our family also make it, so I thought it was only natural that it was Japanese. I actually learned about 5 years ago that this is really a Chinese condiment that the Japanese side of my family whole-heartedly embraced. My favourite way of eating it is to add 2-3 teaspoons to cold silken tofu, drizzle some sesame oil and shoyu (soy sauce) over it, and eat it as a cold, refreshing starter in the summer.
This is just a very flexible recipe, so feel free to adjust the amounts depending on your taste. One of my cousins likes for it to be mostly ginger with only a bit of green onion, some like it evenly half and half, and another cousin likes to add a lot of oil.
You can also add this to cooked chicken, fish, barbecued meats, even cooked vegetables!
Since chopping the green onions can be a bit of a chore, I usually make a triple batch and freeze the extra in an ice cube tray. After it’s frozen, I store it in a freezer-proof bag and then pop out the cubes as needed, refreshing them with a little drizzle of oil.
- 3 bunches green onions
- 1 large piece ginger (about 100g)
- ¾ cup canola oil
- Trim the roots from the green onion.
- Finely slice the green onions, including white and green parts. Set aside.
- Grate the ginger; I often don't even bother to peel it. This handy dandy white grater in the photo below is perfect for this task. You can usually find them in Asian grocery stores. Add grated ginger to the green onion.
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Once the oil is shimmery but not smoking, add the green onion and ginger.
- Cook the green onion and ginger for one minute; you can add some salt to taste, if you'd like.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let cool.
- Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
One more way to enjoy this: right out of the container! it is so good.