Mu Shu Chicken

Name: Mu Shu Chicken
Prep time: P0Y0M0DT0H25M0.000S
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT0H12M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT0H57M0.000S
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: asian
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons groundnut oil (peanut); 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped; 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger; 9 ounces skinless chicken breasts, diced; 1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry; 2 dried Chinese, shiitake or porcini mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water for 20 minutes, drained and finely diced; 1 small carrot, diced; 2 ounces gherkins or preserved mustard greens, finely diced, or zucchinis; 2 ounces dried wood ear mushrooms, pre-soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, drained and finely chopped, or fresh shiitake or chestnut mushrooms, diced; 4 ounces canned bamboo shoots, drained and diced; Handful dry-roasted peanuts; 2 tablespoons light soy sauce; 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil; 2 to 3 pinches freshly cracked white pepper; 12 small iceberg lettuce leaves or 12 small wheat flour pancakes*, steamed in a bamboo steamer for 5 to 6 minutes, for garnish

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Level: Easy
Total: 57 min

Prep: 25 min
Inactive: 20 min
Cook: 12 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy
Total: 57 min

Prep: 25 min
Inactive: 20 min
Cook: 12 min

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 tablespoons groundnut oil (peanut)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

9 ounces skinless chicken breasts, diced

1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

2 dried Chinese, shiitake or porcini mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water for 20 minutes, drained and finely diced

1 small carrot, diced

2 ounces gherkins or preserved mustard greens, finely diced, or zucchinis

2 ounces dried wood ear mushrooms, pre-soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, drained and finely chopped, or fresh shiitake or chestnut mushrooms, diced

4 ounces canned bamboo shoots, drained and diced

Handful dry-roasted peanuts

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 to 3 pinches freshly cracked white pepper

12 small iceberg lettuce leaves or 12 small wheat flour pancakes*, steamed in a bamboo steamer for 5 to 6 minutes, for garnish

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Heat a wok over a high heat, and add 2 tablespoons groundnut oil. Add the eggs, and cook until scrambled. Remove them from the wok to put aside. Wipe the pan clean.
Reheat the wok, and add the remaining groundnut oil. Stir-fry the garlic, and ginger, for a few seconds, and then add the chicken, and cook for 1 minute, or until the pieces start to turn slightly brown. Then, add the rice wine or sherry, and stir well. Stir-fry for a few more seconds, and then add the dried mushrooms, and carrot. Stir-fry for 1 minute.
Add the gherkins, the dried wood ear mushrooms, the bamboo shoots, and the dry-roasted peanuts to the wok, and mix well. Stir in the scrambled eggs. Season with the light soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper, and transfer the chicken to a serving dish.
To serve: place the dish in the center of the table with the lettuce leaves on the side. Stuff each lettuce leaf with the filling, and enjoy.

Cook’s Note

*Can be purchased at your local Chinese restaurant. Mu shu stir-fried pork originates from the north of China, and was originally a stir-fried dish of finely chopped pork and Chinese cabbage that was served stuffed in wheat flour pancakes or soft steamed wheat flour buns. I have decided to vary the dish and instead use tinned bamboo shoots, diced chicken, crunchy wood ear mushrooms and dry-roasted peanuts. Serve with ready bought wheat flour pancakes or buy an iceberg lettuce and use the leaves as 'wraps' for the chicken. Instead of the mustard greens or gherkins, you could use courgettes they won't have the same intense flavour, but will give texture.