Moo Goo Gai Pan Recipe (蘑菇雞片)
by Moo Goo Gai Pan recipe is what you make when you crave good food fast! With tender juicy chicken breasts, crisp vegetables, and a deeply savory-sweet moo goo gai pan sauce, this easy one-pot meal, made paleo and whole30, tastes light, fresh, and oh-so-yummy! The whole family will love this dish so get your chopsticks ready!
Moo Goo Gai Pan (蘑菇雞片): What is it? Is it Authentic?
When I first saw this dish in New York, I decided to give it a try. Chicken with mushroom stir-fry …what’s not to love? Did I like it?
In short, I did! But the American-Chinese version tastes different than what I had in mind.
Moo goo gai pan originally is a Cantonese dish. The flavor is deeply savory and woodsy because of shiitake mushrooms. There’s a similar dish I had growing up – chicken with shiitake mushroom stew (香菇雞片) – and it’s made in a claypot and half stir-fried and half simmered. In my opinion, that’s a more popular dish among the locals.
The Chinese-American version of moo goo gai pan recipe tastes milder in flavor and emphasizes texture and crunch, which I like a lot, and that’s the version we are making today, plus a few personal touches to make it my own.
Moo Goo Gai Pan is a Cantonese translation. In Mandarin, it is pronounced Mó Gū Ji Piàn. In Cantonese, chicken is pronounced as Gai whereas in Mandarin it’s pronounced as Ji.
- Moo Goo, 蘑菇 [Mógū], means mushrooms.
- Gai [gāi], or Ji [Jī] in Mandarin, means chicken.
- Pan, [piàn] 片, means thin slices and thin pieces.
What is in moo goo gai pan?
Thinly sliced chicken breasts, carrots, water chestnuts, snow peas, and white or baby bella mushrooms. Baby corn and napa cabbage are also often added to this dish.
How to make moo goo gai pan recipe
- Slice and season the chicken.
- Prepare the vegetables, aromatics, and the sauce.
- Saute the chicken until it’s almost cooked through. Set it aside.
- Add the garlic, carrots, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and snow peas
- Return the chicken to the pan and add the sauce. Toss to combine.
How to thinly slice the chicken and make it tender?
You can use the Chinese velveting technique which coats the chicken with egg white first, like my Chinese cashew chicken. It is, however, not the only way to make chicken breasts tender. Let me show you a simpler and quicker way than velveting –
Key points:
- Slicing: slice the chicken breasts as thin as possible – a little thicker than ⅛-inch but thinner than ¼-inch. I like to slice them at a 45 degree angle so they become pieces as opposed to strips.
- Seasoning: follow the seasoning combo listed in my recipe below. Baking soda is used to help tenderize the chicken breasts.
- Temperature and speed: the actual stir-fry time is short and quick so get all the ingredients ready first. Your skillet needs to be preheated well – hot but not burning. And you don’t need a wok to make a good stir-fry. I have an IKEA 365 line stainless steel skillet, which I still use often.
Video demo:
- Watch this video on how I slice and season the chicken.
Articles to read:
- How to stir-fry beef (the same principles apply to chicken, too)
- 7 Stir-fry mistakes to avoid
What is Moo goo gai pan sauce made of?
This sauce is gluten-free and soy-free:
- Coconut aminos
- Grated ginger
- Chicken stock
- Arrowroot or tapioca starch
- Peach jam
The takeout version uses oyster sauce. I have a homemade version that’s vegetarian friendly and has no additives and starch – Vegetarian oyster sauce. When you use the oyster sauce in combination with the coconut aminos, please reduce the quantity so that the sauce won’t be overly salty.
If Whole30, skip the jam. If Keto, use a keto sweetener of choice.
Differences between moo goo gai pan and moo shu chicken
- Both moo shu and moo goo are stir-fry dishes with chicken and crisp vegetables.
- Moo shu chicken uses shredded cabbage and hoisin sauce and is served with mandarin pancakes on the side.
