Dinner: Moo Goo Gai Pan With Bok Choy

Moo Goo Gai Pan With Bok Choy

Arriving in America in the 1970’s I was introduced to a few American Chinese restaurants that still served chop suey and chow mein.

The name “Moo Goo Gai Pan” is a Cantonese phonetic translation for Stir-fried Chicken with Mushrooms. Moo Goo (蘑菇), or Mo Gu in Mandarin, refers to mushrooms, and Gai Pan (雞片), or Ji Pian in Mandarin, means sliced chicken. Combined the characters refer to any stir-fry dish that contains mushrooms and sliced chicken. There seems to be no definitive record of when the name was first used. It’s most likely the dish was popularized from being listed in the menus of American Chinese restaurants.

For me I interpret the dish literally as simply a stir-fry with chicken and mushrooms.

Moo Goo Gai Pan is a dish that uses the moist stir-fry technique, which results in a slightly thickened sauce. To complement this sauce the chicken is coated with an egg white and starch mixture then shallow fried in a pool of oil before being drained thoroughly and used for stir-frying. This process, known as “velveting” results in tender chicken covered with a silky smooth coating.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Rapid cooking time: 10 minutes

Velveting Mixture (Marinating)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (Or Black)

1 egg white

Mix together and put into a boll, add the chicken next

8 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts

Slice The Chicken Up Into 1/8 Inch Slices, And Place The Chicken In The Velveting Mixture (Marinating) And Put The Chicken In The Refrigerator For 15 Mins Or So.

Wash The Chopping Board!

Slice Up 8 to 12 oz. mushrooms

Chop up four or so cloves of garlic.

garlic, chopped

one small carrot sliced

four or so slices fresh ginger root.

1\2 of a head of Bok Choy

Bok Choy Chopped.

2 sliced scallions\Spring onion

Finishing Sauce

1/4 cup rice cooking wine

1/2 cup chicken stock or water

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 Tablespoons of sesame oil

Mix together in a measuring cup and add right before it is finished cooking

sesame oil

oyster sauce

Soy Sauce

Lets Cook

Cook The Chicken Making Sure The Chicken Don't Stick.

Brown Ginger And Garlic

Add Bok Choy

Add Carrots

Add Spring Onions

Add Mushrooms Cook For 60 Seconds

Then Add Finishing Sauce And Let Thicken

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