Serve this Chicken with Chinese mushrooms recipe with Homemade Fried Rice for a meal that’s so good and authentic; your guests will think it came from a Chinese restaurant!
I recently discovered a Chinese grocery store in my town. I love cooking homemade Chinese food, so I just had to stop in.
They had an amazing selection of dried mushrooms that I’ve seen in restaurant food but have never seen in the grocery store. The mushrooms I chose were called black mushrooms. They looked like the ones I see most often in Chinese dishes.
One of my favorite dishes from my local Chinese restaurant is Chicken with Chinese Mushrooms. Its made in a deep-flavored sauce I just had to try to replicate and I have to say, I came really close!
Watch How to Make Chicken with Chinese Mushrooms
This is a fantastic recipe that is super simple and tastes amazing!
Why this recipe works:
- You can’t order takeout in the amount of time it takes to make this dish!
- Adding the liquid from the soaked mushrooms is the perfect natural flavor addition to the sauce.
- The recipe uses either fresh or dried mushrooms making ingredients readily available.
Creating This Recipe
When I first created this recipe, I made it exclusively with dried Chinese Mushrooms. It tasted great, but I wanted to use ingredients that are easily found.
So, I added a mixture of dried and fresh mushrooms to show that if you can’t find dried Chinese mushrooms, it’s not the end of the world.
I went with dried shiitake mushrooms instead of actual Chinese mushrooms because they are not only easy to find, but they are absolutely delicious and fit the bill wonderfully.
I chose to let you choose the cut of chicken you like best. I chose thighs because I feel dark meat chicken is more flavorful, but white meat is preferred by many. It’s your choice.
I have to admit that dried, these mushrooms don’t look too appetizing. Believe me, once they are re-hydrated they are packed with flavor and become the star of the dish!
During my shopping, I also picked up some Chinese rice wine (get it here on Amazon (As an Amazon Associate, a small commission is made from qualifying purchases), which I’ve been wanting to buy forever! Wow, it adds such an authentic flavor! If you’ve never tried it – I highly recommend it for your Asian dishes.
How to Make Chicken with Chinese Mushrooms:
In a small bowl, soak the mushrooms in boiling water for 20 minutes or until they become tender.
Once re-hydrated, Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and squeeze out any excess liquid. Reserve 1⁄4 cup of the liquid and set aside. This makes is the mushroom stock.
Heat a wok over medium-high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the heated wok and add the garlic.
Followed by the ginger.
Stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken.
Stir-fry until the pink on the outside is no longer visible.
Add the fresh mushrooms.
Cook until tender and the liquid they release cooks down. Add the soaked mushrooms.
Stir-fry another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the oyster sauce, dark and light soy sauce.
Add the rice wine.
Add cornstarch mixed with water to thicken.
Bring to a boil and stir-fry until the mushrooms are coated and the sauce has thickened (another 2 or 3 minutes).
Add the green onions.
Stir together with the chicken, mushrooms, and thick luscious sauce.
Serve and enjoy every last bite!
Cook’s Tips:
- If you can’t find dried mushrooms, the fresh shiitake mushrooms work great on their own.
- Having trouble finding Chinese rice wine? You can replace it with dry sherry (which until now, I have always used in my Chinese cooking and it works really well).
- Need an alternative to oyster sauce? Try using hoisin sauce or teriyaki sauce. Both are great options.
- Need an alcohol free recipe? Just use the mushroom or chicken stock instead.
- I like to keep the mushrooms whole, but if they are too large, you can slice them.
- Cornstarch & water is used to thicken this sauce. Be sure that they are mixed until smooth to prevent clumping when added. When in doubt, run it through a strainer.
Making the perfect stir-fry
- Have all the ingredients prepped before starting. Things move quickly with a stir-fry. Have the ingredients cut & sliced, and your liquids measured before starting
- Have your ingredients ready by wok. Having everything ready and close by helps add things quickly, making sure everything is cooked properly.
- If you have a wok, use it. Woks have a large cooking area and retain heat well, making it perfect for stir-fries.
- Don’t have a wok? Choose a pan with a large surface area and plenty of space to stir-fry and heat your pan before adding the oil. Heating will help prevent sticking.
- Cornstarch and water
Recipe Variations:
- Serve with a side of noodles or fried rice.
