Chicken Drumettes with Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇雞翼, Dung1 Gu1 Gai1 Jik6)

 

This recipe was updated on 01 Oct 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Chicken and Shiitake mushrooms make a great combination. This quick cooking dish uses chicken drumettes (the drumstick from the wing) together with whole Shiitake mushrooms and sugar snap peas. You can just as easily use chicken wings (cut into pieces) and snow peas to make this dish. The recipe actually uses a lot of whole Shiitake mushrooms, but you can reduce the quantity of mushrooms by cutting the mushrooms in half or in quarters. It’s weird, but cutting the mushroom into pieces gives the appearance of more mushrooms.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 lb.	1.5 kg.	Chicken drumettes or wings (冬菇雞翼, gai1 jik6), cut into pieces if using whole wings
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 lb.	500 g.	Sugar snap peas (蜜豆, mat6 dau6) or snow peas (荷蘭豆, ho4 laan4 dau6)
12	12	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), thinly sliced
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), thinly sliced
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Oyster sauce (蠔油, hou4 jau4)
4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Water
		Shiitake mushroom soaking liquid

 

Equipment

6 qt.	5.7 L.	Dutch oven

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour.
2. If using whole chicken wings, cut and separate the wings into pieces. Marinate the chicken for one hour or overnight in the refrigerator using the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the chicken overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Take the hydrated Shiitake mushrooms from the soaking liquid and remove the stems. Set the Shiitake mushrooms aside (do not put them back into the soaking liquid) and reserve the soaking liquid for later use in the sauce.
4. Wash and remove the string from the sugar snap or snow peas by pinching the ends and pulling the ends the length of the sugar snap or snow pea.
5. Thinly slice the ginger and garlic and put into a small bowl.
6. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Add oil and heat a Dutch oven or other covered pot over medium to medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the chicken pieces to the Dutch oven in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the chicken in batches, so be sure to reheat the Dutch oven before adding more oil. Return all the chicken to the Dutch oven.
2. Add the sliced garlic and ginger to the Dutch oven and briefly stir fry the slices with the chicken. Add the Shiitake mushrooms to the Dutch oven and mix all the ingredients together.
3. Add the sauce ingredients and then the mushroom soaking liquid to the Dutch oven. Adjust the amount of liquid so that the chicken and mushrooms are just covered. Add water or chicken stock if more liquid is required. Bring the mixture to a boil while mixing the ingredients together, scraping any browned bits from the sides of the Dutch oven into the liquid.
4. Cover the Dutch oven, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover the Dutch oven, add the sugar snap or snow peas, the cornstarch mixture, and mix the ingredients together. Bring the mixture to a boil to thicken the sauce, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for another 2-3 minutes to cook the sugar snap or snow peas. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.