Scallions

Also commonly called green onions, scallions are as common to Chinese cooking as yellow onions (called “Western scallions” in Chinese) are to European and American cooking. They form a complementary seasoning pair along with fresh ginger (scallion being yin, and ginger being yang), and are also often used in the company of garlic and red chili (two other yang foods).

Except in shrimp purées, where the traditional practice is to use only the white part of the scallion (a color prejudice to which I do not always adhere), scallions are almost always used whole, that is from the white bulb clear up to the top of the green stalks. The only thing that is discarded is the bearded, tough root tip and any wilted greens or bedraggled stalk ends.