Comments on: Chinese Braised Chicken with Mushroom (小鸡炖蘑菇)

By: Lydia

Lydia — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 19:28:34 +0000

In reply to Maggie. OH that is such good advice. I didn't know but reading that, it makes perfect sense from my experience.

By: Lauren H

Lauren H — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 01:27:25 +0000

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!!

By: Steve Synhorst, home cook

Steve Synhorst, home cook — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 03:25:31 +0000

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.

By: Maggie Zhu

Maggie Zhu — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 16:48:08 +0000

In reply to Lu. 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.

By: Lu

Lu — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 00:38:35 +0000

Are tea flower mushrooms the same as tea tree mushrooms?

By: Aryianna

Aryianna — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 00:30:01 +0000

Great recipe — must the right amount of ginger and anise.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 17:21:23 +0000

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.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 17:56:24 +0000

In reply to Brando.

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.

By: Brando

Brando — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 08:40:46 +0000

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.

By: Susi V

Susi V — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 11:46:58 +0000

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!