Ginger and Scallion Chicken Stir-Fry

This ginger and scallions chicken stir-fry is one of the earliest recipes I learn from my Mom. It’s a simple dish since it only requires chicken and mushroom as its main ingredients. The rests are aromatics and sauces that should be very common in a typical Chinese or Asian pantry.

I think this is a very versatile dish that anyone should learn. Turn it into a meatless dish by simply replacing tofu for the chicken. Or if you prefer a seafood dish, you can use fish fillet or even shrimps.

Ingredients for a Chinese ginger and scallion stir-fry dish

1. Main ingredients

Choose your main ingredients for this dish. I am using chicken thigh meat and baby portobello mushrooms for this recipe, but you can use tofu, thinly sliced beef/pork, or even bite-size fish fillets or shrimps/prawns if you wish to replace the chicken.

Mom usually either use fresh/canned button mushroom or rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms when I was just a little kid since that was all that was available in those days. I feel fortunate that we now how so many different mushroom varieties to choose from, so feel free to use whichever mushroom you wish.

2. Aromatics

We will need garlic, ginger, scallions, and red chilies. I use bird-eye chilies since I love the spicy kick it gives, but you can use cayenne or Fresno for a milder dish. You can also skip the chilies altogether, or use bell pepper for a kid-friendly dish.

3. Seasonings

For the seasonings, we will need salt, white pepper, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, Shaoxing wine, and sesame oil.

The photo in this post shows the exact products I use for this recipe. I hope it can be a great help when you grocery shop for the ingredients. :)

Cooking guide

1. Fry aromatics

Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat and sauté ginger, garlic, red chilies, and the white part of scallions. Stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

2. Cook chicken

Add bite-size chicken meat into the wok and cook until no longer pink.

3. Cook mushrooms and seasonings

Add mushrooms and all the sauce ingredients (light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, salt, and pepper). Mix well, then cover the wok and cook for 3 minutes, or until the mushrooms wilt.

4. Add scallions

Remove the lid and adjust the amount of salt and pepper as necessary. Toss in the green part of scallions, then quickly turn off the heat.

5. Garnish and serve

Transfer the dish to a serving plate/bowl, garnish with chopped scallions and cilantro. Serve immediately with steamed white rice.

Other easy beginner friendly Chinese dishes to try

For other equally delicious and beginner-friendly Chinese recipes, who not give some of these recipes a try:

• beef with black pepper sauce
• pan-fried fish with soy sauce
• Cantonese dry fry prawns
• chicken in ginger and soy sauce
• Chinese ground beef meat sauce
• steamed tofu
• bok choy stir-fry with oyster sauce and garlic oil
• stir-fried cabbage