- Chinese
- Chicken Stir-Fry
- Chicken Breast
- Mushrooms
- Wood Ear Mushrooms
This quick, simple stir-fry features fresh and dried mushrooms for maximum flavor and chicken that's been velveted—an easy technique that guarantees tender meat.
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Why It Works
- Marinating the chicken strips in a mixture of cornstarch, egg white, wine, and seasonings—a process known as velveting—guarantees silky, tender meat.
- Par-cooking the meat in a bath of boiling water with just a little oil is much easier for home cooks than the more traditional hot-oil-bath method, with equally good results.
If you've been reading ourwater-velveting series, then you already know that it's an excellent home-cook technique for ensuring that meats stay extremely tender in stir-fries. Unlike the more traditional method that involves cooking the meat in a hot-oil bath,water-velveted meatuses boiling water with just a little bit of oil added to it. Otherwise, the velveting process is exactly the same, with the meat first marinated in a mixture of cornstarch, egg white, and seasonings.
Today's recipe features strips of chicken stir-fried with a mixture of fresh and dried mushrooms, along with a sauce made from soy and oyster sauces. The crunchy bite of the rehydrated dried wood ear mushrooms, which you can find in most Asian markets, adds a nice texture to the dish. (They are great in other stir-fries as well and also in these deliciouspan-fried vegetable dumplings.) When using oyster sauce, a little goes a long way, so be careful not to pour out too much at once.
I start by marinating the chicken strips in the velveting mixture (a combination of cornstarch, egg white, rice wine, and seasonings) for 30 minutes.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__images__2014__07__20140714-chicken-with-mushrooms-and-oyster-sauce-shao-zhong-2-0f6a8f5f7dfe4b1eaabb91059628a110.jpg "Stir-Fried Chicken With Mushrooms and Oyster Sauce Recipe (3)")
Then I get the water boiling in the wok, and drizzle a small amount of oil on top. The chicken takes a quick spin in the boiling water, just long enough to turn the exterior opaque while leaving it still raw inside, about 40 seconds. I drain it and give the chicken a good shake so that it isn't too wet the next time it goes into the wok for stir-frying.
Then I wipe out the wok, and stir-fry the fresh mushrooms in it first until they release their water.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__images__2014__07__20140714-chicken-with-mushrooms-and-oyster-sauce-shao-zhong-5-f8efb55cfd2a40beac485c717a969998.jpg "Stir-Fried Chicken With Mushrooms and Oyster Sauce Recipe (4)")
I follow that with the rehydrated wood ear mushrooms, and cook all the mushrooms until their excess water is gone and they're starting to brown. Once they're ready I transfer them to a plate.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__images__2014__07__20140714-chicken-with-mushrooms-and-oyster-sauce-shao-zhong-7-74a1187873b7418fb6529c411d70c6a2.jpg "Stir-Fried Chicken With Mushrooms and Oyster Sauce Recipe (5)")
I add a little more oil to the wok, then stir-fry the chicken next. Working in batches like this with wok stir-fries is important since home burners don't put out enough heat to properly stir-fry all of the ingredients at once.
Then I add the mushrooms back in, toss them to combine, and add the sauce. I keep cooking, tossing and stirring, until the sauce thickens and coats the chicken and mushrooms. Then it's ready to serve.
July 2014
Recipe Details
Stir-Fried Chicken With Mushrooms and Oyster Sauce Recipe
Prep5 mins
Cook30 mins
Active20 mins
Marinating Time30 mins
Total65 mins
Serves2 servings
Ingredients
For the Velveted Chicken:
1 tablespoon egg white(see note)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine orsake
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 pound chicken breast, sliced 1/8 inch thick
6 cups water
1 teaspoon vegetable, canola, orpeanut oil
For the Sauce and Stir-Fry:
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 medium clove garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoonsvegetable, canola, or peanut oil, divided
1/2 pound mixed mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake, enoki, and/or oyster, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup dried wood ear mushroom, rehydrated in warm water for 15 minutes, then drained and large pieces halved (see note)
Cooked white rice, for serving
Directions
For the Velveted Chicken: In a small bowl, thoroughly combine egg white, cornstarch, rice wine, and salt. Place chicken in a bowl and add cornstarch mixture, tossing to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Fill a wok with water and bring to a boil, then add oil. Add chicken and, separating pieces with chopsticks or a spatula, cook until chicken is white outside but still raw within, about 40 seconds. Drain chicken in a colander and shake off excess water. Wipe wok clean and dry.
For Sauce and Stir-Fry: In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch, sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic, and water.
Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in wok over high heat until smoking. Add fresh mixed mushrooms and season with salt. Cook, stirring and tossing, until mushrooms have released their water, about 3 minutes. Add rehydrated wood ear mushrooms and cook until mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer mushroom to a plate and wipe out wok.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in wok over high heat until smoking. Add chicken and stir-fry until chicken is almost cooked through, about 2 minutes. Return mushrooms to wok and stir to combine with chicken. Stir sauce add to the wok, tossing, until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Transfer to a platter and serve with white rice.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__recipes__20140714-chicken-with-mushrooms-and-oyster-sauce-shao-zhong-1-1e14eef9f2514831829c33a3d86286b9.jpg "Stir-Fried Chicken With Mushrooms and Oyster Sauce Recipe (6)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__recipes__20140714-chicken-with-mushrooms-and-oyster-sauce-shao-zhong-3-99a578e728e44a5fa002870de410c79c.jpg "Stir-Fried Chicken With Mushrooms and Oyster Sauce Recipe (7)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__recipes__20140714-chicken-with-mushrooms-and-oyster-sauce-shao-zhong-4-eeec9f0a03f6404689678bd0796b137c.jpg "Stir-Fried Chicken With Mushrooms and Oyster Sauce Recipe (8)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__recipes__20140714-chicken-with-mushrooms-and-oyster-sauce-shao-zhong-8-158acab45bc64d538fdd60ea6d2a3cd8.jpg "Stir-Fried Chicken With Mushrooms and Oyster Sauce Recipe (9)")
Special Equipment
Wok
Notes
To make egg white easy to measure, beat it with a fork until it has a thinner viscosity.
Dried wood ear mushrooms can be found in most Asian markets.
Read More
- Cantonese Clay Pot Rice With Velveted Chicken
- Stir-Fried Velvet Chicken with Snap Peas and Lemon-Ginger Sauce
- Stir-Fried Sweet and Sour Pork
| Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 418 | Calories |
| 23g | Fat |
| 13g | Carbs |
| 40g | Protein |
Show Full Nutrition Label
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| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 2 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 418 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 23g | 29% |
| Saturated Fat 4g | 21% |
| Cholesterol 96mg | 32% |
| Sodium 600mg | 26% |
| Total Carbohydrate 13g | 5% |
| Dietary Fiber 2g | 6% |
| Total Sugars 3g | |
| Protein 40g | |
| Vitamin C 3mg | 15% |
| Calcium 49mg | 4% |
| Iron 2mg | 11% |
| Potassium 716mg | 15% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
