[Chinese Recipes] Braised Chicken with Mushrooms

I came up with this Chinese Braised Chicken w/ Mushrooms dish after visiting the Jade Temple (玉佛寺) in Shanghai. The temple got its name from the two jade buddhas that “live” there, each carved from a complete piece of jade and “invited” from Myanmar in the late 1800s.

If you find yourself in Shanghai, you have to go there.

Reason 1:

You’ll get the experience of seeing a working buddhist temple.

Reason 2?

Noodles.

So, inspired by the braised mushrooms that top those noodles, I made this braised chicken with mushrooms. Serve it with rice and a green vegetable! You’ll need:
2 tablespoons oil
3 slices ginger, julienned
1 ¼ lbs chicken drumettes
10 (large) to 15 (small) dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed and soaked in 2 cups of warm water for 2-4 hours until soft (reserve soaking liquid)
¾ cup dried wood ear mushrooms, rinsed and soaked
¼ cup cooking wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon of dark soy sauce
1 – 1 ¼ cups mushroom soaking liquid
1 scallion, sliced

Heat the 2 tablespoons oil in your wok over medium heat. Add the ginger and let it cook for about a minute until fragrant. Then turn up the heat to high and add the chicken. Keep stirring until the chicken is browned, and add the soaked shiitake and wood ear mushrooms. Keep stirring for another couple minutes.

Then add cooking wine, sugar, soy sauce, and dark soy sauce; mix everything well. Lastly, add 1 to 1 ¼ cup of the water you used to soak the mushrooms. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the wok, and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and gooey. Make sure to stir occasionally, and remember to keep the heat low and add more water if you like a lot of sauce. Stir in the scallions and serve!

CHINESE BRAISED CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS 

2 tablespoons oil
3 slices ginger, julienned
1 ¼ lbs chicken drumettes
10 (large) to 15 (small) dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed and soaked in 2 cups of warm water for 2-4 hours until soft (reserve soaking liquid)
¾ cup dried wood ear mushrooms, rinsed and soaked
¼ cup cooking wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon of dark soy sauce
1 – 1 ¼ cups mushroom soaking liquid
1 scallion, sliced

INSTRUCTION

Heat the 2 tablespoons oil in your wok over medium heat. Add the ginger and let it cook for about a minute until fragrant. Then turn up the heat to high and add the chicken. Keep stirring until the chicken is browned, and add the soaked shiitake and wood ear mushrooms. Keep stirring for another couple minutes.

Then add cooking wine, sugar, soy sauce, and dark soy sauce; mix everything well. Lastly, add 1 to 1 ¼ cup of the water you used to soak the mushrooms. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the wok, and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and gooey. Make sure to stir occasionally, and remember to keep the heat low and add more water if you like a lot of sauce.

Finally, stir in the scallions until they're wilted. Serve!

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Thewoksoflife.com. Thanks so much!