Chicken and Wood Ear Mushroom Stir-Fry
This chicken and wood ear mushroom stir-fry is one of the most appreciated and sought after dishes in Chinese restaurants and, I can assure you, rightly so. I also had it a few times in restaurants, but I didn't think that the version made at home could be a great deal better than the restaurant one.
By the way, I noticed on different occasions that the wood ear mushrooms bought from the Chinese store are much better than those from the supermarket. They rehydrate properly and a lot faster, while the others remain woody and have a strange texture. Make a small effort and order them online, along with other ingredients because they are well worth it!
Marinate the meat and rehydrate the mushrooms.
Wash the chicken and cut into medium pieces - here you can see a boned thigh cut into 5 pieces.
Place all the meat in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice wine and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
Mix well with a spoon and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, the longer the better, even overnight.
I recommend using this kind of wood ear mushrooms. They are sold dry in a bag in Chinese online stores or in Colentina.
I also bought some from the supermarket. The bags they were packed in were more beautiful, but the mushrooms were pathetic - they didn't hydrate properly and still remained woody.
Put a handful of mushrooms, about 50g, in a bowl and pour over plenty of cold water.
Don't think they are just a few, they will increase in volume a lot after hydrating.
This is what they will look like after about 30-50 minutes.
We prepare the rest of the ingredients.
While the meat is marinating and the mushrooms are soaking, we prepare all the vegetables - first, wash and peel.
In a bowl, dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 3-4 tablespoons of water.
You'll notice that the cornstarch will sink to the bottom, mix again before using it.
In a different small bowl, combine 5 tablespoons of soy sauce with 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce.
In the worst case scenario, use only soy sauce.
Rinse the soaked mushrooms under running water, then drain in a sieve.
Check and remove any hard parts, I really don't like to feel them in my food ...
Cut the onion, pepper and carrot into thin sticks.
Chop the garlic. As for the fresh ginger, I prefer to use the fine grater.
It's usually woody and fibrous, grating it seems to me the best way to use in food.
Now we actually start the cooking over heat.
Heat well a large deep frying pan, add in the oil and the marinated chicken. Cook over high heat for 10 minutes until browned and cooked through, don't forget to stir periodically.
When the meat is ready, add the ginger and garlic, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Now toss the chopped vegetables in, mix and cook for 5 minutes.
And the mushrooms, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Pour over the soy-oyster-fish sauce mixture.
And the cornstarch dissolved in water - mix everything well, leave over heat for another 1-2 minutes and then turn the heat off.
Serve sprinkled over with some finely chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
Serve it as such or, even better, with your favorite boiled rice. It's extremely good and there is no comparison between the homemade version and what you can find on the market.
Enjoy!
