Chinese mushroom chicken is very easy to make and perfect for a weekday dinner. The tender chicken bites are cooked in an aromatic savory sweet sauce with juicy mushrooms and crisp bamboo shoots. Serve it over steamed rice and you’ll have your dinner ready in no time. {Gluten-Free adaptable}
Since moving to the US, I’m often amazed at how trying American Chinese food can open my mind towards the food of my own culture. I’ve experienced and recreated some of the popular American Chinese dishes such as Orange Chicken, General Tso Tofu, and Beef with Broccoli. I’d never seen these dishes growing up in China. But they use various Chinese ingredients to create a sensation that’s true to traditional Chinese cooking. I enjoy these dishes and they somehow remind me of the food from home.
There is a mushroom chicken dish in traditional Chinese cooking. It is made with bone-in skin-on chicken, chopped to bite-size pieces, then braised in a soy sauce based sauce with dried shiitake mushrooms. It’s a dish I often ate growing up.
But if you’re short on time, try out this stir fried mushroom chicken that is just as hearty and delicious.
Mushroom chicken ingredients
Chinese mushroom chicken is very easy to make and perfect for a weekday dinner. The tender chicken bites are cooked in an aromatic savory sweet sauce with juicy mushrooms and crisp bamboo shoots.
Which cut of chicken to use
I used chicken breast in this recipe, but you can also use chicken thigh for a richer taste, or use chicken tenders for a softer texture.
Bamboo shoots
Bamboo shoots are a fun ingredient that adds a crisp, crunchy texture to your mushroom chicken stir fry.
You can easily find canned sliced bamboo shoots at the ethnic section in many grocery stores. If you have access to a Chinese or Asian grocery store, try to find whole bamboo shoots. They are boiled bamboo shoots soaked in water. They have a nicer texture than the canned ones. You can usually find them in the refrigerated section.
Mise en place
I like to organize my ingredients in groups, so I can use fewer bowls. It also makes the cooking easier. Once you’re done prepping, your kitchen counter should have:
- Marinated chicken
- Mixed sauce with a spoon (to stir again during the cooking to fully dissolve the cornstarch)
- Chopped ginger, garlic, and green onion in a bowl
- Chopped mushrooms
- Bamboo shoots
How to cook Chinese mushroom chicken
What skillet to use
I’ve talked in previous posts about why NOT to use a wok, and some of the best ways to set up your stir fry station if you’re using an electric stove. Long story short, the most convenient setup is to use your electric stove with a nonstick pan (such as the 12” OXO Frying Pan, which provides enough surface area against the heating element to heat up your pan well).
The benefit of using a nonstick pan is that it heats up faster on an electric stove or a lower output gas range than a traditional wok does. Plus, the nonstick surface prevents the food from sticking to the pan. Most Chinese stir fry dishes use cornstarch to coat the meat, which is very prone to sticking to the pan if you don’t use enough oil and heat the pan well.
On the other hand, if you prefer not to use a nonstick pan, I would recommend a cast iron or a carbon steel pan (Ignore stainless. They stick like hell). In this case, you will need to add more oil to prevent the meat from sticking.
Cooking process
The cooking happens very quickly once the pan has heated up.
- Sear the chicken and transfer to a plate
- Cook the aromatics
- Stir fry the bamboo shoots
- Cook the mushrooms
- Pour in the sauce and cook to thicken it
- Add back the chicken and stir everything together
It’s very important that you cook the chicken first, and take it out before adding the vegetables. This is the best way to prevent the chicken from overcooking. Plus, it helps the pan to keep a high temperature to sear the vegetables instead of steaming them.
If you’re using a cast iron or carbon steel pan, the chicken might stick to the pan. In this case, drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine and use a wooden spatula to deglaze it.
How to serve Chinese mushroom chicken stir fry
The best way to serve Chinese mushroom chicken is to top it on steamed rice. The rice soaks up the sauce and it accompanies the chicken so well. When I’m feeling under the weather, I also like to boil some noodles and throw the noodles in a bowl of hot chicken broth. Then I add the mushroom chicken along with the sauce into the hot noodle soup. The sauce will season the noodles and it makes a hearty one bowl meal for a chilly day.
