Dried velvet mushroom behaves like a sponge: it soaks up the soy and chicken fat, then releases both back into the broth. The trick is to brown the chicken hard in aromatics first, then add hot water once and never top it up, so the pot finishes with a clean amber liquid instead of a cloudy one.
Chinese · Main
Chicken Legs Braised With Dried Velvet Mushroom
Chicken legs seared in rapeseed oil with whole aromatics, then moved to a clay pot with rehydrated velvet mushroom and barely simmered until the broth turns amber.
- Prep25 min
- Cook35 min
- Serves3
- LevelEasy
Ingredients
| 3 | whole chicken legs , about 700 g, cut into large pieces |
| 150 g | dried velvet mushroom , soaked in cold water until soft |
| 2 | star anise |
| 1 pinch | Sichuan pepper |
| 20 g | scallion , cut into segments |
| 15 g | ginger , sliced |
| 5 cloves | garlic , smashed |
| 1 | dried red chilli |
| 30 g | rapeseed oil |
| 30 g | Shaoxing wine |
| 30 g | light soy sauce |
| 5 g | dark soy sauce |
| 4 g | salt |
| 1 | scallion , green parts, sliced, to finish |
| 900 ml | hot water |
Method
- Soak the dried velvet mushroom in cold water until pliable, then rinse it two or three times to flush out the grit. Trim any stems that feel woody and cut very long ones in half.
- Chop the chicken legs into large pieces and pat them dry. Wet skin will steam rather than brown.
- Warm a wok over medium heat, add the oil, then the scallion, ginger and garlic, and fry gently for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the chicken and turn the heat to medium. Stir until most of the meat has lost its raw colour, then pour in the Shaoxing wine and keep stirring until it has all changed colour.
- Add the light and dark soy and toss for another minute, until the pieces are evenly lacquered.
- Scatter in the salt, pour in the hot water and add the mushrooms, pressing them down so they sit under the surface. Move everything to a clay pot.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, then turn the burner to its lowest setting, cover and simmer for 30 minutes without lifting the lid.
- Turn off the heat, stir the sliced scallion greens through and bring the pot to the table.
Notes
- Add all the water at once. Topping up a clay pot mid braise drops the temperature and leaves the broth thin.
- Rapeseed oil carries the aromatics further than neutral oil, but it must be heated until it just shimmers or it tastes raw.
- If the mushrooms are very salty, rinse them a third time and hold back half the salt until the end.
Ratios and technique checked against meggy跳舞的苹果 on Douguo (鸡腿炖鹿茸菇). The method here is written by Stellaok; the photograph is the source kitchen's, credited on the image above and linked back to the page it came from. No recipe text is reproduced.