Chinese Braised Chicken & Mushroom (小鸡炖蘑菇)
a super EASY one pot dish, done in minutes
the first time I tried making this, I immediately thought that it was similar to ‘Ayam Masak Kicap’ a staple dish I grew up with which combines chicken with kecap manis. on a similar note, this is a homey dish which is significant in memory to several of my Chinese friends and their mothers would often cook this for dinner as a quick fix.
what I come to love about this braised chicken and mushroom dish is its simplicity and how the flavours of ginger are garlic comes together with the earthy notes of shiitake which turns into an almost glaze-like sauce which clings onto the chicken midjoints. the delightful addition of beancurd skin which soaks up the sauce adds to a nice textural contrast takes the dish to another level.
this dish is also perfect as meal prep as its stores well in the freezer for times that you’d need a quick meal fix.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Chinese Braised Chicken & Mushroom (小鸡炖蘑菇)
(serves 5-6)
2 tbsp vegetable/ neutral oil
30g ginger sliced
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 kg chicken mid-joint wings, cleaned
8 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup hot water for 1 hour & reserve water
4 sprigs spring onion, white part uncut, green part thinly sliced
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp cooking caramel (optional)
1 /2 water
150g wood ear mushroom (black fungus)
salt, to taste
2 tbsp sesame oil
100g fried tau kee (crispy beancurd skin)
directions
in a claypot or a regular saucepan, heat oil on medium heat. add ginger and crushed garlic and sauté until fragrant.
add in the wings midpoints and turn up the heat. stir through the wings and let them sear a bit on all sides.
add in all the sauces and sugar along with the drained shiitake and the white parts of the spring onion. stir well to coat all the chicken pieces and pour in water + the mushroom soaking water. bring to a boil.
turn down the temperature to a light simmer and add the wood ear mushroom. cover the pot and let the chicken and shiitake braise for 20 minutes.
remove lid and let the liquid reduce to a thick sauce. pour in the sesame oil and stir through. mix in the tau kee and simmer for another few minutes to soften the tau kee. season according to taste and garnish with sliced green spring onion. serve with warm rice.
 | A guest post by
|
The comparison to Ayam Masak Kicap is really helpful for understanding the flavor profile. Love how the tau kee idea adds texture contrast, kinda changes the whole dynamic of the dish. Braised chicken dishes often get heavy but the sesame oil finish here probly keeps it balanced.