This is what Moo Goo Gai Pan should taste and look like! With seared quartered Mushrooms, and Chicken marinated with Mushroom Soy Sauce. Moo Goo Gai Pan is a dish all about Chicken & Mushrooms. It is absolutely delicious over some Steamed Rice and a side of Miso Soup. It’s also a very Quick Meal that can be plated in about 30 minutes, making this Chicken & Mushroom Stir Fry a quick weeknight meal.

This Moo Goo Gai Pan recipe is a bit different from the classic version, with a strong focus on Chicken and Mushrooms, perfect for Mushroom Lovers. The deep Mushroom flavor is enhanced by using Mushroom Soy Sauce and a full pound of quartered Cremini Mushrooms, which are seared over high heat for added texture and taste. It’s prepared with a Classic Chop Suey Clear Sauce, thickened at the end with a potato starch slurry. The result is a rich, beautiful mushroom-colored sauce that coats everything and delivers bold Mushroom flavor in every bite. I think Moo Goo Gai Pan, or your Chicken & Mushroom Stir Fry, just got kicked up a notch.

What is Moo Goo Gai Pan

The words Moo Goo translates to Mushroom. While Gai Pan translates to Chicken, thinly sliced. So Moo Goo Gai Pan means Mushrooms with sliced Chicken. Made with a Chinese Clear Sauce or Chinese White Sauce. Typically, without soy sauce or any other dark sauces added, such as oyster or hoisin. Although these are common additions. Usually, additional vegetables are often included. It’s sort of the same dish as a Chinese Chicken Chop Suey with an emphasis on just Chicken and Mushrooms.

Moo Goo Gai Pan Ingredients

Chicken Breast, Mushrooms, Garlic, Ginger, Green Onions, Chinese Clear Sauce (Water, Bouillon Cube, Sugar, Sea Salt, MSG, Cream of Tartar & White Pepper, Slurry (Potato Starch & Water)), Chicken Marinade (Sake, Mushroom Soy Sauce, Cornstarch, Sesame Oil, White Pepper).

Chicken Breast

Slice 1 lb (ca. 454 g) of Chicken breast or about 2 Chicken Breast, across the grain and into thin slices. You want them to hold up to stir-frying, so not too thin, about 1/4 inch thick.

Chicken Marinade

Marinate the thinly sliced Chicken Breast in: Sake or Chinese Cooking Wine, Cornstarch, Mushroom Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, and White Pepper.

• 1 Tbl Cooking Wine & Cornstarch
• 1 Tbl Mushroom Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp Sesame Oil
• 1/8 tsp White Pepper

Mix well and set aside until the Vegetables & Sauce are prepared, and you’re ready to stir-fry.

Add the Mushroom Soy Sauce directly to the Chicken to give it a strong Mushroom flavor. After searing the Mushrooms, sear the Chicken in the same Wok to create a rich fond. The Chinese Clear Sauce then picks up that fond, transforming and infusing it with deep Mushroom flavors. This process also gives the sauce a beautiful color that one would expect with a Chicken and Mushroom Stir Fry. An incredible dish indeed!

Moo Goo Gai Pan Vegetables

Your main vegetables added is Mushrooms. To this, the Chinese trinity of Garlic, Ginger & Green Onions are included. It can also include a whole host of other Vegetables. Some ideas are below.

• Bok Choy
• Napa
• Carrots
• Other kinds of Mushrooms
• Bean Sprouts
• Snow Peas
• Bamboo Shoots
• Water Chestnuts

• Firm Vegetables: For firmer vegetables like Carrots, slice them thinly and stir-fry with 2 Tbl of water to help soften them and after searing the Mushrooms. Once the water evaporates, continue stir-frying or repeat the process until the vegetables are tender to your liking.
• Quick Cook Vegetables: If adding in quick cook vegetables such as Bean Sprouts and the top green parts of Green Onions, add these in very last with the Stir Fry Sauce.
• Aromatics: Garlic, Ginger & Green Onions are tossed in to stir-fry briefly towards the end, right before adding in the stir-fry sauce.

Stir-fry any additional vegetables until tender, but still crisp, after searing the Mushrooms and before searing the Chicken. Whatever Vegetables you want to include, ensure you prepare and have them readily available in a Mise en place. Use a vegetable tray to keep separate all the vegetables and to ensure you can grab what you need quickly during stir-frying.

Mushrooms

Usually Mushrooms are just tossed in to stir-fry. I take a different approach. Since this dish is all about the Chicken & Mushrooms. Quarter the Mushrooms, so they are in big chunks. Instead of just stir-frying them. Sear them over high heat to enhance the texture and flavor. Mushrooms are the first to go into the hot Wok with about 2 Tbl of fat. This gives them a meatier texture and caramelizes them. Once done searing, about 5 minutes or so, set them aside.

Moo Goo Gai Pan Sauce

This sauce follows the Classic Chinese Clear Sauce used in Chop Suey and works the same way in this recipe. Made with: Water, Bouillon Cube or Broth Powder, Sugar, Sea Salt, MSG, Optionally Cream of Tartar, and White Pepper with Potato Starch.

The Potato Starch is separated to create a slurry by mixing equal parts Potato Starch & Cold Water, and set aside. Stir the slurry into the Wok at the end to thicken the sauce just before serving.

The addition of a Mushroom Soy Sauce in the Chicken itself, in order to infuse the Mushroom flavors into the Chicken directly, elevates this dish to something else uniquely set aside from a classic Chicken Chop Suey or even the Classic Moo Goo Gai Pan. It creates a fond that is picked up by the Stir Fry Sauce. Coloring it a beautiful Mushroom color, loaded with Mushroom flavors throughout the entire dish. With plenty of sauce to mix with your rice.

Moo Goo Gai Pan Sides

White Steamed Rice packed into a small bowl and inverted on a plate makes for an excellent side and nice presentation. You can add the additional seasoning in the White Steamed Rice or just do a 1:1 ratio of Rice & Water, maybe with a splash of Sesame Oil.

Miso is another complimentary side to include, with a 1/2 C portion ladled into a small sipping bowl.