Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Recipe: Nutritious Chicken Stew!
How do you like your chicken? Roasted? Fried? Grilled? Or Stewed? If you like the last one, this dish is going to be your favorite. I stewed fresh native chicken with some mushrooms. This dish is full of flavor and nutrients but doesn’t contain too much oil.
Follow my Chinese chicken and mushroom recipes to make this chicken and mushroom stew. You can enjoy it with rice or noodles or just eat it directly. The preparation and cooking process needs some labor, but the love you give will reflect on the taste. Let’s begin.
Table of Contents
Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Recipes Overview
This isn’t a dish that is cooked too fast or too slow. Check the recipe overview below to get a clear idea.
| Cuisine: Chinese | Difficulty: Medium | ||
| Total Time: 1 hour | |||
| Serving | Preparation Time | Cooking Time | Calories |
| 4 persons | 15 minutes | 45 minutes | 199 kcal |
Ingredients Needed for Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Recipes
Choosing the right chicken is crucial for the authentic flavor of this dish. Let me take you through the ingredients list for a better understanding.
Main Ingredients for the Recipe
- Chicken: I am using about 750g of fresh native chicken. Frozen chicken might not be as good.
- Oil: Use 2-3 tbsp of soybean oil or peanut oil.
- Green Onion: ½ cup green onion, chopped
- Ginger: 50g of ginger, thinly chopped
- Star Anise: 2-3 pcs
- Chinese Spirit: 100ml of Chinese distilled spirits
- Mushroom: 10-15 pcs of enoki mushrooms.
- Cornstarch: 2-3 tbsp
Sauces and Seasonings for the Recipe
- Salt: 1 tsp
- Sichuan Peppercorn: 10-12 pcs
- Soy Sauce: 2 tbsp
Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Recipe: Step-By-Step Instructions
Throughout the steps, I will share some secret tips to make this dish more flavorful. Here you go.
Step 1: Prepare the Chicken
Clean the chicken properly and cut it into curry-sized pieces. The chicken pieces should neither be too large nor too small.
Step 2: Fry the Chicken Pieces
Heat soybean or peanut oil in a large wok. The oil should be heated for some time so that the raw soybean oil can’t produce foam in the stew. Put the chicken pieces into the oil and stir-fry them for a few minutes. Frying the chicken will render the fat under the chicken skin.
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Remember, you need to blanch the chicken first if you are using frozen chicken.
Step 3: Add the Aromatics
While frying the chicken in its own oil, add some chopped green onions, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise. Mix everything so that the chicken absorbs the flavor.
Step 4: Pour Distilled Spirit and Soy Sauce
The distilled spirit is a crucial part of this recipe. It enhances the flavor of the stew. Pour about 100ml of Chinese distilled spirits into the wok. Then, add the soy sauce to give the chicken some color.
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Alternatively, you can put soybean paste in this recipe. But I prefer the soy sauce.
Step 5: Simmer the Chicken and Clean the Mushrooms
Add enough hot water to the wok and let the broth simmer for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, you need to wash the mushroom. They might have dust and sand inside the textured crevices.
Take the mushrooms in a bowl and put two tbsp of cornstarch in it. Then, scrub the mushrooms thoroughly to remove all the dust and sand. Rinse the mushrooms and scrub them with cornstarch once again.
After the final wash, strain the cornstarch slurry to use it in the stew.
Step 6: Add the Mushroom to the Stew
After about half an hour, the alcohol in the stew will evaporate. So, there will be no smell of alcohol from the stew. At this stage, you need to add the cleaned mushrooms to the stew.
Simmer the stew for 15 more minutes or until the mushrooms are well-cooked. If you can poke the mushrooms easily, they are done.
Step 7: Serve It With Your Favorite Carb
Many people like to put Powder noodles or vermicelli into the stewed chicken and mushrooms. If you like that, go for it. I prefer eating the stew on its own or with some rice. Choose whatever carbohydrate you see fit.
Nutrition Facts of Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Recipes
Chinese chicken and mushroom is a very healthy dish for all ages of people. Here is the nutritional value of this dish.
- Total Carbohydrates: 8.2g
- Protein: 9.2g
- Total Fat: 14.2g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.3g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 10.1g
- Total Dietary Fiber: 1g
- Total Sugar: 2g
- Cholesterol: 15.4mg
- Sodium: 462.2mg
- Potassium: 200.7mg
- Calcium: 36.6mg
- Iron: 3.3mg
- Vitamin A: 113IU
- Vitamin C: 10.3mg
Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Clean the chicken properly and cut it into curry-sized pieces. The chicken pieces should neither be too large nor too small.
- Heat soybean or peanut oil in a large wok. The oil should be heated for some time so that the raw soybean oil can’t produce foam in the stew. Put the chicken pieces into the oil and stir-fry them for a few minutes. Frying the chicken will render the fat under the chicken skin.
- Remember, you need to blanch the chicken first if you are using frozen chicken.
- While frying the chicken in its own oil, add some chopped green onions, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise. Mix everything so that the chicken absorbs the flavor.
- The distilled spirit is a crucial part of this recipe. It enhances the flavor of the stew. Pour about 100ml of Chinese distilled spirits into the wok. Then, add the soy sauce to give the chicken some color.
- Alternatively, you can put soybean paste in this recipe. But I prefer the soy sauce.
- Add enough hot water to the wok and let the broth simmer for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, you need to wash the mushroom. They might have dust and sand inside the textured crevices.
- Take the mushrooms in a bowl and put two tbsp of cornstarch in it. Then, scrub the mushrooms thoroughly to remove all the dust and sand. Rinse the mushrooms and scrub them with cornstarch once again.
- After the final wash, strain the cornstarch slurry to use it in the stew.
- After about half an hour, the alcohol in the stew will evaporate. So, there will be no smell of alcohol from the stew. At this stage, you need to add the cleaned mushrooms to the stew.
- Simmer the stew for 15 more minutes or until the mushrooms are well-cooked. If you can poke the mushrooms easily, they are done.
- Many people like to put Powder noodles or vermicelli into the stewed chicken and mushrooms. If you like that, go for it. I prefer eating the stew on its own or with some rice. Choose whatever carbohydrate you see fit.
FAQs
Let’s learn some interesting facts about the Chinese chicken and mushroom recipe.
Are there any regional variations of Chinese chicken and mushroom recipes?
Of course. Chinese chicken and mushroom recipes are made differently in different parts of China. In the southern Chinese cuisine, soybean paste is more commonly used. There are also variations in the use of mushrooms or other vegetables.
What are some suitable vegetarian or vegan alternatives to chicken that can be used in this dishe?
Using tofu is one of the most common vegetarian or vegan alternatives to chicken. Seitan or tempeh is also a good substitute for chicken. You can also use shiitake mushrooms to bring variation to this dish.
Should I use skin-on or skinless chicken for the Chinese chicken and mushroom recipes?
It is up to your choice. I prefer keeping the skin on as it becomes delicious after stewing. Also, the fat layer under the skin makes this dish even better. So, I recommend using skin-on chicken for this recipe.
Conclusion
Chinese chicken and mushrooms become a complete meal if you put some noodles in it. This filling dish is also very healthy. Even though it takes some time to prepare, the effort is worth it. You will especially love the hot stewed chicken and mushrooms during cold winter days.
Make Chinese chicken and mushroom recipes to treat your family with healthy, homemade food. Let me know how it comes up in the comments and it will encourage me to bring more recipes to you.
