Innovative Scallion Oil Leftover Chicken

A classic Chinese dish with a small twist

NT$73.7 / $2.44

NT$36.85 / $1.21 per serving

Cost: 9/10 

Simple: 9/10 

Environmentally-Friendly: 8/10 

Delicious: 8/10

Want to make the most of your leftover chicken? Don’t know what to do with it? All you need is a multi-cooker and some seasoning to transform your chicken into something fascinating. No skills required. Why? This Chinese classic is easy to cook and super fast. This recipe is extremely beneficial to families that have leftovers and need to feed a bunch of people.

This scallion oil chicken is environmentally friendly, takes only minutes to make, limits your food waste, and saves you money.

A bunch of aggressively tender, juicy chicken that melts in your mouth sets the stage and then gets tucked in by the aromatic scallion oil. It’s simple and heavenly. Go to the grocery store. Now. And try it quickly.

As a beginner, I was able to master this dish easily. It requires absolutely no skill. 

I am also able to make the best use of some leftover chicken. It saves me a lot.

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The Recipe

NT$73.7 / $2.44

NT$36.85 / $1.21 per serving

Prep time: 10 min. 

Cook time: 15-20 min. 

Total: 25-30 min. 

Utensils

Tatung multi-cooker 

Bowls and Spoons

Ingredients and Costs (Total: 10 ingredients) 

1 Chicken Thigh: NT$40 ($1.35) 

2 tbsp Salt: NT$1.5 ($0.05)

2 tbsp White Pepper: NT$4.5 ($0.15) 

1 tsp Oil: NT$1.2 ($0.04) 

2 to 4 pieces of Scallion: NT$10 ($0.3) 

4 slices of Ginger: NT$9 ($0.3) 

1.5 tbsp Sugar: NT$1.5 ($0.05) 

2 tsp Sesame oil: NT$3 ($0.10) 

1 tsp Rice Wine: NT$3 ($0.10) 

1 tbsp of Soy Sauce: NT$3 ($0.10)

NT$73.7  /  $2.44 

NT$36.85  / $1.21 per serving    (CALCULATIONS YET TO BE VERIFIED)

Outside: NT$60 or more (saves: ntd) 

*These are the same ingredients as the top, but I divided them into different parts of the recipe for your convenience.

Ingredients for Chicken (In Cooker) 

1 chicken thigh

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp white pepper 

2 pieces of scallion

2 slices of ginger 

0.5 tbsp of sugar 

1 tsp rice wine 

1 tbsp sesame Oil 

1 tbsp soy sauce 

Ingredients for Scallion Oil 

1 tbsp salt 

1 tbsp white pepper 

1 tsp oil 

1-2 pieces of scallion (minced)

2 pieces of ginger (minced) 

1 tbsp sugar 

1 tbsp sesame oil 

Steps

1. Drench the chicken in hot water. (Optional, but it makes the chicken more tender.)

2. Prep the chicken: Put the “Ingredients for chicken” in the cooker’s inner pot. 

3. Cover half of your ingredients with water. (In inner pot) 

4. *Add in one cup of water (240 ml) in the outer pot. Press the cook button and prepare the scallion oil while the chicken is cooking. 

5. Prep the oil: Put “Ingredients for Scallion Oil” in a bowl and mix them. (You can stir-fry the scallion and ginger to enhance the flavors, but it’s more convenient to not turn on the stove.) 

6. When the chicken is cooked, pour the chicken broth into your oil fromStep 5. Then drizzle the scallion oil on the perfectly cooked chicken. (*You can save the rest for stir-frying vegetables, for example. DON’T WASTE ANYTHING.) Enjoy! 

Tips & Notes: 

1. Soy sauce and sugar are my addition. People in Taiwan generally do not put them in their scallion oil chicken. However, soy sauce gives the chicken a savory boost and balances out the flavors with the sugar. 

2. *Cooking time isn’t a big deal. Your cooker may have a different cooking time, but that doesn’t matter as long as your chicken is cooked and tender. 

3. For a Tatung cooker, you should put your ingredients in the inner pot, not the outer pot. Add water in the outer pot and put your inner pot (which has your ingredients) in the outer pot. 

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(Scroll down for more tips and photos)

What is a Tatung multi-cooker? 

This is a life-changing cooker that cooks your food quickly without destroying any of the nutrition. All you have to do is to press the “cook” button and sit back and wait for magic to happen. You don’t have to worry about your food being overcooked, undercooked, or dried out. 

This is probably the simplest cooking appliance for beginners. Buy it now if you don’t have one yet.

Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Tatung-TAC-6G-Multi-Functional-Cooker-White/dp/B003O7OW2I

Citation: http://www.tatung.com/products/index/513

Substitutes for Tatung Rice Cooker

If you don’t have one and don’t want to buy one, you can use any rice cooker or multi-cooker that you can find. Alternatively, you can fill water in any pot (with pot cover) to half-full, place a bowl with your ingredients in it, and turn on the stove. (Please do not put your food directly in the water. Put it in the bowl before putting the bowl on the water, otherwise you will screw up.

Substitute Ingredients

Rice wine: You can use shaoxing wine, pale dry sherry, white wine and gin (anything that has a flavor similar to rice wine). Do not use rice-wine vinegar. This is a vinegar that will add an acidic flavor. 

Chicken Thigh: You can use chicken breast or leg, but chicken thigh and leg are the most tender parts. I used leftovers of chicken thigh, and the flavor of the chicken is still awesome.

White Pepper: Any type of pepper will do it. But white pepper is my personal favorite because it produces an aromatic flavor.

Sesame oil, sugar, salt, and ginger are optional, but they really do give your chicken a unique Chinese flavor. Soy sauce is my personal addition because it brings a new set of salty flavors to your chicken. 

What Should I Serve With Chinese Scallion Chicken?

I served my chicken with some rice and steamed vegetables. The chicken will also pair beautifully with instant noodles and any type of soup (especially miso soup). 

Step-by-Step Process (With Photos and Tips)

Here are the ingredients. I only used these leftover chicken thighs to make a delicious meal.

2. Put your "ingredients of chicken" in a pot or bowl.

3. Mix them thoroughly and put them in the inner pot of your Tatung cooker. (as shown above)

4. Halfway through cooking. You can just chill out. You just don't have to pay any attention to it.

5. Scallion oil. Just throw in everything and mix it. You can adjust according to your taste. The proportions of ingredients don't matter as long as it's delicious.

6. After you cook the chicken, take it out, drizzle it with some broth and scallion oil.

You can save your broth (that's left in your pot) for further use. Don't be a jerk and just throw them away. These small habits are key to saving money.

Gallery (Swipe left for more)

Trust me, you are not going to fail the recipe. It's just way too simple. Just throw everything in the pot and you are good to go. It's a shame if you mess it up.

Enjoy your food! Remember, NEVER WASTE FOOD!