Chinese braised chicken with mushrooms is a classic Northern Chinese dish that is comforting and satisfying. Bone-in chicken pieces are braised in a savory broth with mushrooms to create a potent sauce that enhances them both. The mushrooms are the highlight of the dish, meaty and juicy, and add an earthy umami to the tender chicken.
Chinese braised chicken with mushrooms (小鸡炖蘑菇) is a classic northern Chinese homestyle dish. When my mom makes it, she uses a cut-up whole free range chicken along with dried shiitake mushrooms and a soy sauce based sauce. The chicken is browned, then braised until tender. The sauce is reduced until it becomes a glossy sticky sauce that is full of umami from the mushrooms. The mushrooms are so meaty in texture and absorb tons of flavor from the chicken. It is a winter dish but my family enjoys it year round.
Growing up in Beijing, this type of “red braised stew” has always been a staple. I’ve posted a few recipes for red braised dishes, including braised pork ribs, braised lamb, and braised pork trotters. The braising sauces might look very similar to each other – a strong, savory brown sauce with soy sauce as its base. But the key is the ratio and combination of other spices.
By adjusting the spices according to the type of protein, the sauce will create a customized umami that brings out the deliciousness of the ingredients. Plus, you won’t taste the flavor of any single spice in the finished dish, because everything works together as parts of a whole.
Chinese braised chicken ingredients
Which cut of chicken to use
In traditional Chinese recipes, a cut-up whole chicken is always the preferred option. You should try to pick a chicken on the smaller side, about 3 lb (1.4 kg). The back and neck don’t have much meat, but the bones in them will make the sauce extra tasty. You can also save the back and neck for making chicken stock, and only use the meaty pieces in this dish.
If you’re close to a market that has a butcher station, you can ask them to cut up the chicken when you purchase it. Tell the butcher that you will use the chicken for braising, and ask them to chop the chicken into bite-size pieces using their cleaver.
For a much easier approach, consider using:
Chicken wings – drumettes and flats separated
Bone-in leg – thigh and drumstick separated; if possible (only when you have a cleaver that is suitable for cutting bones), cut them into two pieces across the bone.
Boneless legs – cut into large bite-size pieces. You will need to use much less liquid, as you only need to cover the chicken pieces. And reduce the cooking time to 20 to 25 minutes.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, you will have:
- Cut up chicken pieces
- Green onion white part
- Soy sauce (light and dark soy)
- Shaoxing wine
- Rock sugar (or regular sugar)
- Salt
- Star anise
- Sliced ginger
- Soaked shiitake mushrooms
How to make Chinese braised chicken with mushrooms
To make Chinese braised chicken with mushrooms, start by browning the chicken to develop flavor. You probably need to do this in batches, so the chicken will not overcrowd the pan and will brown properly.
Saute the aromatics. Add back the chicken and all the seasonings. Bring to a boil and skim the brown foam from the top.
Braise the chicken with the pan covered, until the chicken turns tender.
Lastly, turn to high heat, uncover the pan, and cook to reduce the sauce. Scoop the chicken from the bottom frequently to prevent it from burning. It’s easy to reduce the sauce with the chicken in the pan while using a wok. But if you’re using a dutch oven, it’s much easier if you transfer the chicken to a serving bowl first. Then reduce the sauce until slightly thickened.
A Few Things To Note
- Adjust the braising time according to the type of chicken. A free range chicken might take more than 1 hour to braise, while a typical young chicken will start to fall apart and dry out after 50 minutes. Check the doneness of the chicken closely after 30 minutes to avoid overcooking.
- Make the braising sauce a bit salty, because the braising time is relatively short and the chicken won’t have enough time to absorb all the flavor.
- Reduce the sauce until it can coat the chicken, so the taste of the chicken will be just right.
How to serve Chinese braised chicken with mushrooms
The seasoning in this dish is quite balanced and the chicken will taste quite savory and comforting. You can serve the braised chicken as a main dish, along with veggies such as potato and green beans. The sauce from the chicken works beautifully with them.
And you can also serve this dish over steamed rice, just like a Chinese family would. Consider serving other sides, soup or appetizers for a full Chinese meal.
Dishes that go well with braised chicken with mushrooms include:
- Easy Chinese Cucumber Salad (拍黄瓜)
- Tomato Egg Drop Soup
- Easy Egg Fried Rice (蛋炒饭)
- Chinese 4-Ingredient Fried Cabbage
- Bok Choy and Mushroom Stir Fry
Chinese braised chicken and mushrooms freeze very well and can be prepared ahead of time. It’s perfect for cooking on the weekend and enjoying during the next week. It’s also a common festival dish in northern China, and is often served during Chinese New Year.
