Moo Goo Gai Pan {Chinese Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry}
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Moo Goo Gai Pan is a delicious Chinese chicken and vegetable stir-fry recipe with a mouthwatering moo goo gai pan sauce. I will share with you easy restaurant techniques for making the most tender and flavorful chicken for stir-fry. This recipe is healthy, keto-friendly and low in calories.
Healthy Moo Goo Gai Pan recipe
Moo Goo Gai Pan is one of our favorite Chinese chicken dishes, but restaurant or take-out versions often turn out too oily and salty, making me feeling completely weighed down.
So this version uses less oil and salt, with more vegetables including white button mushrooms, carrots, snow peas, and more. I also use chicken breast to reduce calorie intake. In order to get tender white meat, I marinate the chicken slices briefly before cooking them in hot oil, a simple technique used in most Chinese restaurants. The result? A super healthy and nutritious dish that’s 100% satisfying and tasty!
It’s ready in under 30 minutes, so great for busy weeknights. Plus, it’s keto with less than 250 calories and about 17 grams of carbs per serving. One of the best weight watchers recipes!
What is Moo Goo Gai Pan?
It means “mushroom and chicken slices” in Chinese (蘑菇鸡片). It is a stir-fried dish made with simple ingredients including chicken, mushrooms, and other vegetables (such as carrots, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and cabbage). Originally a Cantonese dish, it has become one of the most popular American-Chinese dishes.
You can serve it with rice or lo mein noodles. To make it completely keto, try pairing it with cauliflower rice.
Velveting chicken for the best stir fry
Have you ever wondered why stir-fried chicken in Chinese restaurants is always so tender and juicy? It never seems to taste the same at home. Well, what makes the difference is velveting, a technique that takes a little effort, but is so worth it for juicy restaurant-style results. Even a 15-minute marinade helps!
Just cut your chicken into thin slices, and then marinate in a cornstarch slurry made with cornstarch, egg whites, rice wine, and other seasonings. After marinating, chicken is stir-fried with oil in a wok or skillet for several minutes over high heat until cooked through.
How to make Moo Goo Gai Pan
- Start by cutting the chicken breast into thin slices.
- Mix together egg white, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and cornstarch. Whisk well.
- Add chicken slices to the marinade and toss to coat. Marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Next, stir fry the marinated chicken with garlic and ginger, and remove from heat.
- Then stir fry the vegetables.
- Add the chicken back to the pan and add the moo goo gai pan sauce. Let it cook until thickens.
That’s it! It’s incredibly easy to make!
Moo Goo Gai Pan sauce
The sauce is simply made with soy sauce, rice vinegar, chicken stock, sugar, and sesame oil. I usually add in cornstarch to make it thicken faster.
Other Chinese Chicken Dishes
Moo Goo Gai Pan {Chinese Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry}
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 pound chicken breasts, boneless and skinless (454g)
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, low sodium
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Vegetables
- 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced (2 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup snow peas
- 3 medium carrots
- 6 oz sliced water chestnuts, drained (optional)*
- 6 oz sliced bamboo shoots, drained (optional)*
The Sauce
- 3/4 cup chicken stock, low sodium
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, low sodium
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Marinate the chicken
- Slice the chicken thinly. (You can freeze the chicken for about 30 minutes to firm it up for easy slicing.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg white, rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.
- Add chicken slices to the mixture, tossing to coat. Cover with plastic wraps and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes to marinate.
Stir-fry the chicken
- In a large wok or saucepan, heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.
- When hot, add garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken slices using kitchen tongs (don’t pour the marinade into the pan), stirring occasionally, until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside. (Discard the marinade).
Stir-fry vegetables
- Place the same pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the remaining oil.
- Add the carrots, mushrooms, snow peas, optional bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Make the sauce and mix with chicken and veggies
- In a small bowl whisk together the chicken stock, sugar, sesame oil, remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Mix well.
- Add the chicken back and add in the sauce. Cook over high heat until it starts to thicken.
- Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice or noodles.
Notes
- *The traditional moo goo gai pan recipe calls for bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, but you can use other vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage.
- The recipe can be made in advance and meal prepped up to 3 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Please read our nutrition disclaimer.
Editor note: Published Nov. 30, 2017 and updated Oct 16, 2019
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I just learned how to make my favorite Chinese food omg i am so grateful to have found this site moo goo gai pan I can’t wait to make it .thank you
Hi Veronica, Thanks for your review and glad to hear from a fellow Moo Goo Gai Pan aficionado! 🙂