Chicken and Bean Sprouts seems like an obscure Chinese dish, but this is a great, refreshing, and easy-to-make stir fry. The bean sprouts are crunchy, delicious, and perfect for a light and healthy weekday dinner. All you have to do is slice and marinate the chicken, wash and drain the mung bean sprouts, stir fry in a crazy hot wok, and serve with rice!
Mung Bean Sprouts vs. Soy Bean Sprouts
This dish is really simple for any home cook, but the ingredients are core to this dish, so let’s talk about some of them.
Mung bean sprouts and soy bean sprouts are the two main types of bean sprouts used in Chinese cooking, and they are distinctly different:
- Mung bean sprouts are tender, crunchy, and have a small soft bean, in addition to a smaller stem.
- Soy bean sprouts have a larger, firm bean. What this means is that when you eat a soy bean sprout, you are basically eating the large soybean with a tender, crunchy stem.
See our Chinese ingredients page for more details and pictures on the differences between mung bean and soy bean sprouts.
Many Cantonese dishes call for mung bean sprouts as a complementary ingredient. Examples include Roast Pork Fried Rice and Chicken Lo Mein. While other regions like Shanghai and Sichuan favor the soy bean sprout in dishes like Fish and Tofu Soup and Sichuan Boiled Beef (Shui Zhu Niu), mung bean sprouts are the more tender of the two, and our family’s personal favorite!
Use Fresh or Dried Mushrooms
This recipe also calls for fresh Chinese black mushrooms or Shiitake mushrooms, but you can use dried mushrooms as well. Dried shiitake mushrooms will have a stronger flavor than fresh mushrooms so choose what suits your taste, and use slightly fewer than what’s listed in the ingredients if you don’t want mushroom flavor to overpower the dish.
Either way, the mushrooms will add an extra umami flavor to your chicken and bean sprouts stir-fry! If you’re using dried mushrooms, be sure to give yourself enough time to soak them so they rehydrate properly.
You should allow a minimum of 30 minutes, even if you are rehydrating them with hot water to speed up the process. See our Chinese preserved ingredients page for more details.
A Note on MSG
You’ll also notice that I have included MSG (MonoSodium Glutamate) in the ingredients list as optional because we have had many comments from readers asking why their dishes don’t taste like the restaurant.
Usually, it’s because we have all of the ingredients and techniques that the restaurants use *juuust short* of adding MSG. Restaurants use this stuff liberally!
We’ve included it here for anyone looking to make the final jump to “restaurant-style” cooking. So, use your own judgement and experiment as along as you don’t have any aversion to MSG.
But of course, without the MSG, this chicken and bean sprouts dish is still quick, tasty, and healthy. Here are the detailed directions and photos to make things even easier for you. Enjoy this one!
Chicken & Bean Sprouts: Recipe Instructions
For the chicken, mix 1 tablespoon of water with the strips of chicken until the water has been completely absorbed by the meat. Add the oil, soy sauce, and cornstarch, and mix until well combined. Set aside for 20 minutes. For more information and preparing chicken for stir fries, see Bill’s post on Chicken velveting 101.
Next, wash the fresh mung bean sprouts in a large bowl of cold water, leaving the bean sprouts in the water for two to three minutes so they are rehydrated. This step not only washes the sprouts but also allows them to absorb some of that cold water to regain their freshness and crunch.
Transfer them to a colander, setting them over a bowl or the sink to let the excess water drain completely. The root portion of the bean sprout can be a bit stringy and unpleasant, and some folks do pinch it off. A word of caution though that it is a lot of work, so we usually settle for a good couple of rinses in cold water.
Finally, prepare the other ingredients (namely the scallions, garlic, and shiitake mushrooms). Cooking this chicken and bean sprouts dish quickly is really important, so your bean sprouts don’t turn to mush. If you’re not great adding quick measurements of spices, oils, and sauces, it’s best if you have all of those ingredients prepped and measured in advance, in addition to the fresh ingredients.