Chinese Braised Chicken with Mushroom (小鸡炖蘑菇)
Ingredients
- 10 medium (total 35 g) dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 to 3 lbs (1 to 1.4 kg) bone-in chicken , chopped to large bite size pieces (*Footnote 1)
- 4 green onions , white part uncut, green part thinly sliced for garnish
- 1 thumb ginger , sliced
- 1 whole star anise
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rock sugar (or regular sugar)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place dried shiitake mushrooms in a medium-sized bowl and add warm water to cover. Rehydrate mushrooms until soft, 20 minutes or so. Set aside. Reserve the soaking water once done.
- Heat the oil in a large wok or dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Add the chicken pieces without overlapping. Cook until both sides are browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. You might need to cook in batches. Transfer the chicken to a large plate once browned.
- Your pan should still have some oil left. If not, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the star anise green onion (white part) and ginger. Stir and cook over medium heat until the edges of the aromatics are lightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add back the browned chicken. Add 1 cup of the mushroom soaking water. Then add cold water until it can mostly cover the chicken, 5 cups or so. Add the Shaoxing wine, light and dark soy sauce, rock sugar, and salt. Cook over medium-high heat until brought to a boil. Skim and discard any brown foam from the top.
- Add the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms. Then cover the pan and turn to medium heat. Keep the liquid at a low boil until the chicken turns tender, 30 minutes or so. Check the chicken after 15 minutes, scooping the chicken from the bottom to prevent it from sticking.
- Taste a small piece of chicken and some sauce, adding salt if necessary. If you want to serve the chicken by itself, the chicken should taste slightly under seasoned now, because the saltiness will increase once the sauce is reduced. If you want to serve the chicken over steamed rice, add a bit of salt until it tastes just right. In this case, I added 1/4 teaspoon of salt to get a slightly salty dish in the end.
- Once the chicken turns tender, turn to high heat and boil uncovered. (*Footnote 2) Use a spatula to scoop the chicken from the bottom constantly, until the sauce is thick enough to thinly coat the chicken, 5 to 10 minutes. Pay a lot of attention during this step, since the sauce reduces very fast towards the end and might burn the bottom. The sauce will thicken up a bit more once cooled.
- Once done, sprinkle with the reserved green onion to garnish. Transfer chicken to a large bowl. Serve hot as a main dish or over rice.
- Store the leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
- The traditional recipe uses a bone-in cut up whole chicken. The easiest cut for this recipe is chicken wings (drums and flats separated). Another great option is bone-in drumsticks and / or thighs. If you have a cleaver, I highly recommend chopping the drumsticks and thighs into two pieces across the bones. So you get large-bite size pieces that will be more flavorful once braised. But you can leave them uncut as well. Another option is to use boneless cuts, preferably thighs. In this case, you will need less liquid (just enough to mostly cover the chicken) and less braising time, 20 to 25 minutes.
- It’s much easier to reduce the sauce in a wok, because you have a very large surface and the sauce thickens quickly. Plus, you can easily scoop the chicken due to the shape of the wok, without burning the bottom. If using a dutch oven to cook this dish, consider transferring all the chicken pieces to a big bowl, then reducing the sauce by itself.
Yum, this looks delicious! Chicken and mushrooms are always so good together. I’ve never thought to mix dark and light soy sauce before. Thanks for the tip!
Hi Tina, thanks for stopping by! Yes, the chicken and mushrooms never go wrong! It’s common in Chinese cooking to blend some dark soy sauce into the light one to add color. You can use light soy sauce alone, but color of the dish won’t be so great but it won’t affect the taste so much.
This dish is so yummy! There is a Chinese cafe by my parents’ house, and we always order this dish when we are eating at that cafe. Thanks for sharing this classic, glad to know how to make it now! 🙂
The title alone makes this a “MUST TRY” for me! I’m pinning this right now to my “ABSOLUTELY MUST TRY” board so I don’t lose this!! I really love the flavours you use Maggie 🙂 Can I ask what the texture of the chicken is supposed to be like? Fall apart tender?
Hi Nagi, I do consider this one a must-try 🙂
For the texture, I like to cook it until the meat just start to fall apart. I found it’s the time that the chicken is both tender and moist. The fall apart chicken is tender and flavorful too, but it will lost some moist. After that, it will get chewy again!
OH that is such good advice. I didn’t know but reading that, it makes perfect sense from my experience.
Oh wow! I wish my family had a best collection of recipes to hand down through the generations. This looks amazing. I know I say this all the time, but I so love the way you write your posts and detail out things to note and tips. It makes me happy every time!
Each time I come to your blog, I feel like I’m taking a cooking class, Maggie. I love that I learn something new each time. I love the chemistry aspect of cooking and your combinations and measurement lessons are so important to the finished dish and distinguished flavours. Thanks for another great recipe!
