Moo Goo Gai Pan is a super healthy Chinese dish, low in fat and calories, a good choice for weight loss. It contains 5 vegetables and low-calories chicken breast. Covered with sauce and eaten with rice, it’s very tasty and delicious. Even my kids love it.
What Is Moo Goo Gai Pan
- It is a simple Cantonese cuisine stir fry made with chicken, mushrooms, and vegetables.
- The literal meaning of moo goo gai pan chicken is “mushroom chicken slices” and comes from the Cantonese names of the primary ingredients in this dish.
- The ingredients are tossed in a classic Chinese sauce and served with rice on the side.
Moo Goo Gai Pan Recipe
My Moo Goo Gai Pan recipe is an authentic Chinese restaurant recipe. It’s simple and easy and can be prepared in less than 20 minutes. You can make this sauce ahead of time, put it in a glass jar, and store it in the refrigerator for 3 weeks. When you want to cook the dish, you can add the white sauce anytime and it’ll be ready soon. It’s gluten-free because it doesn’t contain soy sauce.
Ingredients
- Mushrooms –I recommend shiitake, cremini/baby Bella mushrooms because they have more flavor.
- Carrots -thinly sliced.
- Snow Peas -you need to trim the very ends of your snow peas to eliminate the woody texture.
- Water Chestnuts -if you can’t buy fresh chestnuts, you can use canned chestnuts.
- Canned Bamboo Shoots
Chicken Marinade
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – if you use chicken breasts, the flavor of the sauce will be absorbed better than with chicken thighs.
- Beaten egg – so chicken juice isn’t lost.
- Sesame oil – so that the chicken won’t stick to the pan so easily when frying.
- Cornstarch – especially to tenderize the chicken.
- Shaoxing wine or rice wine (sherry wine) – especially to remove the smell of meat.
- Salt
- White pepper
PRO TIP: The method of adding beaten egg and cornstarch is usually a Chinese restaurant secret called “velvet chicken”, which is the Chinese way to make the chicken breast tender and juicy.
How To Make
- Cut the chicken breast into 2 slices.PRO TIP: so each piece of chicken has the same thickness and is easy to cook.
- Tap the chicken lightly against the grain direction with the back of the knife.PRO TIP: This mainly destroys the fibers and makes the meat more tender.
- Cut the chicken breast into 3cm*3cm slices against the grain direction. PRO TIP: This way to make the chicken breast more tender and juicy.
- Marinade chicken with all ingredients. Mix them well and let them sit for at least 10 minutes.
- While you marinate the chicken breast, you can prepare the sauce. Whisk all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- Wash and prepare the vegetables you'll need.
- In a large wok or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil over medium heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and fry, don't flip, but wait 3~4 minutes before flipping the other side. Fry it until it's golden brown and cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Take the chicken out of the pan and place it on a plate.PRO TIP: The chicken only needs to be turned once and doesn't need to stir-fry chicken. In this way, the chicken becomes golden brown. If it's stirred occasionally, it gives off moisture easily and doesn't turn golden brown.
- Fry the aromatics – Put the remaining tablespoon of oil, the ginger, and the garlic slices in the same pan.Let them sit in the oil for about 1 minute until golden color.PRO TIP: Fry them until golden brown, allowing the aroma of garlic and ginger to develop.
- Add mushrooms and carrots – stirring for 2 minutes.PRO TIP: The mushroom is fried first because the moisture in the mushroom is allowed to evaporate and dry a little so that the smell of the mushroom comes out and becomes very fragrant. The carrots are soft because it takes a long time to cook them, so they need to be fried first.
- Add remaining vegetables and white sauce – stir for 2 minutes until sauce bubbles.
- Add chicken back in – bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes.
Calories
- This recipe is keto-friendly with low carb and low calories (278 calories) per serving.
- It’s one of the healthiest dishes you’ll find on a Chinese restaurant menu.
- It is packed with lean protein and veggies and uses a relatively small amount of oil because it’s stir-fried and not deep-fried.
Recipe Substitution and Variations:
- Vegetables: you can also add any other veggies you love, such as zucchini, red bell peppers, broccoli, onion, etc.
