Stir fried earwood mushroom with chicken and vegetables

This earwood mushroom recipe includes chicken, and a mix of carrots, celery and bell pepper stir fried in a ginger and garlic sauce.

Earwood mushroom, also known as “black fungus”, is popular in China for its flavor and crisp texture, as well as for its nutritional and medicinal properties. As a specialty item, earwood mushroom can be found in the dry food section of Asian grocery stores or in Chinese herbal medicine stores.  Earwood mushrooms are versatile and can be added to soups, stir fries and cold salad dishes.

I like to soak the earwood mushrooms in cool filtered water the night before or a few hours before cooking, to make sure they are completely rehydrated. Sometimes they can become quite large, in which case you will need to cut each mushroom into two or three pieces.

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Earwood mushroom with chicken and vegetables

Course Main

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Servings 4

Author biteslife.com

Ingredients

• 10-12 rehydrated earwood mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped carrots or baby carrots
• 1 bell pepper of any color
• 4 celery stalks
• 1 full boneless skinless chicken breast
• 3 large garlic cloves or 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 3 slices of fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 cup of water

Instructions

1. Chop the rehydrated mushroom into bite-size pieces and drain completely, patting with a clean cloth or paper towel if necessary.
2. Slice the rest of the vegetables into bite-size pieces, julienne the pepper and chop both garlic and ginger thinly.
3. Set chopped vegetables aside without mixing. You will be adding the vegetables in increments depending on cooking time.
4. Using a sharp santoku knife or cleaver, get rid of fat and tendons in the fillet. Carefully cut into the chicken at an angle starting at the top, slicing the chicken into very thin, almost transparent bite size pieces. This will ensure chicken cooks quickly, absorbs the juices and remains tender.
5. Add the teaspoon of corn starch to the chicken while on the chopping block, distributing it evenly.
6. Wash your hands thoroughly and get ready to cook.
7. On a wok or large frying pan, heat up 1/2 of the cooking oil.
8. While cooking on high, add the ginger and garlic and stir for half a minute, or until you can smell the ginger. Do not allow the garlic to become crisp.
9. Add the starched chicken and stir fry for two minutes or until all the pieces are no longer pink.
10. Add the soy sauce, stir and immediately set the cooked chicken aside in a bowl or deep serving plate.
11. Add the remaining oil to the wok while still cooking on high.
12. Once the oil heats up, add the earwood mushroom and the carrots. Add the water and cover.
13. After three minutes, add the celery and the bell pepper. Cover for another two minutes, stir frying once.
14. Add the chicken back in and stir until all ingredients are evenly distributed.
15. Add the salt and taste. Add more salt if needed. Turn off the heat.
16. Add the sesame oil and serve immediately.
17. Goes well with plain rice.
18. Enjoy!