This is hands down the best scallion chicken recipe out there. The chicken is juicy and tender, and cooked in a soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and scallion sauce. It takes less than 20 minutes to make and is one of my go-to easy chicken recipes during the week.
For this scallion chicken recipe, also known as spring onion or green onion chicken, we're using skinless and boneless chicken thighs. It's such a great dish for when you've had a busy day, and you need something quick and easy. The flavours are phenomenal, and you only need a handful of ingredients. It's great served with my stir-fried broccolini recipe if you're looking for a veggie side dish!
I love chicken recipes and some of my favourite are my honey ginger chicken, orange chicken, baked chicken with cream of chicken soup, air fryer Greek yoghurt chicken, and this teriyaki chicken stir fry recipe!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Quick: This scallion chicken recipe takes less than 20 minutes to make. It's super simple and really easy, making it a fuss-free dinner during the week. I have so many other recipes that take no time to make, but some of my favourite are my lemon boursin pasta, sticky miso aubergine, one pan easy vermicelli noodles.
Few ingredients: You only need 6 ingredients for the sauce and then some skinless and boneless chicken thighs, cornstarch, and any extra bits you'd like to serve it with i.e rice, edamame beans, cucumber...
Great for meal prep: The flavours just keep developing as time goes on with this scallion ginger garlic chicken recipe, so if you make it for meal prep, double or triple the recipe quantities and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The juicy chicken will take on all the flavour from the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and scallions, tasting even better than when you've just made it. Another recipe I love is my Meal Prep Tofu recipe that is stored in mason jars and perfect for when you need something quick and accessible.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Chicken thigh: I've used skinless and boneless chicken thigh. You can cook them with the bone in, as this adds to the flavour, but I personally prefer the fuss-free boneless chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are much juicier than chicken breast, but if you'd prefer to use breast, go for it. If you are looking for a veggie option, sliced aubergine is a great option. You could also use extra-firm tofu.
Cornstarch: Coating the chicken in cornstarch adds a glossy finish to your chicken, keeping it all those juices.
Garlic: Fresh raw garlic is optimal for this recipe, but if you only have granules, use them.
Ginger: Fresh ginger is best. Otherwise, you can use ground ginger (only use a little bit at a time until the flavour is right for your taste).
Scallions: Spring onions / green onions, you'll need 4 of these. Use the green and white part of the onion, finely sliced.
Soy sauce: Light soy sauce is perfect for this recipe. Don't use dark soy sauce, this will be too high in sodium (salt), which will ruin the flavour.
Sugar: I've used caster sugar, but you can use honey or brown sugar if you'd prefer. The sweetness is essential to balance out the saltiness from the soy sauce.
Chicken stock: I've used chicken stock (I added a little bit of a stock cube into 100ml of boiling water), but you could use veggie stock too.
Recipe Variations
Veggie: If you're looking to make a vegetarian version of this dish, I'd recommend slicing aubergine into 1cm discs, coating them in cornstarch and then frying them in the same method as the chicken. A similar recipe is my sticky ginger aubergine, which is one of my most viral recipes! You could also use extra-firm tofu and slice it into cubes or slabs.
Air fryer scallion chicken: If you're looking to skip frying the chicken in the pan, you can place the cornstarch chicken thighs into the air fryer and cook for 15 minutes at 180C, turning halfway. Then placing the thighs into the sauce to soak up all the juices.
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: Sprinkle salt and pepper over your chicken thighs. Place some cornstarch onto a plate and coat your chicken thighs in cornstarch until fully covered. Place a non-stick frying pan on medium-low heat and add in a drizzle of oil. Add in your chicken thighs and fry on each side for 4 minutes. Remove and wipe the pan with a kitchen towel, then place it back on the heat and drizzle with more oil.
Step 2: Add your scallions, ginger, and garlic to the pan and fry for 3 minutes.
Step 3: Next up, add in your light soy sauce, sugar, and chicken stock. Give everything a stir.
Step 4: Transfer your chicken thighs back into the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes, flipping halfway.
Step 6: Once your chicken has taken on a lovely golden brown colour and the sauce has reduced to a slightly thick consistency, serve up with your rice, cucumber slices, and edamame beans (this is just my suggestion). Enjoy!
Top Tips!
- You might want to fry your chicken thighs for one minute less or one minute more, depending on their size.
- If you like things saucy, double the sauce ingredient measurements so there's lots leftover!
- I love to serve this scallion chicken with rice and some greens like cucumber and edamame beans. You could also have it with noodles or in a sandwich. For extra veggies, I'd recommend tender stem broccoli, cabbage, or pak choi.
What To Do with Leftovers
Storage: Leave to cool, then place in an airtight container and into the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezing: To freeze, place into airtight bags with the amount of portions you'd like. You can freeze them already cooked. Then when you want to eat them, just defrost them in the fridge the day before you want to eat them, and reheat following the advice below.
Reheating: Firstly, you can reheat them in the microwave until piping hot. However, I find that sometimes chicken has a funny texture and taste when I do that, so I would recommend reheating the chicken in the air fryer at 160C/320F for 10-15 minutes until hot all the way through. If you don't have an air fryer, reheat the chicken by drizzling some oil into a frying pan. Place on medium-low heat and add in the chicken thighs until hot (around 5-10 minutes).
FAQs
Absolutely, chicken thigh works really well, but you could also use beef steak or pork loin.
For sure! Just sub out the chicken for 1cm sliced discs of aubergine, or cubed extra-firm tofu, or cauliflower steaks (sliced cauliflower)
Absolutely! Just double or trip the quantities of the recipe and save some for later or for meal prep!
Other recipes you might enjoy!
If you tried this Scallion Chicken or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
The BEST Scallion Chicken (20 Minutes)
Ingredients
- 3 skinless and boneless chicken thighs feel free to do more chicken thighs if they're small
- Cornstarch
- 4 scallions finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 4 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 100ml chicken stock
For garnish
- Scallions
- Sesame seeds
Serve with (suggestions)
- Sticky rice
- Cucumber sliced
- Edamame beans
Instructions
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over your chicken thighs. Place some cornstarch onto a plate and coat your chicken thighs in cornstarch until fully covered. Place a non-stick frying pan on medium-low heat and add in a drizzle of oil. Add in your chicken thighs and fry on each side for 4 minutes. Remove and wipe the pan with a kitchen towel, then place it back on the heat and drizzle with more oil.
- Add your scallions, ginger, and garlic to the pan and fry for 3 minutes.
- Next up, add in your light soy sauce, sugar, and chicken stock. Give everything a stir.
- Transfer your chicken thighs back into the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Once your chicken has taken on a lovely golden brown colour and the sauce has reduced to a slightly thick consistency, serve up with your rice, cucumber slices, and edamame beans (this is just my suggestion). Enjoy!
Notes
- You might want to fry your chicken thighs for one minute less or one minute more, depending on their size.
- If you like things saucy, double the sauce ingredient measurements so there's lots leftover!
- I love to serve this scallion chicken with rice and some greens like cucumber and edamame beans. You could also have it with noodles or in a sandwich. For extra veggies, I'd recommend tender stem broccoli, cabbage, or pak choi.
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