If you prefer a multi-course dinner, consider adding these dishes to your menu:
- Salt and Pepper Pork Chops (椒盐猪排)
- Spicy Cucumber Salad
- Choy Sum with Garlic Sauce (白灼菜心)
- Spinach Egg Drop Soup
- Egg Rolls
- Hot and Sour Soup (酸辣汤)
More takeout style recipes
- Crispy Chinese Honey Chicken
- Mongolian Beef (Without Using a Wok)
- 15-Minute Chicken Chow Fun
- 15-Minute Pork Fried Rice
- Honey Garlic Shrimp
Chinese Mushroom Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 10 oz. (300 g) boneless skinless chicken breast (or thighs) , sliced to 1/4” (5mm) thickness (about 1 chicken breast or 2 thighs)
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Sauce
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/3 cup chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Stir fry
- 2 to 3 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1/2 lb (225 g) mushrooms (white or baby portabella)
- 1 cup (150 g) bamboo shoots , sliced, drained
- 3 cloves garlic , chopped
- 2 teaspoons ginger , minced
- 2 green onions , chopped
Instructions
- Combine chicken and all the marinade ingredients in a big bowl. Stir to mix well. Let marinate for 15 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Stir to mix well.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Spread the chicken in the skillet in a single layer. Sear until the bottom turns golden without moving it, 1 minute or so. Stir and flip to cook the other side, until it turns golden, another minute or so. Transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a big plate and set aside.
- Pour in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and add the garlic, ginger, and the white part of the green onion. Stir a few times to release fragrance.
- Add the bamboo shoots. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the mushrooms. Cook and stir until the mushrooms are cooked through and the liquid has evaporated. Drizzle with a bit more oil if the pan looks dry.
- Stir the sauce again to thoroughly dissolve the cornstarch and pour it into the pan. Stir a few times until the sauce thickens.
- Add the chicken back into the skillet. Stir to coat everything well with the sauce. Add the green part of the green onion for garnish. Transfer everything to a big plate. Serve hot over steamed rice as a main dish.
This recipe was delicious. Definitely will be using it more.
I’m based in Shanghai, and don’t eat our very often as I’m watching what I eat. It’s usually delicious at restaurants, but it’s rather uncommon to order just one dish not to mention that they are always covered in oil and sugar.
Absolutely love this recipe. It’s tasty, and healthy AND I didn’t need to go to town with the oil to make it delectable.
I did omit the sugar because I would rather get it from food, but it was still amazing nonetheless. I should, however, add more ginger to the dish next time.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Though I have no idea how it takes only 20 minutes to prepare and cook. It probably took me double. Though I’m no chef 😂
This was delicious. I used vegan ‘oyster sauce’ because I’m allergic to shellfish, but it was tasty and pretty quick to prepare. I really appreciate the technique of cooking the chicken and taking it out before cooking the mushrooms, I tend to get soggy vegetables when making stirfry and that really helped. Thanks for the recipe!
The recipe is good but the measurements to those of outside of the US are confusing. They drift from metric into cups (which in Europe we do not understand). Also, I had to look up ‘green onions’ because they are called scallions or spring onions or salad onions elsewhere.
I am glad I read your post as I also did not know what green onions were. Now I know they are called spring onions here in Australia. Thanks for that.
So simpel! So lovely! Great full umami flavours with lovely texture from the bamboo. Only change I made is that I made a bit more of the sauce and doubled the mushrooms (mix of regular and oyster) I will certainly be making this again….often 🙂
This is so delicious! I added baby bok choy to make it healthy (🤣) hunted down bamboo shoots & added a sprinkle of gochgaru on mine for a bit of heat. I marinated a bit longer than 15 mins because I forgot to make rice lol Got 5 stars from the family & no leftovers!
This was a hit with the entire family. Had to tweak slightly (no Shaoxing), but it still was way tastier than any Chinese food near my house!
