Moo Goo Gai Pan

4.65 from 28 votes

This Moo Goo Gai Pan is a classic take on a traditional Chinese dish. It's a dish of chicken and lots of vegetables with a delicious, savory sauce. An easy recipe that brings your favorite Chinese flavors straight to your dinner table.

Prep Time20

Cook Time7

Marinating time10

Total Time37

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese

Keyword: chicken stir fry, moo goo gai pan

Servings:

Calories: 340kcal

Equipment

Nonstick Chinese Wok - Dishwasher Safe

Ingredients

Chicken

1 pound chicken breast boneless skinless, cut in half lengthwise, then thinly sliced against the grain, about ⅛-inch thick
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup water
2 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoon vegetable oil divided

Veggies

½ medium carrot thinly sliced on diagonal ⅛-inch in thickness
6 ounce white mushrooms or cremini mushrooms, sliced ¼-inch thick
8 ounce water chestnuts drained (1 can)
8 ounce bamboo shoots sliced, drained (1 can)
6 ounce napa cabbage separate leaves from stalk, stalk cut into 1 inch pieces, and leaves about 2 inches
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup snow peas
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 cup chicken broth low sodium
1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 1 tbsp water to make slurry
1 teaspoon sesame oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prep the chicken: In a small bowl combine the chicken pieces with the salt, white pepper, garlic powder and water. Mix well and let marinate for 10 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch really well until the chicken is coated and you can no longer see white powder. Drizzle a tbsp of the vegetable oil over the chicken and stir well.
Cook the chicken: In a large wok, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken, spread it out for even cooking and cook it until it's about 60% cooked through, should take a couple minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Cook the veggies: If there's no more oil left in the wok, add another tbsp or so of vegetable oil. Add the carrots, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and white parts of the napa cabbage to the wok and stir fry for about 10 seconds. Add in the garlic and stir fry for another minute. Add in the snow peas, cooked chicken, and napa leaves. Stir fry for another 30 seconds.
Make the sauce: Stir in the shoaxing wine and stir fry for 10 seconds. Add in the salt, sugar, white pepper and stir. Add the chicken broth and cornstarch slurry and stir fry until sauce thickens, another 30 seconds. Lastly, stir in the sesame oil and remove from heat.
Serve: Serve over rice or noodles.

Video

Notes

My biggest tip is to make sure all the ingredients are prepped and ready before you start cooking. Once you start cooking it all moves quite quick.
Feel free to use other veggies you like, such as bok choy, broccoli or even celery for a nice crunch instead of water chestnuts.
Store leftovers covered in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
If you want to freeze moo goo gai pan, it's best to freeze the chicken and the veggies separate from the sauce so they don't turn out mushy when you thaw them out. Freezing in an airtight container and stored in the freezer, you can freeze this for up to 3 months.

Nutrition