Chicken with Button Mushrooms – Sybaritica

Chicken with Button Mushrooms was once common in westernized Chinese Restaurants as Moo-Goo-Gai-Pan. It is easy to make and really tasty.

• 1 lb. Boneless skinless Chicken Breast cut into slices 1/3 inches thick;
• 1 can Button Mushrooms whole, not pieces;
• 1 ½ cups Broccoli florets;
• Vegetable Oil;
• 2 tbsp. Cornstarch;
• ½ cup Chicken Stock;
• 1 ½ tbsp. Oyster Sauce.

• Mix the chicken slices in a bowl with the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Set aside for at least 20 minutes.
• Mix the remaining cornstarch into a slurry with a little water and then add this to the chicken stock along with the Oyster sauce. Set this aside to use as the sauce mixture later.
• Blanch the Broccoli florets in salted boiling water and plunge them into cold water to arrest. When the florets are cool, drain and trim them so that they are roughly the same size as the chicken slices.
• Heat 1 or 2 cups of oil in a wok over moderate heat and then deep-fry the chicken slices until they are just cooked and no pink remains. Remove them to a bowl for the moment and then drain the wok of all but a tablespoon or two of oil.
• Turn up the heat under the wok and, when the oil is shimmering hot, sauté the mushrooms until the surfaces visibly darken in places.
• Return the chicken to the wok and add the broccoli. Sauté quickly until the broccoli is heated through and then stir in the sauce mix. Allow the sauce to thicken and clear and then serve immediately.