Great recipe, thank you. 2 questions. 1 – sometimes I have kosher chicken on hand and it comes pre-brined. Would that texture and taste be unpleasant for that dish? 2 – About how many medium sized dried shiitake mushrooms are 1.2 oz?
Hi Kimi, I think you can cook with kosher chicken without any problem. Just make sure to add salt after tasting the broth, so you won’t over season it. As for the mushrooms, you could add a handful (maybe 10 to 15 for medium sized shiitake mushrooms). Happy cooking and hope the dish turns out great!
Is the chicken broth the stock in which you boiled the chicken? I have eaten one with lotus seeds and pork sausage so nice. I will try it soon
Back in China we usually braise the chicken in water (since chicken stock is precious ingredient). We always use bone-in cuts so the broth will end up very flavorful, just like you make a quick broth from scratch. However you can replace the water by using chicken stock to make the finished broth even tastier.
I believe the stew will turn out very good if you add lotus seeds and pork sausage in it 🙂
Happy cooking and hope your dish turns out great!
Thank you, Maggie. This is by far the best recipe. My girls loved it!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the dish! It is one of our family recipes and I’m so happy that you love it as well 🙂
Very nice!
I added Cloud ear fungus and dried lily flower because i only had shiitake mushrooms. My boys suggested i should add Tofu skin next time .
Hi!
This recipe looks great but I have a question because I may be missing something; why move from one pot to another in step 3?
Thanks,
John
I omitted the star anise and this dish tastes so good. thankyou
Very delicious and easy to make. I have made this dish twice in two weeks for a wintry midweek dinner with rice and some stir fried greens. I used chicken wings the last time and find they work really well – lots of flavour, great texture and easy to turn into bite sized pieces without splintery bones being involved. My only “tweak” was adding some fried cubes of tofu at the same time as the mushrooms. Yum!!
Mmmmm-mmm-mm!! I just had a bowl of last night’s leftovers for lunch and it is so yummy. I have made this a few times since discovering it, as an easy and satisfying weeknight meal with rice and some simple green veg. It is homey and simple yet complex in flavors, and satisfying without being overly rich. I like to add some chunks of fried beancurd to this dish to absorb more of this marvelous sauce. I tend to skip the first step of cooking then transferring the chicken and the result is still great. Your mom’s recipes rock, and so does your blog. See you again soon!
You mention that you prefer the chicken to be in boned-in during braising. Is it possible to break down a whole chicken and separate the meat and the bones. Then, put everything into the braising liquid and then remove the bones at the very end? I know texture is a very key element to this dish but I was wondering if there was a way to adapt this recipe to a Western palate.
Also, how salty should the braising sauce be. You note that the braising sauce should be on the saltier side, but I’m assuming when I reduce this sauce down, it’s going to be even saltier when it coats the chicken. This leads me to believe there is a tendency to have it overly salty.
Can’t wait to try this! My mom is from Harbin.
I wouldn’t break down a chicken then debone it. The chicken will be cooked faster if it’s not attached to the bones, so it will overcook.
For an easier approach, I would use bone-in thigh and/or drumsticks for the braising. If you prefer boneless meat, I would use dark meat and keep the pieces rather large (such as boneless thigh without cutting, or cut to very large pieces), and you will need to slightly reduce the cooking time so the chicken doesn’t dry out.
For the sauce, the best way is to adjust it at the end of the cooking. You can simply taste a small piece of chicken coated with the sauce, and add more salt if needed.
This is a good recipe. One that I will go to again. I used a big package of fresh shiitake cut up into slices. Since I have electric stove I couldn’t use my wok. So I used my cast iron pot with salted water to cover my boneless chicken that I boiled everything together. Was heavy on the wine and liked the bitter sour kick. Added chile powder to taste, some Chinese five spice since I found the dish to be missing something but was already good as is, about two tablespoons of ginger people’s minced ginger since I really like ginger, some sesame seed oil for extra fat, and splash of zhenjiang vinegar to help use it up. Boiled chicken and spices for 45 minutes then added mushrooms. It was a family pleaser. Leftovers tasted even better. I know I altered it a bit but the dish was good as is I just like a little more kick.
Great recipe — must the right amount of ginger and anise.
Are tea flower mushrooms the same as tea tree mushrooms?
I think tea flower mushrooms are entirely different. That being said, you can totally use them in this recipe.
I developed this recipe long time ago while in China and it’s hard to find tea tree mushrooms in the US. So I usually use shiitake mushrooms and / or oyster mushrooms as a replacement. Other types of mushrooms work well too.
I enjoy and admire your description of the dishes and the methods before that recipe. The more we understand the dish the less we need the recipe and the more we learn.
Finished with a little black truffle oil and sprinkled some truffle salt; exquisite! Also subbed the sugar with some of my parents honey ; we will be making this for years to come thank you for this recipe!!