This Braised Chicken with Chestnuts is a deliciously cozy dish to have bubbling on the stove this fall. Hearty and wholesome from rich chestnuts and deeply flavored with shiitake mushrooms, it feels just right when the temperatures go down!
A Traditional Chinese Chicken Stew
You’ll find variations of this braised Chicken with Chestnuts across China. For example, you might find it with aromatic chilies and extra star anise. Other versions use chee hou sauce and oyster sauce (more characteristic of southern Chinese cuisine).
I did a hybrid of our family’s influences (I’m from Shanghai and Bill’s family is from Guangdong province in the south), adding star anise and oyster sauce for a more complex flavor. Feel free to experiment and make it your own! But I think this recipe is very good as written.
Boneless Chicken for Easy Eating!
In China, just about all chicken is served bone-in. While this doesn’t make your average Chinese diner bat an eye, this can be slightly inconvenient if you’re not used to it, especially when it comes to braised stews that you just want to dig into with a big spoon.
While this classic Braised Chicken with Chestnuts is usually made with bone-in chicken as well, why not use boneless chicken thighs and skip the bones? Plus, it cooks faster!
What ChatGPT won’t tell you about making this recipe:
- To soak dried shiitake mushrooms, soak in room temperature water overnight, or soak in just-boiled water for about 2 hours.
- Even if you’re using the mushroom soaking water in the recipe, don’t dump everything into the pan all at once. Use your hands to take the mushrooms out carefully. Any sediment from the mushrooms will have settled to the bottom. Pour the liquid into your dish and leave the last bit to avoid getting dirt in your dish!
- To soak dried shiitake mushrooms, soak in room temperature water overnight, or soak in just-boiled water for about 2 hours.
- Even if you’re using the mushroom soaking water in the recipe, don’t dump everything into the pan all at once. Use your hands to take the mushrooms out carefully. Any sediment from the mushrooms will have settled to the bottom. Pour the liquid into your dish and leave the last bit to avoid getting dirt in your dish!
Where can I find chestnuts?
Chestnuts turn up in grocery stores around the fall, so when you see them, snap them up! I cook them, peel them, and freeze them to use deeper into the winter months.
We actually have a very generous neighbor who has a chestnut tree in the backyard and he periodically delivers bags of delicious chestnuts to our door! It’s been one of my favorite fall things since we moved to this house.
If you don’t have a kind neighbor with a chestnut tree, you can also find roasted, peeled chestnuts in bags (here are some on Amazon). You’ll see them as a seasonal item in some grocery stores, and I’ve even seen them at our local Costco!
They actually taste pretty great and are the most convenient option for this recipe, since they require no pre-cooking or peeling. Our local Asian grocery store also stocks frozen chestnuts all year around. I keep an extra bag in the freezer so I can make this dish any time I want.
Braised Chicken with Chestnuts: Recipe Instructions
To a large bowl, add the chicken pieces, 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine, salt, white pepper, and 2 teaspoons light soy sauce. Mix well. Lastly, mix in 2 teaspoons of oil to lock in the moisture and prevent sticking when browning. Refrigerate while you prepare the other ingredients.
To rehydrate your Shiitake mushrooms, soak them in 2 cups hot water for 2 hours or in 2 cups of cold water overnight.
When you’re ready to cook, heat a wok or a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of neutral oil, and cook the chestnuts for 2 minutes, or until they start to blister lightly. Remove and set aside.
At this point, if the wok surface looks sandy or starchy from cooking the chestnuts, wash the wok with a scouring pad and hot water to prevent burnt bits. If not, proceed.
Pre-heat the wok over high heat until it starts to smoke lightly. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of neutral oil, and swirl to coat the cooking surface. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook the garlic, ginger, the white parts of the scallions, and the star anise for about 1 minute, or until the the scallions are lightly browned. Add the chicken pieces, spreading them in a single layer so each piece is in contact with the wok. Increase the heat to high and lightly brown on both sides.
Add the remaining tablespoon of Shaoxing wine, and toss the chicken using your wok spatula to scrape from the bottom and prevent the chicken from sticking. Reduce the heat to medium high.
Add the mushrooms, the remaining 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and the mushroom soaking water. Take care to leave behind any sediment that has settled to the bottom of the bowl you used to soak the mushrooms! Mix everything well, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid, and add the chestnuts. Give everything a good stir, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Some of the chestnuts may fall apart as they soften, but that is okay.
Finally, add the green parts of the scallions. Stir until the sauce thickens and lightly coats the chicken and the chestnuts. (If there is too much sauce left after 20 minutes, you can make a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce as needed.)
Serve with steamed jasmine rice!
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Recipe
Braised Chicken with Chestnuts
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 6 chicken thighs, cut into 1½-inch/4cm pieces)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (divided)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce (plus 1 tablespoon, divided)
- 2 teaspoons neutral oil (plus 3 tablespoons, divided)
- 10 dried Shiitake mushrooms (soaked and rehydrated)
- ½-1 pound whole chestnuts (use the full pound if you absolutely love chestnuts, otherwise ½-pound/225g is just fine)
- 6-8 cloves garlic
- 3 slices ginger
- 2-3 scallions (cut into 2-inch/5cm lengths, white and green parts separated)
- 2 star anise pods (optional)
- ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1½ cups water (reserved from rehydrating the dried mushrooms)
Instructions
- To a large bowl, add the chicken pieces, 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine, salt, white pepper, and 2 teaspoons light soy sauce. Mix well. Lastly, mix in 2 teaspoons of oil to lock in the moisture and prevent sticking when browning. Refrigerate while you prepare the other ingredients.
- To rehydrate your Shiitake mushrooms, soak them in 2 cups of hot water for 2 hours or in 2 cups of cold water overnight.
- When you’re ready to cook, heat a wok or a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of neutral oil, and cook the chestnuts for 2 minutes, or until they start to blister lightly. Remove and set aside.
- At this point, if the wok surface looks sandy or starchy from cooking the chestnuts, wash the wok with a scouring pad and hot water to prevent burnt bits. If not, proceed.
- Pre-heat the wok over high heat until it starts to smoke lightly. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of neutral oil, and swirl to coat the cooking surface. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook the garlic, ginger, the white parts of the scallions, and the star anise for about 1 minute, or until the the scallions are lightly browned. Add the chicken pieces, spreading them in a single layer so each piece is in contact with the wok. Increase the heat to high and lightly brown on both sides.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of Shaoxing wine, and toss the chicken using your wok spatula to scrape from the bottom and prevent the chicken from sticking. Reduce the heat to medium high.
- Add the mushrooms, the remaining 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and the mushroom soaking water. Take care to leave behind any sediment that has settled to the bottom of the bowl you used to soak the mushrooms! Mix everything well, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid, and add the chestnuts. Give everything a good stir, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Some of the chestnuts may fall apart as they soften, but that is okay.
- Finally, add the green parts of the scallions. Stir until the sauce thickens and lightly coats the chicken and the chestnuts. (If there is too much sauce left after 20 minutes, you can make a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce as needed.) Serve with steamed jasmine rice!
