Moo Shu Chicken
Marinated strips of chicken thigh fillets are stir fried with sliced cucumber, black fungus and scrambled eggs. The chicken version of a pork dish that originated in northern China, moo shu chicken is a simple and easy dish to prepare for a tasty lunch or dinner.But while cooking time is short, I don’t recommend taking shortcuts with marinating. Despite the small pieces of chicken, they still need time to soak up the flavors of the marinade. Not overnight. Half an hour should do. Just long enough to cook rice.
Ingredients
- 400 grams chicken fillets, thinly sliced into strips (see notes after the recipe)
- 1 one-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
- light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch, or corn or potato starch
- sesame seed oil
- 1 ¼ cup dried black fungus, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
- 2 cucumbers
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 ½ tablespoons oyster sauce
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup chicken bone broth
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Place the chicken strips in a bowl. Add the grated ginger, two tablespoons of soy sauce, a generous drizzle of rice wine, a tablespoon and a half of starch and a drizzle of sesame seed oil. Mix well. Set aside and allow to marinate. Use this time to cook rice.
- Drain the black fungus and cut into one-inch slices.
- Cut the cucumbers vertically into halves. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Cut the cucumber halves into slices about a quarter of an inch thick.
- Crush, peel and mince the garlic.
- In a small bowl, make the sauce by mixing together the oyster sauce, sugar, chicken broth, the remaining starch and tablespoon and a half of light soy sauce.
- Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil in a wok or frying pan.
- Drizzle in a little soy sauce over the beaten eggs and whisk. Pour into the hot oil. When partially set, stir around to break into rather large lumps. Scoop out and transfer to a plate.
- Pour two tablespoons of sesame oil into the pan. When starting to smoke, spread the marinated chicken in a single layer. Do not move them for a minute or so until the undersides are browned. Flip over and lightly brown the opposite side.
- Add the garlic and scallions to the chicken. Stir fry for a minute.
- Add the sliced black fungus, cucumber and eggs to the pork. Stir fry for half a minute.
- Pour in the sauce. Continue stir frying for another minute until the sauce is thick and glossy.
- Ladle rice into bowls and top with moo shu chicken.
- Serve the moo shu chicken rice bowls at once.
Notes
When we cook chicken fillets at home, the default is thigh meat. Skin-on, if we can manage to source them. We really don’t like breast meat but that’s a personal preference. If you prefer to substitute, you’re welcome to do so. Just note that breast meat requires more care because overcooking even for just a minute can dry out the meat.
See also: Moo shu pork recipe
Updated from a recipe originally published in 03/20/2020
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