- Skip the chicken and just add vegetables: bok choy, carrots, and zucchini.
Make this a pantry dish:
Buy extra dried mushrooms and keep them in your pantry along with fresh garlic, ginger and shallots (they don’t need to be refrigerated) and this dish can be made anytime as a meat-free stir-fry. Just use the shallots instead of green onion and add them at the same time as the garlic and ginger.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup dried black Chinese mushrooms, or shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
- 2 large chicken breasts, (or 4 chicken thighs), cut into chunks
- 8 oz shiitake fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
- ¼ cup mushroom stock, Made from the reserved liquid from soaking mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed until smooth with 3 tablespoons of water
- 1 green onion, sliced into rounds
Instructions
- In a small bowl, soak the mushrooms in boiling water for 20 minutes or until they become tender.
- Remove the mushrooms from the water with a slotted spoon and squeeze to remove any excess liquid. Reserve 1⁄4 of the liquid and set aside (this is the mushroom stock).
- Heat a wok over medium-high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the heated wok. Add the garlic and ginger to the hot oil. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken and stir-fry about a minute. Add the fresh mushrooms and cook until tender and the liquid they release cooks down.
- Add the soaked mushrooms and stir-fry another 2 or 3 minutes.
- Add the oyster sauce, dark and light soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, the mushroom stock, and cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil and stir-fry until the mushrooms are coated and the sauce has thickened (another 2 or 3 minutes).
- Stir in the green onion. Serve immediately with fried rice or side of your choice.
Video
Notes
- If you can’t find dried mushrooms, the fresh shiitake mushrooms work great on their own.
- Having trouble finding Chinese rice wine? You can replace it with dry sherry (which until now, I have always used in my Chinese cooking and it works really well).
- Need an alternative to oyster sauce? Try using hoisin sauce or teriyaki sauce. Both are great options.
- Need an alcohol free recipe? Just use the mushroom or chicken stock instead.
- I like to keep the mushrooms whole, but if they are too large, you can slice them.
- Cornstarch & water is used to thicken this sauce. Be sure that they are mixed until smooth to prevent clumping when added. When in doubt, run it through a strainer.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in June of 2014, but was republished with tips, step by step photos, a recipe change, and video in August of 2018.
Sharon says
Please could anyone confirm how many grams or roughly what size cup for the dried mushrooms.
Thank you.
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Sharon, a cup of dried mushrooms is roughly 75grams, I hope this helps.
Amy says
Wow, this is good. I had a bunch of fresh mushrooms left over that I needed to use up, so I googled “chicken and shiitake” and came across this recipe. I’m so glad I did. This recipe came together in a snap and was delicious. It brought out so much flavor in the mushrooms. I’ll definitely be looking for other recipes on your site.
Erren Hart says
Hi Amy, I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂 thanks for the feedback!
Harry says
Delicious!
Erren's Kitchen says
Thanks, Harry!
Vicky says
Really enjoyed this dish, very yummy. Thank you for sharing it..👍.. I changed it a little though. ( I’m so sorry)🥴😬🤗as I wanted the chicken to have a bit more flavour to it, so I marinated the chicken in 2tsp’s of light soy, alittle oil,a dash of pepper and a tsp of cornstarch for about 30mins,then fried the chicken off first until it was about 70% done,then placed it on a plate until I fried everything else off and added the sauce,then popped the chicken back in and cooked it until the chicken was fully cooked and the sauce was a little thicker.
Erren's Kitchen says
Sounds delicious Vicky!
Maureen says
I tried this recipe for the first time approximately a month ago. It was so delicious. It tasted as though it came from a 5* Chinese restaurant. Thanks for this recipe. Looking forward to some more from you..Erren’s Kitchen.👍
Erren's Kitchen says
Oh my, Maureen What awesome feedback! Thank you so much! Don’t you worry I have a lot more up my sleeve!
Medi says
My boyfriend and I love it and I am cooking this dish very often now.
Erren's Kitchen says
That is awesome to hear Medi!
Esther kim says
Love this… i enjoy cooking this recipes 😋 …not so difficult easy and delicious i love it and my employer family also love to eat …
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Esther Thank you so much for your feedback, I’m glad you enjoyed!