Steamed Chicken with Mushrooms & Dried Lily Flowers

Step 1

Take the wood ear mushrooms, dried lily flowers, and shiitake mushrooms, and rinse them all separately under running water to make sure any dirt or dust particles are rinsed away. After cleaning, cut off the tough bottom portion of the lily flowers. Cut off the mushroom stems as well, which will speed up the soaking process.

Step 2

Transfer the wood ears, lily flowers, and mushrooms to three separate bowls filled with water, and soak for one to two hours. Use a plate to cover and press each of the dried ingredients down to ensure they are fully rehydrated.

Step 3

Once reconstituted, roughly chop the wood ears. Squeeze some of the excess water from the mushrooms, and slice each one into quarter-inch thick slices. Be sure to squeeze the lily flowers dry as well.

Step 4

Place the chicken, wood ears, mushrooms, lily flowers, water, vegetable oil, sesame oil, rice wine (if using), oyster sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper, grated ginger, and the white portions of the scallions into a bowl. Mix until most of the liquid is absorbed into the chicken. Set the green portions of the scallions aside. Cover the chicken and marinate for a minimum of 2 hours, or in the refrigerator overnight.

Step 5

When you’re ready to cook the dish, let the chicken mixture come up to room temperature, and add the cornstarch until it is uniformly incorporated. At this point, all of the liquid should be absorbed into the chicken, and there should be little or no standing liquid.

Step 6

Transfer the mixture to a deep plate or pie dish, and sprinkle half of the green portion of the scallions over the top. Place in a covered steamer, and steam over medium high heat for 10 minutes. Shut off the heat, and leave the chicken in the steamer for another 2 minutes.

Step 7

Carefully remove the cover from the steamer, taking care not to drip any water from the cover onto the dish. Sprinkle the rest of the scallions over the top, and serve with rice!