Braised Chicken & Mushroom

I made a huge pot of delicious hot and sour Chai Boey (literally translates to leftover) soup yesterday. I guess in the olden days and perhaps till today, the soup is partly made using left overs. Even though I know the husband and I can devour the soup with a bowl of rice, I had to cook a protein dish partly so that the husband has something to bring to work for lunch the next day. Soup is little messy to bring in a container, so a chicken dish it is!

I make dinner almost every weeknight and will usually cook a little more for the next day's lunch. It's a habit that I've been doing even when I'm working. It's nice to save a little bit of lunch money and I guess know what goes into your tummy. =) The money we save on weekday dinner/lunchs goes into out eating out escapades on the weekends.

Using whatever I had in the pantry and the fridge, I made a braised chicken and mushroom dish. The recipe might differ sometimes depending on what I have on hand. I usually do not add the snow peas to this dish, but couldn't help to add a pop of color into the dish. Plus mommy said I must eat my vege! Here's the recipe of the braised chicken and mushroom we had last night.

BRAISED CHICKEN & MUSHROOM RECIPE

Ingredients

• 4 Pieces Chicken Thigh, Cut into Pieces
• 1 Can Straw Mushroom, Drained
• 2 Inch Carrots, Sliced Thick
• 2-3 Oz Snow Peas
• 1/2 Medium Red Onion, Cut into wedges
• 2 Inch Ginger, Sliced
• 2-3 Garlic Cloves, Smashed
• 4-6 Pcs Dried Chili (for more heat, cut chili into pieces)
• 1 Stalk Green Onion, Cut into 1 inch 
• 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Dark (Sweet) Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Chinese Rice Wine
• 1/2 Cup Water 
• 3 Tsp Cornflour + 2 Tbsp Water Mixture

Method

Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add dried chili, ginger, garlic and sautee till slightly golden. Add chicken thigh, mushroom, onion, carrot, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and light soy sauce. Stir fry chicken until the meat is no longer pink, add rice wine and 1/2 cup water. Reduce heat to medium, and let chicken simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Add in snow peas and green onion. Stir in cornflour mixture and cook until sauce thickens. Serve immediately with warm rice.

Simply June