- Moo goo gai pan features mushrooms and uses either oyster sauce or white sauce (no soy sauce).
- Moo shu chicken tastes sweeter and with a thicker sauce whereas moo goo tastes lighter and more gingery.
Moo Shu Chicken Moo Goo Gai Pan
What goes well with this chicken mushroom stir-fry dish?
This moo goo gai pan recipe is the perfect one pot meal! You can serve it as is with rice or cauliflower rice but here are some side dishes and pairing ideas –
- Chinese Broccoli Stir-Fry in Garlic Sauce
- Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (vegetarian friendly)
- Asian Cucumber Salad (honey chili garlic vinaigrette)
- Chinese smashed cucumber salad
- Napa cabbage stir-fry with quail eggs
- Chinese Garlic Green Beans
- Sauteed Asparagus in Chickpea Miso Butter
- Browse more healthy delicious Gluten-Free Side Dishes
More Chicken and Chinese-American Dishes
- Black pepper chicken
- Sweet and sour chicken
- Chinese Sesame chicken
- Chicken stir-fry with napa cabbage
- Chicken and Broccoli
- Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad
- Thai Larb (with ground chicken)
- Thai Basil Chicken
- Browse my Paleo Chinese American Dishes
Moo Goo Gai Pan (paleo, gluten-free, whole30 if modified)
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1.25 lb chicken breasts, thin sliced
- ½ tsp coarse sea salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tsp tapioca starch , or arrowroot starch
Other:
- 0.6 oz garlic cloves, minced, about 4 cloves
- 3 tbsp avocado oil
- 3 pinches coarse sea salt
For the vegetables:
- 4 oz. carrots, sliced on diagonal, about 1 medium
- 8 oz. baby bella, or white button mushrooms, quartered
- 8 oz. Water chestnuts, canned. drained and sliced
- 4 oz. snow peas
Moo goo gai pan sauce:
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 0.5 oz ginger root, grated
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp arrowroot or tapioca starch
- 1 tsp peach jam, I use St. Dalfour. See notes for Whole30/Keto.
Instructions
- Thin slice chicken to about ¼ and ⅛ inch thin pieces. Add the seasonings, mix well, and set aside in the fridge.
- Prepare the garlic, vegetables, and the sauce. Set them aside ready to use.
- In a well-heated large skillet, add 1 tbsp cooking fat. Sear the chicken breasts in a single layer over medium-high heat without disturbing them until they are in golden brown color, about 2-3 minutes, then use a spatula with a firm tip to flip and sear the flip side, about 1-2 minutes. The chicken should be almost cooked through before setting them aside along with the pan juice and oil in the skillet.
- Use the same skillet, add 2 tbsp cooking fat. Saute the garlic over medium heat for 5 seconds. Add the carrots and mushrooms. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Season with 2 pinches of salt and saute for 15 seconds. Add the chestnuts and snow peas with a pinch of salt. Saute for 10 seconds.
- Return the chicken and the pan juice to the skillet. Stir the sauce again before adding it to the pan. Toss to combine for 10 seconds to thicken the sauce. Turn off the heat. Serve hot or warm with steamed rice or cauliflower rice.
Video
Notes
- The takeout version uses oyster sauce. I have a homemade version that’s vegetarian friendly and has no additives and starch – Vegetarian oyster sauce. When you use the oyster sauce in combination with the coconut aminos, please reduce the quantity so that the sauce won’t be overly salty.
- If Whole30, skip the jam. If Keto, use a keto sweetener of choice.
Nutrition
Made a dish and love it?
Please remember to leave a recipe review and rating in the comment section below! Thank you! XO!
THIS WAS SO EASY TO MAKE, AND I ADDED SHITAKE MUSHROOMS AND BOK CHOY. THIS IS A GREAT RECIPE AND A REAL WINNER.
Moo Goo Gai Pan is my favorite stir fry meals. This is so easy to prepare and makes the perfect lunch / dinner for family and friends. So impressive and healthy!! I love Chih Yu’s recipes because they are perfection and delicious. I never worry about them failing. This one is in my rotation and so easy to swap out veggies if you don’t have .
