We’ve posted many childhood dishes here on The Woks of Life, but this Chinese Steamed Chicken with Mushroom and Dried Lily Flower recipe is one of the most memorable dishes my mother made for my sisters and me when we were growing up.
While I was writing this post, I was thinking about why I don’t make this steamed chicken dish more often. Then I realized… as a food blogger, there are simply not enough meals in the day!
Note:
This recipe was originally published on April 21, 2016. We have since updated it with higher resolution photos, metric measurements, and nutritional information. The recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
Childhood memories
My mother called this dish “jing waat gai” or “steamed slippery chicken,” which is a word-for-word translation from Cantonese.
The word “waat” basically means “slippery” or “silky”. And it’s true: the chicken is marinated in cornstarch to give it a silky, luxurious texture after steaming.
My two older sisters and I always had a smile on our faces when we saw her at the kitchen counter, preparing dinner. It was one of those meals you looked forward to: not just the chicken itself, but the flavorful juices you could pour over the rice.
Marinating chicken with cornstarch before steaming basically means basting the chicken, which is a method we use to prepare proteins for browning, frying, blanching, or steaming. Steaming, however, provides a silkier texture.
We also use this technique in our Clay Pot Rice with Chicken and Mushroom recipeand Sarah’s Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage (which she based on this recipe), as well as Judy’s Steamed Chicken with Black Beans.
Steaming is actually one of our favorite ways to cook chicken. Try this recipe, or any of the recipes I mentioned above, and you’ll see why!
Dried shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and dried lily flowers produce an earthy flavor to complement the chicken. Aand that sauce I was talking about? It’s a broth-like mixture of juices that are released from the chicken, mushrooms and marinade It’s heavenly on rice.
Judy reminded me that I should post this recipe for everyone to enjoy, so here it is finally!
Which cut of chicken to use
One small adjustment I made was to use boneless chicken thighs instead of bone-in chicken like my mom made. The Chinese love using bone-in chicken because it gives tastier results.
However, cutting chicken into small pieces can create small bone fragments which, admittedly, can cause a slightly unpleasant eating experience.
I ended up buying the chicken thighs and deboning them myself so I could leave the skin on. That said, you can buy boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you don’t want to do all that work! Just cut them small piecesand you’re good to go.
Chinese people generally prefer chicken on the bone with the skin. In some cases, like in our Cantonese Poached Chicken – Bai Qie Ji, the chicken skin is an additional feature of the dish!
To maximize flavor, I left the skin on for this steamed chicken recipe, but again, feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken if you want a simpler, lower-fat dish.
Ultimately, this dish is quite simple to prepare, but there are some tricks to make it exceptional. So read on and start cooking!
Steamed Chicken Recipe Instructions
Prepare the dish
Take the dried wood ear mushrooms, dried lily flowers, and dried shiitake mushrooms and rinse them all separately under running water to ensure that any dirt or dust particles are rinsed out.
Also cut the stems of the mushrooms, which can be tough. This will also speed up the soaking process. (Note: Depending on the type and brand of dried mushrooms you have on hand, soaking times may vary. We have more suggestions in the mushroom section of our Chinese dried and preserved ingredients page.)
Transfer the wood ears, lily flowers, and mushrooms to three separate bowlsS. Fill with hot water and immerse it 2 hours. Use a plate to cover and press each of the dry ingredients to ensure they are fully rehydrated.
Once reconstituted, coarsely chop the wood ears. Squeeze some of the excess water from the mushrooms and cut each into quarter-inch-thick slices. Squeeze the lily flowers and cut off the tough bottom.
Marinade:
Add chicken, wood ears, mushrooms, lily flowers, water or chicken broth, vegetable oil, sesame oil, rice wine (if using), oyster sauce , sugar, salt, freshly ground white pepper, grated ginger and the white portions of shallots in a bowl. (Set the green parts of the shallots aside.)
