One of my favorite childhood meals was this steamed chicken with mushrooms and dried lily flowers that my mom used to make. The aroma of the dish would fill our home, and the savory flavor of the chicken paired with the earthy taste of the mushrooms and delicate fragrance of the lily flowers made it a truly unforgettable meal.
The other day, I was trying to figure out why I don’t prepare this steamed chicken dish more often, and then it hit me: there need to be more meals in the day to be a food writer.
The earthy flavor of the dried shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and lily blossoms is a nice contrast to the chicken. After steaming, the meal develops a flavorful broth-like sauce that goes wonderfully with rice.
I cooked the chicken with the skin on it to enhance the flavor, but if you prefer a lower-fat and healthier dish, feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken instead.
In the end, this recipe is simple to prepare, but there are some tips and tactics to ensure delicious results. Prepare your meals by reading on!
Ingredients:
- 450g of boneless chicken thighs
- 10 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1/4 cup of dried wood ear mushrooms
- 1/3 cup of dried lily flowers
- ¼ cup of water
- 1 chopped of scallion (white and green portions divided)
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon of rice wine
- ¼ teaspoon of sugar
- ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon of sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
Instructions:
- Remove any debris or dust from the wood ear mushrooms, dried lily blooms, and shiitake mushrooms by rinsing them under running water. After the lily blossoms have been cleaned, remove the rough stems. You can hasten the soaking procedure by removing the mushroom stems before you wash them.
- Wood ears, lily blossoms, and mushrooms should be soaked in three different water basins for an hour to two. To ensure that all of the dried components are properly rehydrated, cover them with a plate and press down on them.
- After the wood ears have been rehydrated, they should be roughly chopped. Drain the mushrooms by squeezing out as much water as possible, and then cut them into thin slices (about a quarter of an inch thick). Make sure the lily blooms are also thoroughly wrung out.
- To make the marinade, combine the chicken, lily flowers, wood ears, mushrooms, water, vegetable oil, sesame oil, rice wine (if using), oyster sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper, shredded ginger, and white parts of the scallions in a bowl. Toss until the chicken has absorbed most of the liquid. Take off the green parts of the scallions. Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight, if possible, covered.
- Bring the chicken mixture to room temperature and stir in the cornstarch before you cook the dish. Completely submerge the chicken in the liquid now, with hardly none left on the plate.
- Place the contents of the bowl into a deep plate or pie dish and top with the remaining green scallion pieces. Set up a covered steamer with boiling water and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Remove the steamer from the heat and let the chicken sit for another 2 minutes.
- Carefully remove the steamer lid, making sure no water spills onto the food. Lastly, sprinkle the remaining scallions over top and serve with rice!