Thank you so much, Carol. Truly appreciate it! :))
What a lovely dish.
This was so good and so easy to make! Will likely add this to my weekly rotation.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Thank you, Kara. Appreciate it!
What a lovely dish. This came together so easily and was delicious. Tastes just like the restaurant version!
This recipe is SO delicious! Better than take-out (no MSG, corn starch, or soy) and my husband and I love it!!! I would highly recommend it…I used to order this dish all of the time, because I love stir fried vegetables. Of course I also love spicy dishes…so there are times that I will spice-it-up (e.g., the sauce) again, so easy and very delicious to make.
Thank you so much!
Thanks Chihyu this recipe is delicious! I made it last night and my hubby and I really enjoyed it. I added some thinly sliced red sweet onion and a few sticks of celery, and 3 green onions (they needed to be used). My husband made some jasmine rice in the Instant Pot (gluten-free). We’ve got left overs… which is one of my favorite things.
That sounds fabulous, Jenn! Also love the pairing as well. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Cooking right now and it smells amazin! I’m sure it’ll taste as much. Only thing I dont understand is why only a few seconds to cook each thing. Is that right?
You need to get your pan hot. The chicken is also thinly sliced. Chinese cooking is all about prep, hot wok or hot pan, and fast stir-fry. Check out this article – https://iheartumami.com/7-stir-fry-mistakes-to-avoid/
Outstanding stir fry! Easy and so delicious! Pea pods from our garden too!!
My husband made this meal tonight and he actually is a “breakfast chef” at home. He said the recipe is so easy to make, following step by step. We didn’t gave any peach jam so we subbed apricot jam. 👍Love crunch of the water chestnuts.
So good! We’ll be making this on a regular basis.
That’s awesome. Carol! Apricot jam works well, too! 🙂
Just want to clarify that baking soda is one of the spices to marinate the chicken. I accidentally used baking powder instead of cornstarch in a recipe and ruined a stir fry. I haven’t seen it used before and want to be sure I am understanding correctly. Thanks!
Hi Jolie, we use a very small amount of baking soda to tenderize the meat. It’s the secret used in Asian stir-fry takeout joints. We use it for chicken and beef stir-fry dishes. Hope this helps!
Really delicious recipe! Easy to make and super satisfying. I love to make extra and save some for lunch the next day. I don’t use water chestnuts and instead add more carrots and mushrooms to make it perfect for me. This recipe is one of my fav go to’s!
This dish is absolutely delicious! Simple ingredients and lots of flavor! I followed the recipe almost exactly; the only thing I changed was that I doubled the sauce simply because I like the extra sauce to drizzle over rice. This is going in my regular rotation!
This recipe is DELISH!!!!! My entire family loved it! It was easy, quick, and so tasty!! I added small chunks of pineapple for a little extra sweetness and it was a great addition. I made the @iheartumami rice paper dumplings and it was the perfect meal! This recipe is definitely going into my rotation!!!
This is one of my favorite mid-week meals! It’s quick, tastes delicious, and is a crowd pleaser in my house. My 2 year old daughter loves it and my husband cannot get enough. We have used Jasmine Rice and cauliflower rice as sides- delicious either way!
ohhhh love Jasmine Rice…so fragrant and it always reminds me of Thai food takeout 🙂 Also super happy to hear your baby girl loves this dish, too!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was fabulous! Thanks for the great recipes.
This recipe was so flavorful!! I excepted it to be good (because they always are!) but was shocked at how much flavor was packed in with such simple ingredients. I prepped it to bring to work and it reheated well!
Thank you, Alden! So happy to hear!
This dish is amazing! Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out fantastic!
Simple dish with lots of flavor 🙂
Thank you!
I’ve made this twice now and it is sooo yummy! It comes together quickly and it is so flavorful. My husband said it needs to be on our regular dinner rotation. Love how healthy it is too!