Moo Goo Gai Pan

From: A Chinese e-cookbook

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves, skinned, boned and sliced

salt and pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water

1 Tbsp cornstarch

5 Tbsp corn oil

8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 lb bok choy or chinese white cabbage, chopped

2 Tbsp sugar

4 Tbsp soy sauce

6 scallions, chopped

In a bowl, toss chicken with the salt and pepper, garlic and cornstarch mixture. Set aside. (Please note: This is the exact original recipe. I assume the "cornstarch mixture" would mean mixing together the 2 cups water and 1 Tbsp cornstarch to make a thickening agent. That's what I did anyway.) Heat 3 Tbsp of corn oil in a wok and stir in mushrooms, bok choy or cabbage, and sugar for 2 minutes. Cover and cook 5 minutes.

Remove from wok. Heat remaining corn oil in wok. Stir-fry chicken for 2 minutes over high heat. Add soy sauce and mix well. Cover and cook for about 6 minutes, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Mix in the cooked vegetables and scallions. Stir fry together for about 1 minute. Serve hot with rice.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I halved the chicken amount because I figured it would be just me eating it. I used vegetable oil instead of corn oil. I used a 4 oz can of mushrooms instead of 8 ounces of fresh mushrooms because while I like mushrooms, I don't love them. I used onions instead of scallions. I completely skipped the whole step about tossing the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic and cornstarch so I added in all of those ingredients at the end. Oops.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Thumbs UP! Oh my goodness. I've never even had moo goo gai pan in a restaurant, but when I saw this recipe I just knew I had to make it. I had bok choy and onions from our local food co-op so the only ingredient I had to buy was the mushrooms ($0.77). This was one of the best recipes I have ever had. I absolutely love the mix of these ingredients and the end results. It did take a little while to make but it was a very simple recipe.

Printable version:

Moo Goo Gai Pan:
Ingredients:
4 chicken breast halves, skinned, boned and sliced
salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 Tbsp cornstarch
5 Tbsp corn oil
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 lb bok choy or chinese white cabbage, chopped
2 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp soy sauce
6 scallions, chopped

In a bowl, toss chicken with the salt and pepper, garlic and cornstarch mixture. Set aside. (Please note: This is the exact original recipe. I assume the "cornstarch mixture" would mean mixing together the 2 cups water and 1 Tbsp cornstarch to make a thickening agent. That's what I did anyway.) Heat 3 Tbsp of corn oil in a wok and stir in mushrooms, bok choy or cabbage, and sugar for 2 minutes. Cover and cook 5 minutes.

Remove from wok. Heat remaining corn oil in wok. Stir-fry chicken for 2 minutes over high heat. Add soy sauce and mix well. Cover and cook for about 6 minutes, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Mix in the cooked vegetables and scallions. Stir fry together for about 1 minute. Serve hot with rice.