This 30-minute Chinese mushroom chicken recipe is one that my family makes over and over again because it is so easy and tasty. Serve this dish with some rice, and you have a perfect weeknight dinner.

It is a cozy rainy weekend in LA, so I made a quick and easy dish to go with the weather. This is my mom’s Chinese chicken and mushroom. It is such an easy dish that you can throw together on a weekday or weekend. It has chicken thighs sautéed with mushrooms, oyster sauce, and a little bit of sesame oil for that extra kick of flavor. And the best part is this dish comes together in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments
- Chicken thighs – I used chicken thighs because I like how juicy thighs are, but you can use any cut of chicken for this recipe. Chicken breast is a good second option.
- Sugar and salt for seasoning
- Corn starch – A corn starch slurry or corn starch mixed with water is gives this dish its thick, saucy texture.
- Garlic & ginger – Adds more flavor to the dish
- Shiitake mushrooms – You can use a variety of different mushrooms for this dish. I used shiitake because that’s what I had on hand. Other mushrooms you can use are cremini or button mushrooms.
- Yellow onion – I used a sweet yellow onion. A good substitute is white onion.
- Oyster sauce – Adds a nice umami flavor to this dish. A good substitute for oyster sauce is dark soy sauce or regular soy sauce.
- Sesame oil – Adds more flavor to the dish. If you don’t have sesame oil, leave it out.
Making my Chinese chicken and mushroom
First marinate the chicken in 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch, salt, and sugar for 10 minutes. Then add chicken to a pan with 1 tbsp of oil over high heat. Sear the chicken for 1 minute. Next lower the heat. Cover and let the chicken cook for 8 minutes. This allows the chicken to cook through and stay juicy. While the chicken is cooking, make your corn starch slurry. Mix the last 1 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch and water together and set aside. After the chicken has cooked for 8 minutes, increase the heat to high. Stir in the mushrooms and onion. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Add the oyster sauce and corn starch slurry. Cook for 1 minute. Add the sesame oil and mix everything together. Taste the dish for seasoning and add more salt if it tastes bland. Serve with a side of rice.
Tips on how to make the perfect Chinese chicken and mushroom
Marinate the chicken overnight for the best flavor
You can do this for 10 minutes like I mention in the recipe but for the best results, do this overnight. When the chicken marinates overnight, it allows all the flavor to sink into the chicken more thoroughly.
Cover and lower the heat in the middle to help cook the chicken
Chicken is one of those meats that is harder to cook through, so my mom lowers the heat in the middle of cooking to get it to cook throughly and stay juicy. She then cranks up the heat and uncovers it at the end to thicken the sauce.
Did you make this dish?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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30-Minute Chinese Chicken and Mushroom
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken thighs cut into 1 inch pieces
- ½ tsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ oz ginger minced
- 2 tbsp water
- 5 shiitake mushrooms quartered
- ½ yellow onion cut into chunks
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- ¼ tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Marinate chicken with 1/2 tsp cornstarch, sugar, and salt for 10 minutes.
- Add chicken, ginger, and garlic to a pan with a tablespoon of oil over high heat. Sear chicken for 1 minute.
- Lower heat to medium. Cover and let the chicken cook for 8 minutes. This helps the chicken cook through and stay juicy.
- While the chicken is cooking, combine the rest of the corn starch (1 ½ tsp) and water. Mix and set aside.
- After 8 minutes, increase the heat to high. Stir in the mushrooms and onion. Let it cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the oyster sauce and corn starch slurry from step 4. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the sesame oil and mix together. Taste the dish for seasoning and add more salt if it tastes bland. Serve with a side of rice.
Notes
- Marinate the chicken overnight for the best flavor – You can do this for 10 minutes like I mention in the recipe but for the best results, do this overnight. When the chicken marinates overnight, it allows all the flavor to sink into the chicken more thoroughly.
- Cover and lower the heat in the middle to help cook the chicken – Chicken is one of those meats that is harder to cook through, so my mom lowers the heat in the middle of cooking to get it to cook throughly and stay juicy. She then cranks up the heat and uncovers it at the end to thicken the sauce.
I am excited to try this tonight!
Let me know how it goes!! 🙂
These instructions will burn the chicken
Hi Mike. Thank you for your feedback. Let me know if you are having issues with making this recipe. However, when I tested this recipe, the chicken did not burn.
This dish was so yummy and simple. I didn’t expect this to be such a hit but we love it, def keeping bookmarking this 🙂
Omg yay!! That makes me so happy to hear and I’ll definitely let my mom know because this is one of her go to recipes!
Absolutely excellent!!!
Thank you for trying the recipe! And so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I found that it’s the closest thing that tastes like how my mom makes it. I keep coming back to this recipe everytime I make it now. Thanks so much !
Thank you so much for the kind words Jennifer!! That is probably the best compliment!
Just made this recipe for dinner and it was so delicious! Very flavorful and got a thumbs up from the family too. Definitely a keep
Yay!! So glad you and your family enjoyed it! 🙂