Recipe: Chicken & Mushroom Stir Fry AKA Moo Goo Gai Pan

This week has been... interesting.  I don't know if I would categorize it as good or bad.  I did decide to transfer to a different position at work.  I interviewed with that department's manager and we really got along well.  My pay won't change and that's a-okay by me and I have done this position before.  My daughter will be 11 and entering sixth grade when school starts back up (*screams*) and when her program turns from summer program to after school program- she goes to the next classroom up.  She's excited because she gets to join friends who "graduated" to the big kids room.  She has a one-on-one aide due to explosive behavioral issues and for safety on the van rides now.  The Lead from the room she is in now was her one-on-one until summer program (she was promoted so she handpicked her aide for the summer) called me and said she didn't think Em needed a one-on-one going forth except on the van.  The Lead for the room she is heading into has a LOT of experience with pre-teens/teens with behavioral issues and they think that it's unnecessary for the room because if she has a behavioral issue, she will get one on one attention anyways and she is more independent now.

Waaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  She's growing up.  This past six years has been a whirlwind.  She started walking at five years, her skull was repaired summer 2009 (no more helmet!), she became 100% potty trained last summer, she's making more reasonable choices, she's able to reason and talk versus screaming and fits.  Sigh.

Enough mushiness.


I bought a huge pack of mushrooms and had some chicken nice and thawed.  I also found a pack of stir fry veggies in my freezer. I thought "Ooohhhh Moo Goo Gai Pan" (it really just translates to chicken with mushrooms).  I journeyed to pinterest to find a recipe.

I kept hitting roadblocks due to every recipe having oyster sauce.  I can't use it.  Stupid allergy.  I am out of vegetarian oyster sauce (it's just made out of mushrooms).  I finally found one that linked to Allrecipes that didn't use oyster sauce.

SCORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE.

Here's the link to the Allrecipes page.

But here's the recipe if you don't feel like clicking over to their website

Moo Goo Gai Pan

Ingrededients:

1 tbsp. oil

Veggies:
1/4 lb. of mushrooms
1/4 lb. of snap peas
1 can of drained water chestnuts
1/4 lb. of bok choy
Salt and pepper to taste

*as you can clearly see, I didn't use all of those ingredients. I had a stir fry mix which had celery, carrots, water chestnuts, snap peas and onions.  Plus my fresh mushrooms*

1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. minced garlic (I used way more)
1 tsp. fresh ginger (I used a bit more)
3/4 cup of boneless, skinless chicken breast.  Diced into bite size pieces or thinly sliced.
1 tsp. white wine
1/4 tsp. white sugar
1/4 cup of chicken broth
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. water.

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, snow peas, water chestnuts, and bok choy; season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the wok and wipe the wok clean.

1. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in the wok. Stir in the garlic and ginger; cook a few seconds until the garlic begins to turn golden brown. Stir in the chicken and cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, sugar, and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir into the simmering sauce. Once the sauce returns to a simmer, stir until thick and clear, about 30 seconds. Return the vegetables to the wok and toss until hot and coated with the sauce.

Honestly?

I thought it was "okay" and definitely NOT what I had in mind.  It didn't have the rich taste I had in mind when I think of  Moo Goo Gai Pan.

Don't get me wrong.  It was delicious but it didn't satisfy my soul's craving. Haha.

I have another recipe for moo goo gai pan from a book I have that I am going to try once I locate some vegetarian oyster sauce.  I think that really might be the missing piece of the puzzle.

Happy Saturday!