I was keen to give this a try as it was 6:30pm, I had nothing organised for dinner and had all ingredients on hand aside from green onions. I substituted with wedges of red onion cooked with the mushrooms and yes I used a carbon steel wok and deglazed with shoashing as suggested. This is a really tasty quick stir fry. I couldn’t think of a better way to use these ingredients. YUM! Perhaps a handful of broccoli florets next time?
So happy to hear you like the dish! Yeah a handful a broccoli florets should work great. You can blanch them until al dente, then drain well, before adding them. I also like to cook them in the skillet by adding 1/4 cup water and cover the pan, so the broccoli get steamed this way. During the stir fry, add it to the pan with the cooked chicken.
This recipe is delicious!! I mix up the mushrooms I use based on what I have on hand…..I would LOVE to try this recipe with morels sometime
I love this recipe and it’s in our menu rotation. Living in France now, I sometimes have problems finding the right ingredients. I found beautiful mushrooms at the market, but scallions and bamboo shoots are nowhere to be found. I sliced up some fresh green beans for the flavor and crunch, and used yellow onion instead of the scallions (yes, I cooked them longer). Still a great dish!
I knew it the first time I cooked it: this was going to be a keeper! I usually prefer cooking new dishes but since I left my previous comment I have cooked this 3 more times already. What did I do before I knew your blog? 🙂
Great flavors! Made exactly as written, and too salty for my taste. I used Chinese light soy sauce, next time I’ll try Kikkoman lower sodium (I’ve never run across Chinese low sodium soy sauce, does it exist?) And, again, personal preference but I’ll use less ginger or omit entirely, and to keep the sodium lower I’ll use water instead of chicken stock (can’t get lower sodium chicken stock where I live) and I’ll use only 1 garlic clove, and mince it instead of chopped. Great recipe, I can see where I can add/swap out many different veggies and proteins. . .this will be my new “go-to” brown stir-fry sauce!
This website is easily one of my favorites on the internet. This recipe was another quick, simple, home run. Absolutely beyond delicious. I’m heartbroken that I am physically unable to eat another serving. The sole thing I had to change was that we didn’t have bamboo shoots, so I took a note from another commenter and sliced a stalk of celery into a similar size/shape as the canned shoots. Definitely not a dupe, but it gave some peppery crunch that worked in a pinch.
Never in my life did I think I could make non dry chicken breast… thank you for this recipe TT
Excellent recipe. I had to use white cooking wine as I had no rice wine. I followed the recipe exactly and then added some steamed broccoli stir fry vegees to it over jasmine rice. What an amazing meal. Thank you!
This is a great recipe. It taste almost as good as the panada express. I use fresh ingredients.
Great Recipe!
I love this site, And your recipes are so delicious.
But I love cooking in my carbon steel wok, and some of us have a good powered gas stove, in my case it’s 23,000 BTU. So please include us in your directions.
Thanks
Wow, that’s a very impressive stove! May I ask what is the brand and the model? I wish I can have one like that in the future. Now my apartment does not have outdoor vent so I cannot switch out my super weak gas stove.
I will try my best to be more inclusive in the directions. It is so different cooking with higher flame and a wok. I will probably write a blog post about it.
I have a Viking Series 7 range top, It’s wonderful!
Super easy and super delicious. I forgot to pick up the bamboo shoots so cut up some celery to the same size and shape and it seemed to work quite well. Thanks for the recipe.
I made this yesterday. I used a little less sugar, but otherwise followed the recipe. I found the conical shaped bamboo shoots at the local 99 Ranch Market and was pleasantly surprised at how much more tender they are than the typical rectangular canned bamboo shoots I’ve tried from the grocery store. It all came together nicely and tasted great. I’ll keep it in my library of go to recipes.
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the dish and thanks for leaving a positive review 🙂 Yes, the whole bamboo shoots taste better than the canned! It’s great you can find it and decided to give it a try!
Delicious and easy to swap veggies (opted for shiitakes and snow peas). Great meal for a busy weeknight.