Name: Chinese chicken with shiitake and wood ear mushrooms
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 4 dried shiitake mushrooms; 10g dried wood ear mushrooms (also known as cloud ear mushrooms or black fungus – see Know-how); 500g skinless free-range chicken thigh fillets, chopped into bite-size pieces; 3 slices peeled ginger, cut into matchsticks; 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; ½ tsp dark soy sauce; ½ tsp sesame oil; 1 tbsp shaoxing wine; 1 tbsp oyster sauce; ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp ground white pepper; Pinch sugar; 1 tsp cornflour; 2 spring onions, finely sliced; Cooked long-grain rice to serve

Chinese chicken with shiitake and wood ear mushrooms

Steaming is a seriously underrated cooking technique in the UK – but in the majority of homes across huge swathes of China it’s the go-to method. This recipe from Yvonne Poon proves why it’s so good: chicken that’s beautifully plump and flavourful with mushrooms to soak up all the wonderful marinade.

Dairy-free

Serves4

Hands-on10 min

Oven40 min

DifficultyEasy

Method

Put the dried shiitake and wood ear mushrooms in a large heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water, then cover and set aside to rehydrate for 20 minutes.

Put the chicken in a large bowl and add the rest of the ingredients (apart from the spring onions and cooked rice). Mix well and leave to marinate while the mushrooms finish rehydrating.

Squeeze the mushrooms to remove excess water, then pour 4 tbsp of the soaking liquid over the chicken mixture. Slice the mushrooms into bite-size pieces and mix into the chicken.

Set a large steamer over a pan of simmering water. Transfer the chicken mixture to a wide shallow bowl that fits inside the steamer, then steam for 35 minutes. Sprinkle over the chopped spring onions, then steam for a further 5 minutes. Serve with rice.

Per serving (Serves 4)

Calories

289kcals

Fat

12g (3.7g saturated)

Protein

34g

Carbohydrates

8.8g (5.9g sugars)

Fibre

1.6g

If you happen to have a steam oven, this dish is perfect for it.