Three Mushroom Chicken (三菇雞, Saam1 Gu1 Gai1)

 

This recipe was updated on 29 Jul 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

I have to admit that this dish takes some effort to make, but the effort is needed for the presentation rather than the cooking. Chicken and mushrooms makes a great tasty combination, and using three types of mushrooms and a bed of broccoli florets adds to the visual appeal and luxuriousness of the dish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Chicken thigh or breast meat (雞肉, gai1 juk6), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
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)
10	10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated
7.4 oz.	210 g.	One 15 oz. (425 g.) can straw mushrooms (草菇, cou2 gu1), drained
7.4 oz.	210 g.	One 15 oz. (425 g.) can abalone (鮑魚菇, baau1 jyu4 gu1) or oyster (蠔菇, hou4 gu1) mushrooms, drained
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
1.5 lb.	750 g.	Broccoli florets (西蘭花, sai1 laan4 faa1), florets separated
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

		Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy paste (豆醬, dau6 zoeng3)
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 Tbs.	30 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	60 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

		Microwave oven
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

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. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any skin or bones, and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces. Add the baking soda to the chicken, allow to tenderize for 10 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
3. Marinate the chicken for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with 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.
4. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid and remove the stems. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
5. Open and drain the liquid from the straw and abalone or oyster mushroom cans
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the soy paste, 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.



Broccoli Floret Base

8. Wash and cut the broccoli into florets. Arrange the florets on the edge of a large serving plate in one layer with the florets facing outwards and place any stems in the center of the plate. The broccoli florets will form the base of the dish.

Cooking Instructions

1. Microwave on high the plate with the broccoli florets until tender, around 2-3 minutes depending upon your microwave’s power.
2. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and before adding oil. Add the chicken pieces to the wok 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 wok over high heat before adding more oil. Set the chicken aside in a bowl.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the ginger and garlic. Quickly stir fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant before adding more oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the Shiitake mushrooms to brown them before adding the drained straw and abalone or oyster mushrooms from their cans to the wok. Stir fry all the ingredients together before adding the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok. Stir fry all the ingredients together.
4. Add the sauce ingredients and Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid to the wok, and stir fry the ingredients together. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients on top of the broccoli florets in the serving dish and serve with steamed rice.

Notes

1. For this dish, since a serving plate is used for the presentation and not a serving bowl, you don’t want to serve too much sauce since it might overflow the plate. So be careful not to just add all the sauce with the ingredients to the serving plate. You might be left with some sauce in the wok if there’s too much (save it for another use).
2. The amount of corn starch slurry to add to the mixture will depend upon how much of the Shiitake rehydration liquid is used in the sauce. Add enough of the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce.