How to Make Chicken With Slices of Ginger Magic
![Ginger and sesame oil chicken](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Ginger_chicken.jpg)
If I’m in the mood for a simple protein that goes well with white rice, eating a chicken dish flavored with ginger and some other basic Asian ingredients has done the trick for me.
Below are some links to more details, including photos and tips:
My Story
I love the taste of ginger. When I found a recipe using this root on the same website as where I got one of the oxtail soup recipes that I previously made, I had to try it!
Inspiring Recipe
The recipe that I discovered was Ginger And Sesame Oil Chicken from Cooking With Lei’s website.
First Try
After getting some chicken thighs, I was ready to go!
Ingredients to Use
I began with about 1 1/4 pounds of chicken thighs, so I added a little more of all the other ingredients, except for the sugar. However, instead of adding about .16x more, I added about .25x more by mistake (the .25 probably came from the chicken weight).
What I ended up with for the adjusted ingredients were as follows:
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon rice wine
- 2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon water
Cooking
- 2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 16 slices ginger
Finishing
- 1 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon rice wine
- 1 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
![Soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, sesame oil, oyster sauce, sugar, and chicken thighs](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Ginger_chicken_ingredients.jpg)
Steps to Prepare
I followed the three steps on the recipe, but cooked in a wok instead of a non-stick fry pan and turned the heat to high instead of leaving it at medium in the last step, so the liquid would reduce faster.
![Chicken thigh pieces in a bowl](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Chicken_thigh_pieces.jpg)
![Cup of ginger slices](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Ginger.jpg)
![Sauce in a ramekin](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Ginger_chicken_sauce.jpg)
![Ginger cooked to golden in a wok](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Golden_ginger.jpg)
![Chicken and sauce added to ginger in the wok](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Chicken_in_sauce.jpg)
![Chicken cooked through in the wok](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Chicken_cooked.jpg)
![Chicken with reduced sauce in the wok](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Chicken_in_reduced_sauce.jpg)
Time to Eat
After the sauce finally reduced in the wok, the chicken was ready to eat:
![Bowl of ginger and sesame oil chicken](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Bowl_of_ginger_chicken.jpg)
Recipe Rating
Below are the results of the recipe after the first tasting:
Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
---|---|---|---|
8️⃣ | 🤏 | 💰 | 🙂 |
Because the chicken came out too salty and a little rubbery, I will have to re-make this recipe and hopefully it’ll be better next time.
Second Try
Knowing that the over-saltiness of the dish from the first attempt came from the extra soy sauce and oyster sauce, I will have to verify the ingredients needed for this try. Also, because reducing the sauce in the last step took a long time, I will need to figure out how not to overcook the chicken during this attempt.
Ingredients to Use
This time, I used 2 1/3 pounds of chicken thighs, so the adjusted ingredients were as follows:
Sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon rice wine
- 4 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon water
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
Cooking
- 4 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
- 30 slices ginger
Finishing
- 2 tablespoons + 1/4 teaspoon rice wine
- 2 tablespoons + 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
Steps to Prepare
For the process, the only thing I changed as compared to the first try was in the last step. As I waited for the sauce to reduce, I occasionally moved the chicken to the side of the wok, away from the heat, in attempt not to overcook the chicken.
![Chicken with reduced sauce in the wok](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Chicken_in_reduced_sauce2.jpg)
Time to Eat
Here’s a plate of chicken ready for tasting:
![Plate of ginger and sesame oil chicken](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Plate_of_ginger_chicken.jpg)
Recipe Rating
After making this dish the second time, the results were as follows:
Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
---|---|---|---|
8️⃣ | 🤏 | 💰 | 🙂 |
This dish definitely improved this time as it was no longer too salty nor rubbery. Though it probably wouldn’t be a recipe I’d go to often, I would keep it around for when I crave a savory, gingery flavor in my food.
Visually, this dish can use some more color, so next time, I’ll do the following:
Continuous Improvement
- Add some green onions to brighten up the dish!
Using this recipe where I had to convert the measurements of dry and wet ingredients that didn’t always result in a particular spoon size, I learned a couple of simple tricks to make the effort faster and more straightforward. The tips are as follows:
Lessons for Dumber Self
- Use measuring spoons for dry ingredients first, so they can be reused for wet ingredients without washing them first.
- Document the converted measurements before gathering the ingredients.
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Try the Ginger And Sesame Oil Chicken recipe from Cooking With Lei’s website?
- Share your favorite free recipe converter?
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