Braised Chicken with Shitake/Chinese Mushrooms

An often served chicken dish in most Chinese households, that can be cooked the night before, refrigerated and reheated before serving.

Ingredients

3 chicken thighs with skin on (approximately 600 grams total weight)
30 grams dried small sized shitake/Chinese mushrooms.
3 large cloves garlic (finely minced)
3 thumb size ginger (skin peeled & thinly sliced)
1 ½ tbsp cooking oil (olive oil ideally)
1 ½ tbsp pure sesame oil
2 tbsp less sodium light soya sauce
2 tbsp mushroom soy
1 ½ tbsp dark soya sauce (for colouring gravy)
2 cups water from the soaking of dried mushroom (top up with chicken stock or plain water if insufficient )

Needed kitchenware

Item A
Item B
Item C

Instructions

Wash dried mushrooms and soak in 2 cups cold water for ½ hour to reconstitute

Wash chicken thighs, pat dry and cut into large bite size pieces

Heat wok on high heat for approximately 1 minute. Add cooking oil and let oil heat up for approximately 30 seconds. Add ginger slices and fry for about 1 minute, stirring ginger to evenly fry

Add garlic and let brown but not burn, approximately 30 seconds

Add chicken and stir fry on high heat until chicken skin is nicely browned throughout, approximately 2 minutes

Drain shitake mushrooms but keep the mushroom water. Squeeze excess water from mushrooms and add mushrooms to wok

Fry chicken and mushrooms for another 1 minute on high fire

Combine sesame oil, soya sauce, mushroom sauce, and dark soy and add this mixture to the chicken & mushrooms. Fry on high heat for another 1 minute, making sure chicken & mushrooms are well coated with sauce

Add 2 cups mushroom water/chicken stock, and bring sauce to a boil, approximately one minute

10.

Turn fire to low, cover wok, and let chicken & mushrooms simmer for approximately 45 minutes

11.

Turn fire off and plate chicken, mushrooms and sauce onto a deep serving dish and serve immediately

12.

Tip

This dish is ideal if you are hosting a dinner as it can be cooked in advance of your dinner party. In fact, the chicken is even tastier if served the following day as the sauce infuses into the chicken while left in the refrigerator overnight. This dish freezes nicely.

Cost-saving tips

Halal Friendly

Kosher Friendly

Abbi

Head Chef