Cantonese Steamed Chicken with Mushrooms and Ginger Recipe
Delicate steamed chicken with ginger and mushrooms is a homestyle dish from southern China, often served at family dinners. It tastes a bit like a very light stew, just without frying and with a distinct ginger aroma. Perfect when you want something warm but not heavy – a great alternative to roast chicken.
This dish delivers deep, comforting flavor with almost no oil and without frying. Steaming keeps the chicken incredibly tender, while ginger, mushrooms, and Shaoxing wine create a fragrant, restaurant-style sauce you can easily make at home.
Chef's tips
Slice the chicken evenly so it steams at the same rate. Don’t skip the starch in the marinade – it helps the meat stay juicy and gives the sauce a silky texture. If you don’t have a steamer, a large pot with a heatproof rack or inverted bowl works just as well.
How to serve
Serve in a deep plate so you can catch all the sauce and spoon it over freshly cooked jasmine or long-grain rice. Add a side of quickly stir-fried or steamed greens like bok choy, broccoli, or green beans for a complete meal.
Ingredients
- boneless, skinless chicken thighs you can use chicken breast, but thighs are juicier - 500 g
- dried shiitake mushrooms - 6 piece
- fresh ginger about a 3 cm piece - 20 g
- onion - 3 piece
- soy sauce if you use a very salty one, add 2 tablespoons - 3 tablespoon
- sesame oil for aroma, can be omitted - 1 tablespoon
- Shaoxing rice wine - 2 tablespoon
- sugar - 0.5 teaspoon
- potato starch or corn starch - 1 tablespoon
- water for the sauce - 2 tablespoon
- salt to taste, carefully, because soy sauce is salty
- ground white pepper can be replaced with black pepper - 0.25 teaspoon
Preparation
- Pour hot water over the dried mushrooms and set aside for 20 minutes until they soften. Then squeeze them out, reserve 2 tablespoons of the soaking liquid, and slice the mushrooms into thin pieces.
- Cut the chicken into thin strips or small bite-sized pieces. Transfer to a bowl.
- Peel the ginger and cut it into very thin slices or matchsticks. Cut part of the scallions (white and light green parts) into 2–3 cm pieces, and set the dark green part aside for sprinkling at the end.
- Add the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, starch, 2 tablespoons of water, and 2 tablespoons of mushroom soaking liquid to the bowl with the chicken. Mix with your hand or a spoon until the meat is evenly coated. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken with the marinade to a shallow ovenproof dish or deep plate that will fit into your pot. Arrange the mushroom slices, ginger, and scallion pieces on top.
- Prepare a pot for steaming: pour about 3–4 cm of water into a large pot, place a metal steamer basket or an inverted bowl as a stand inside. Bring the water to a boil.
- When the water is boiling vigorously, carefully place the plate with the chicken on the basket or stand. Cover the pot with a lid and reduce the heat to medium, but keep the steam strong.
- Steam for 18–20 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked. Check one piece – it should not be pink inside and the juices should run clear.
- Remove the plate from the pot (beware of the steam). Sprinkle everything with the chopped green tops of the scallions. Taste the sauce and add a little salt if needed.
- Serve immediately, preferably with hot rice, spooning the sauce from the plate over the rice.
Storage
Kurczaka przechowuj w szczelnym pojemniku razem z sosem. W lodówce do 2 dni, w zamrażarce do 2 miesięcy. Podgrzewaj delikatnie w garnku na małym ogniu, dodając 1–2 łyżki wody, lub w mikrofalówce pod przykryciem.