Heat your wok on high heat until it just starts to smoke, and spread 2 tablespoons of oil around the perimeter of the wok. Add the chicken, and use your spatula to spread the meat evenly across the wok. Sear for another 20 seconds (i.e., without mixing the chicken around), stir fry for another 20 seconds, and transfer the chicken to a bowl.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok, along with the mushrooms and the white portions of the scallions. Stir fry for 10 seconds, and add the garlic. You should have the wok at the highest heat you can muster at this point!
Next, add the mung bean sprouts and stir fry everything together. Spread the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok, and give everything another quick stir.
Then add the oyster sauce, salt, sesame oil, white pepper, and MSG, if using.
Add the chicken back to the wok, along with any liquid in the bowl, and the green portions of the scallions. Again, the burner should be at maximum heat at this point!
A quick trick that Kaitlin learned cooking on a narrow stovetop in college is to hold the wok between two gas burners at max heat, to get as much heat as possible!
Stir-fry for another 10 seconds until everything is well combined, making sure to spread the mixture around the sides of the wok to get that wok hei sear and flavor. There will be some liquid in the wok and when that is bubbling, stir in the cornstarch and water mixture.
Stir fry for another 15 seconds or so, until the mung bean sprouts are just starting to turn transparent.
Transfer your chicken and bean sprouts to a plate and serve with hot white rice!
Hope you enjoy this chicken and bean sprouts dish as a regular quick and easy meal!
Chicken and Bean Sprouts Stir-Fry
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade, you’ll need:
- 8 ounces chicken thighs (or chicken breast, cut into thin strips, 225g)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For the rest of the dish, you’ll need:
- 1 pound fresh mung bean sprouts
- 4 scallions (cut in half lengthwise, and then into 2-inch pieces, white and green parts separated)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 5 shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dried/reconstituted, sliced)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon MSG (definitely optional, really gives that extra restaurant flavor)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch (dissolved in 2 teaspoons water)
Instructions
- For the chicken, mix 1 tablespoon of water with the strips of chicken until the water has been completely absorbed by the meat. Add the oil, soy sauce, and cornstarch, and mix until well combined. Set aside for 20 minutes.
- Next, wash the mung bean sprouts in a large bowl of cold water, leaving the bean sprouts in the water for two to three minutes so they are rehydrated. This step not only washes the sprouts but also allows them to absorb some of that cold water to regain their freshness and crunch. Transfer them to a colander, setting them over a bowl or the sink to let the excess water drain completely. The root portion of the bean sprout can be a bit stringy and unpleasant, and some folks do pinch it off--but a word of caution that it is a lot of work, so we usually settle for a good couple of rinses in cold water.
- Finally, prepare the other ingredients--namely the scallions, garlic, and mushrooms. Cooking this dish quickly is really important, so your bean sprouts don’t turn to mush. If you’re not great adding quick measurements of spices, oils, and sauces, it’s best if you have all of those ingredients prepped and measured in advance, in addition to the fresh ingredients.
- Heat your wok on high heat until it just starts to smoke, and spread 2 tablespoons of oil around the perimeter of the wok. Add the chicken, and use your spatula to spread the meat evenly across the wok. Sear for another 20 seconds (i.e., without mixing the chicken around), stir fry for another 20 seconds, and transfer the chicken to a bowl.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok, along with the mushrooms and the white portions of the scallions. Stir fry for 10 seconds, and add the garlic. You should have the wok at the highest heat you can muster at this point!
- Next, add the mung bean sprouts and stir fry everything together. Spread the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok, and give everything another quick stir. Then add the oyster sauce, salt, sesame oil, white pepper, and MSG, if using.
- Add the chicken back to the wok, along with any liquid in the bowl, and the green portions of the scallions. Again, the burner should be at maximum heat at this point! A quick trick that Kaitlin learned cooking on a narrow stovetop in college is to hold the wok between two gas burners at max heat, to get as much heat as possible!
- Stir-fry for another 10 seconds until everything is well combined, making sure to spread the mixture around the sides of the wok to get that wok hei sear and flavor. There will be some liquid in the wok and when that is bubbling, stir in the cornstarch and water mixture.
- Stir fry for another 15 seconds or so, until the mung bean sprouts are just starting to turn transparent. Serve!
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