Ginger-Scallion Sauce

There's a little magic in this sauce, which is composed mostly of scallions and ginger, as the name suggests. The salt and fermented fish help make it a flavor powerhouse that I suspect you could pair with just about any vegetable, meat, grain, or combination thereof. We ate it first with roasted kohlrabi and rice and the next time with sautéed kale, rice, and an over-easy egg (awesome). This sauce is spicy, punchy, and it bites a little!  I'm sure you'll find lots of uses for it - if you can resist just eating it all with leftover rice.

By the way, I have been loving the short grain rice (sushi rice) lately (thanks, Jann!). You can buy small bags at just about any well-stocked grocery store or you can buy big bags at places like CAM. You soak it for 30 minutes before cooking it and then cook it as usual (in my experience it always takes less time to cook than the bag says). I love how it's glossy, sticky, and chewy, never mushy, grainy, or dry.

This recipe comes from Lucky Peach's (RIP) 101 Easy Asian Recipes, which I have mentioned it before. It's a tongue-in-cheek title for a totally serious cookbook. Like most things that come out of the Momofuku empire its dishes are bursting with flavor and ideas for accessible ways to tap into the flavors of some of our favorite cuisines from around the world. I'm excited to see what they do next.

Ginger-Scallion Sauce
Adapted from 101 Easy Asian Recipes 
Note that the amounts of scallions and ginger are adaptable. This is a bit spicy with ginger as written, but I think it works.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. cooking oil
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced/minced scallions
• 1/3 cup minced ginger
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce (I know it's a lot, just try it!) 
• 1 tsp. turbinado sugar
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skilled over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and ginger and sauté for a minute or so. Remove from the heat and continue to stir until no longer sizzling.

Transfer the wilted scallions and ginger to a small bowl and season with the remaining ingredients. Use sparingly - a little goes a long way!