- Vegetarian: fried tofu, tofu puffs, baked cauliflowers.
- Make it spicy: feel free to mix in some homemade chili oil.
More Chicken Recipes:
Keto Chicken Breast Fitness Meal With Korean Garlic Sauce
Chicken With Broccoli
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Mongolian Chicken
Moo Shu Chicken With Wrap
Chicken Shawarma (Middle Eastern)
It's healthy, delicious and on your table in less than 30 minutes! It is a quick and easy chicken stir fry boasting tender, juicy chicken and mushrooms smothered in a Chinese white sauce.
Ingredients
MARINADE CHICKEN:
- 1 lb /430g skinless chicken breasts, 3cm*3cm slices
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon rice wine, (Shaoxing wine or dry sherry)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon beaten egg
WHITE SAUCE:
- 1/2 cup water or chicken bone broth, (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
STIR FRY:
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 2 cloves garlic, (thinly sliced)
- 6 thin slices fresh ginger
- 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup snow peas
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots, (about 1/8-inch)
- 1 can 8-ounce of sliced water chestnuts, (drained and rinsed)
- 1 can 8-ounce of sliced bamboo shoots, (drained and rinsed)
Instructions
PREPARE AND MARINADE CHICKEN:
- Cut the chicken breast into 2 slices. (Noted 1)
- Tap the chicken lightly against the grain direction with the back of the knife. (Noted 2)
- Cut the chicken breast into 3cm*3cm slices against the grain direction. (Noted 3)
- Marinade chicken with all ingredients. Mix them well and let them sit for at least 10 minutes. (Noted 4)
PREPARE WHITE SAUCE AND VEGETABLES:
- While you marinate the chicken breast, you can prepare the sauce. Whisk all sauce ingredients in a medium bowl until fully combined and cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside.
- Wash and prepare the vegetables you'll need.
COOK CHICKEN BREAST:
- In a large wok or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil over medium heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and fry, don't flip, but wait 3~4 minutes before flipping the other side. Fry it until it's golden brown and cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Take the chicken out of the pan and place it on a plate. (Noted 5)
STIR FRY:
- Fry the aromatics – Put the remaining tablespoon of oil, the ginger, and the garlic slices in the same pan.Let them sit in the oil for about 1 minute until golden color. (Noted 6)
- Add mushrooms and carrots – stirring for 2 minutes. (Noted 7)
- Add remaining vegetables and sauce – stir 2 minutes until sauce bubbles. Stir the sauce before pouring to make sure the cornstarch has melted.
- Add chicken back in – bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve- immediately with a side of rice.
Video
Tips & Notes:
- You can use chicken bone broth or water. Chicken bone broth gives this dish more flavor and umami. Here you’ll learn how to prepare chicken bone broth.
- So each piece of chicken has the same thickness and is easy to cook.
- This mainly destroys the fibers and makes the meat more tender.
- This way makes the chicken breast more tender and juicy.
- The method of adding beaten egg and cornstarch is usually a Chinese restaurant secret called “velvet chicken”, which is the Chinese way to make the chicken breast tender and juicy.
- The chicken only needs to be turned once and doesn’t need to stir-fry the chicken. In this way, the chicken becomes golden brown. If it’s stirred occasionally, it gives off moisture easily and doesn’t turn golden brown.
- Fry them until golden brown, allowing the aroma of garlic and ginger to develop.
- The mushroom is fried first because the moisture in the mushroom is allowed to evaporate and dry a little so that the smell of the mushroom comes out and becomes very fragrant. The carrots are soft because it takes a long time to cook them, so they need to be fried first.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 430g Calories: 278kcal (14%) Carbohydrates: 20g (7%) Protein: 28g (56%) Fat: 9g (14%) Saturated Fat: 2g (13%) Cholesterol: 71mg (24%) Sodium: 1069mg (46%) Potassium: 708mg (20%) Fiber: 4g (17%) Sugar: 4g (4%) Vitamin A: 2980IU (60%) Vitamin C: 19mg (23%) Calcium: 38mg (4%) Iron: 2mg (11%)
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I love hearing how it turned out! Leave me a comment and make sure to leave a rating below.
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