Stir until the chicken has absorbed most of the liquid. You’ll be surprised at how much liquid it absorbs and how juicy the chicken will be!
Cover the chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours on the counter or in the refrigerator overnight.
Cooked:
When you are ready to cook the dish, let the chicken mixture come to room temperature (about 1-2 hours). Mix in the cornstarch until evenly incorporated.
At this point, all the liquid should have been absorbed by the chicken and there should be little to no liquid left.
Transfer the mixture to a heatproof shallow plate (a pie plate works well), making sure the chicken is in a single layer (if it’s thicker, it will affect the steaming time). Sprinkle half of the green part of the shallots over the top.
Place in a preheated steamer covered with boiling water and steam over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and leave the chicken in the steamer for another 2 minutes.
Don’t know how to steam food or set up a steamer?
Check out our post on how to set up a steamer if you’re not familiar with steaming food in Chinese cooking! You may already have everything you need in the kitchen (basically a wok or covered pot that can hold the steamer dish and a grill or an empty tuna can!)
Carefully remove the lid from the steamer, being careful not to drip water from the lid onto the plate of steamed chicken. Sprinkle the rest of the shallots on top.
Serve this steamed chicken with mushrooms and lily flowers accompanied by plenty of steamed rice!
(If you’re trying to eat less white rice for health reasons, this is one of those times where eating it would be considered “worth it,” folks. Alternatively, you can also try Kaitlin’s Quinoa Rice as a healthier option !)
Steamed chicken with mushrooms and dried lily flowers
Steamed chicken with mushrooms and dried lily flowers is one of the most memorable dishes my mother made for us when I was little. This Steamed Cantonese Chicken and Mushroom is the ultimate home-cooked comfort food featuring silky, luxurious chicken, mushrooms and lily flowers.
serves: 4 portions
Preparation: 4 hours
Cooked: 15 minutes
Total: 4 hours 15 minutes
Prevents the screen from going dark
Instructions
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Take the wood ear mushrooms, dried lily flowers and shiitake mushrooms and rinse them all separately under running water to remove any dirt. Also cut the mushroom stems, which can be tough.
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Transfer the wood ears, lily flowers, and mushrooms to three separate bowls. Cover with hot water and leave to soak for 2 hours. Use a plate to cover and press each of the dry ingredients to ensure they are fully rehydrated.
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Coarsely chop the wood ears. Squeeze some of the excess water from the mushrooms and cut them into quarter-inch thick slices. Squeeze the lily flowers and cut them off with the hard bottoms.
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Place the chicken, wood ears, mushrooms, lily flowers, water, vegetable oil, sesame oil, rice wine (if using), oyster sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper, grated ginger and the white portions of the shallots. . Stir until the chicken has absorbed most of the liquid. Set the green parts of the shallots aside. Cover the chicken and let it marinate on the counter for at least 2 hours or in the refrigerator overnight.
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When you are ready to cook the dish, let the chicken mixture come to room temperature (1-2 hours) and stir in the cornstarch until evenly incorporated. All the liquid should be absorbed by the chicken. There should be little to no standing liquid.
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Transfer the mixture to a shallow plate or cake pan so that it is in 1 layer and sprinkle half of the green part of the shallots on top. Place in a preheated steamer covered with boiling water and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the chicken in the steamer (covered) for another 2 minutes.
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Carefully uncover the chicken, taking care not to drip condensation onto the plate. Sprinkle the rest of the shallots on top and serve with rice!
nutritional data
Calories: 307kcal (15%) Carbohydrates: 6G (2%) Protein: 19G (38%) Fat: 23G (35%) Saturated fat: 8G (40%) Cholesterol: 111mg (37%) Sodium: 648mg (27%) Potassium: 298mg (9%) Fiber: 1G (4%) Sugar: 1G (1%) Vitamin A: 120UI (2%) Vitamin C: 0.6mg (1%) Soccer: 9mg (1%) Iron: 0.8mg (4%)
