Ginger Chicken is a homestyle Chinese dish made with lots of fresh ginger, garlic and scallions, cooked down into a sticky brown sauce great over rice or noodles.
I first heard of Ginger Chicken at a Chinese restaurant in Rochester, NY, where I waited tables. In the kitchen, the Cantonese chefs referred to this Ginger Chicken as “Old Ginger Chicken” or “lo gyong gai” in Cantonese (老姜鸡, “lǎo jiāng jī” in Mandarin).
I loved talking with the chefs when the kitchen wasn’t too busy, and I learned why it’s called “Old Ginger Chicken.” It’s because literally “old,” or mature ginger should be used!
Young Ginger vs. Mature Ginger
Mature ginger packs a more concentrated spicy ginger flavor than young ginger. Young ginger is vaguely pink in color, with slightly transparent skin. It has a more mildly spicy and almost floral flavor.
The ginger you can get in most U.S. stores is mature ginger, so you can easily get what you need to make this dish! I’ve rarely seen young ginger even in Asian grocery stores, and it’s only available a couple months out of the year when it’s in season (mid-September to early November), if at all.
When I first tried a plate of the chefs’ Chinese Ginger Chicken, it had the strong, tasty flavor that comes from the classic trio of fresh aromatics most often used in Cantonese cooking: ginger, garlic, and scallion.
While ginger is the star of the dish, I thought it also tasted a lot like the Oyster Sauce Chicken my mom would make. Something about that sticky sauce! My mom’s chicken was almost always on the bone, but this recipe makes things a little easier with boneless chicken thighs.
If you think you don’t like ginger, just wait a few years—as I got older, my taste for ginger has grown and I started craving dishes like this Ginger Chicken! For more information on ginger and how it is used in Chinese cooking, see our Chinese ingredients glossary entry on fresh ginger.
Is it better to use chicken breast or chicken thighs?
Chicken thighs hold up better to longer cooking times, allowing flavors of sauces and braises to penetrate without drying out.
Chicken breast, on the other hand, is better for quick cooking applications like stir-frying and grilling.
Since this dish is essentially a braise, chicken thighs are preferred. If you prefer breast meat, I recommend you remove the chicken breasts after they’ve been browned and add them back in after the sauce has been reduced to complete the cooking. This will give you a moist chicken breast along with a flavorful, slow-cooked ginger sauce.
Do I need a wok to make Ginger Chicken?
Our preference for this type of dish is almost always our carbon steel wok. That said, a large sauté or frying pan will also work perfectly!
Just be sure to follow Judy’s method on how to keep food from sticking to a wok or pan when searing your chicken.
Ginger Chicken Recipe Instructions
Using a cleaver, lightly smash the white parts of the scallions, the garlic, and the ginger (use a firmer hand on the ginger). This releases the flavors of the aromatics for a more flavorful dish.
Scroll down to the recipe card to see a video of me demonstrating this technique! It’s less than a minute long, but good to watch to see how to smash the ginger in particular.
Spread the canola oil around the perimeter of the wok, and heat it until it just starts smoking. Add the smashed ginger slices, and fry for 15 seconds
Spread the chicken pieces in a single layer in the wok.
Sear for 45 seconds. Flip them and fry the other side for another 30 seconds.
Add in the white parts of the scallions, and the garlic.
Also add the shallots. Continue to stir-fry over high heat, mixing everything together for another 30 seconds.
Add the Shaoxing wine…
And stir-fry again for 20 seconds.
Next, add in the chicken stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, and oyster sauce (optional, but it’ll give the dish a nice additional flavor!). Cover and continue to cook on high heat for 5 minutes.
Remove the cover, and cook for another 7 minutes to reduce the liquid.
Mix in the green parts of the scallions…
And then immediately stir in the cornstarch and water mixture to thicken the sauce. Add more cornstarch slurry if you like a thicker sauce. (For more details on using cornstarch, see our post on how to use cornstarch for Chinese cooking.)
Plate and serve with hot white rice or brown rice and a vegetable side dish like Stir Fried Bok Choy!
VIDEO: How to Smash Ginger & Other Aromatics
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Recipe
Ginger Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 scallions (cut into 2-inch long pieces, with the white and green parts separated)
- 4 cloves garlic (cut in half)
- 6 slices ginger (1/4 inch thick)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (can substitute canola oil or avocado oil)
- 24 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs (680g, cut into 1-inch chunks)
- 3 shallots (cut into quarters)
- 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
Instructions
- Using a cleaver, lightly smash the white parts of the scallions, the garlic, and the ginger (use a firmer hand on the ginger). This releases the flavors of the aromatics for a more flavorful dish.
- Spread the canola oil around the perimeter of the wok, and heat it until it just starts smoking. Add the smashed ginger slices, and fry for 15 seconds.
- Spread the chicken pieces in a single layer in the wok. Sear for 45 seconds. Flip them and fry the other side for another 30 seconds.
- Add in the white parts of the scallions, garlic, and shallots. Continue to stir-fry over high heat, mixing everything together for another 30 seconds.
- Add the Shaoxing wine, and stir-fry again for 20 seconds. Next, add in the chicken stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, and oyster sauce (optional, but it’ll give the dish a nice additional flavor!). Cover and continue to cook on high heat for 5 minutes.
- Remove the cover, and cook for another 7 minutes to reduce the liquid. Mix in the green parts of the scallions, and then immediately stir in the cornstarch and water mixture to thicken the sauce. Add more cornstarch slurry if you like a thicker sauce.
