Chinese Chicken Stew

4.59 from 17 votes
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Easy and healthy chicken stew is a classic Chinese-Cantonese recipe. Brown stew chicken with ginger, scallion and black fungus.

Chicken stew, ready to serve.
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Chicken Stew Recipe

This chicken stew is a classic Chinese-Cantonese recipe that is hearty, delicious and great through the year, especially during winter.

When the temperature dips, chicken stew is my favorite goto food, especially if it’s made in a Chinese claypot.

This easy chicken stew recipe is made with chicken, black fungus in a savory brown sauce.

Black fungus is a popular ingredient in Chinese recipes.

Black fungus are similar to shiitake mushrooms, except that the texture is thinner but every bite is a snappy crunch.


Chicken Stew Ingredients

Chicken stew recipe with chicken, black fungus and ginger in brown sauce.

Stew chicken calls for the following ingredients:

  • Chicken
  • Ginger
  • Oyster sauce
  • Chinese cooking wine
  • Sesame oil
  • Black fungus or shiitake mushrooms
  • Scallion

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.


How To Make Stew Chicken

Brown stew chicken in a pot.

It’s so easy to make chicken stew. The cooking process is effortless.

All you have to do is add all the ingredients in a claypot, add some liquid, cover the lid and let the claypot does its magic.


Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Chinese claypot?

Claypot is a made from clay found only in China. It cooks well with a direct flame or direct contact with an electric burner.
Chicken stew in these pots represent an authentic part of Chinese cuisine. Known as 砂锅,or “sandy pots,” it comes with a sandy exterior.
Claypot produces hearty, easy and delicious meals, and it’s one of the least expensive utensils to invest in any kitchen.

What other cookware can I use for chicken stew?

If you don’t have a claypot, you can stew chicken using a Dutch oven, a ceramic pot, a skillet with a lid, a slow cooker or an Instant pot!

How many calories per serving?

This recipe is only 376 calories per serving.

Healthy chicken stew with ginger and scallion.

What To Serve With Chinese Chicken Stew

Serve stew chicken with steamed rice. For a wholesome Chinese meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

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4.59 from 17 votes

Chinese Chicken Stew

Easy and healthy chicken stew is a classic Chinese-Cantonese recipe. Brown stew chicken with ginger, scallion and black fungus.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2 people
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Ingredients  

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 inch (2.5cm) ginger, peeled and sliced into thin pieces
  • 8 oz (20cm) chicken thigh, or chicken leg, cut into pieces
  • 2-3 pieces dried black fungus , or cloud ear, soaked in warm water and cut into pieces
  • 2 stalks scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths

Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 dashes white pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon shaoxing wine, optional
  • 5 tablespoons water

Instructions 

  • Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix well. Set aside.
  • Heat a Chinese clay pot over high heat. (You can also use a skillet or wok.)
  • Add the oil to the clay pot. When the oil is heated, add the ginger and stir-fry until aromatic. Then, add the chicken and stir continuously until the meat turns opaque.
  • Add the black fungus and stir to combine well. Then, add the sauce and stir to coat the chicken thoroughly. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. If the sauce thickens, add some water to dilute it. Just before serving, stir in the scallions. Serve warm with steamed rice.

Notes

If you don’t like black fungus, you can substitute with dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms.

Nutrition

Serving: 2people, Calories: 376kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 15g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 111mg, Sodium: 505mg, Potassium: 284mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 208IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 27mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Please rate and comment below!

About Rasa Malaysia

Bee is a recipe developer and best-selling cookbook author, sharing easy, quick, and delicious Asian and American recipes since 2006. With a strong following of almost 2 million fans online, her expertise has been featured in major publications, TV and radio programs, and live cooking demos throughout the United States and Asia.

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37 Comments

  1. Karolina says:

    Hi, I have drumsticks, how would you adjust this recipe?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Karolina, you can use about 3 drumsticks in this recipe. Scale up, if needed, as indicated on the recipe. Make sure to cut slits into the thickest part of the meat, to allow the chicken to be cooked through.

  2. afra says:

    Once again a fabulous recipe from you!! SO simple and really tasty. This will become a go-to. I also soaked some lily flower. I velveted the chicken in some extra cornstarch. For 2 I doubled the sauce ingredients and added a bit more meat.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Nice!??

  3. Dr.Sid says:

    Is there a substitute for oyster sauce ?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Fish sauce.

      1. Dr.Sid says:

        Thank you Rasa.We love your recipes.

      2. Victor says:

        Your recipes are great my dear. I have stayed in KL for 3 years and enjoyed black fungus in fresh steamed fish.

        1. Bee Yinn Low says:

          Awesome thanks Victor.

      3. Jennifer Hisrich says:

        i did this and it was excellent

        1. Rasa Malaysia says:

          Awesome! :)

  4. Vanessa says:

    Where will I find this clay pot.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Buy online.

  5. Dr.Sid says:

    As we are kosher,oyster sauce is off the menu. Please provide us for a substitute for oyster sauce.PS.Your recipes are phenomenal!

    1. Admin says:

      Thanks!

    2. Sezen says:

      Mushroom sauce with sort of an imitation oyster flavour.

  6. Altie Metcalf says:

    Hi! I love your recipes and emails.

    In trying to find black fungus: should I be looking for fresh? Or do you buy it dry and rehydrate it?

    Thanks!

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Either way is fine.

    2. Jinny says:

      Would it be ok to make this with white snow fungus too?

  7. Janet says:

    Black fungus is nothing like shitake, which is a classic sort of mushroom while black fungus is a shelf type mushroom. The tastes and texture are different, too, but both are absolutely delicious. Black mushrooms, often known as wood ear, tree ear, or cloud ear, don’t really have a ton of taste–what taste there is subtle and very good. They have a marvelous crunchy texture that holds up through cooking. This “stew” is a delicious dish, and we enjoyed it very much, even though we lack a clay pot and I did it in a 3 qt sauce pan.

    1. Admin says:

      Thanks for trying.