Sanbeiji(三杯雞), or Three Cup Chicken is a savoury dish that is originated from Taiwan.
“Three Cup” represents three main ingredients in the marinade including, sesame oil, soy sauce and rice wine. In this recipe, I have replaced chicken with fresh lion’s mane mushrooms (猴頭菇), which I grown them at home and bought the kit from Näckrosgården Finland.
Lion’s mane are commonly sold dried in stores in Asia and lion’s mane is very popular to use in soups. It is known to use to improve brain focus among the buddhist monks and in Chinese medicine point of view, they nourish the gut, combat deficiency of Qi and even fight cancer.
I found using lion’s mane to substitute meat, especially chicken in this recipe, is an excellent choice as it gives a shreddy and meaty texture. If you are looking for an alternative for oyster mushrooms, lion’s mane can be an ideal option.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 4 large heads of fresh lion’s mane
- 2 tbsp cornstarch to coat
- For Marinade:
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- a few shakes of ground white pepper
- Vegetable oil for cooking
To serve:
Iceberg lettuce or young cabbage leaves to serve
1 stalk scallion/spring onion, trim and thinly sliced diagonally
Toasted sesame seeds
Recipe Preparation
Bring 500ml of water to boil in a small saucepan.
Break up lion’s mane into bite size and put them into the boiling water and flash cook for 20-30 seconds just until soft. Remove from heat and drain cooked mushrooms in a colander. Let cool until it’s possible to handle by hands. Meanwhile, prepare marinade. Mix all seasoning ingredients (except cooking oil) in a small bowl, set aside.
Gently squeeze out excess liquid from the mushrooms. In a shallow bowl, place mushrooms in a single layer and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cornstarch evenly onto mushrooms, gently turn and toss mushrooms with cornstarch by fingers.
Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil into a wok on medium high. Sauté mushrooms, toss with spatula frequently until they are browned all over, about 1-2 minutes. Stir the marinade once again just before pouring into the wok with mushrooms. Toss marinade all over the mushrooms until coated. Remove from heat.
Serve with lettuce cups, top with scallion and toasted sesame seeds.
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