Pretty good copycat of Panda Express mushroom chicken, pretty cheap and tasty. Made enough for 3-4 servings with rice.
Ingredients:
-1lb Chicken thighs boneless and skinless, cut into small cubes (abt 3-4 thighs)
-2 cups white mushrooms sliced into pieces (abt 8-10 large mushrooms)
-2 cups zucchini or yellow squash, sliced and cut in half moon shapes (1 large zucchini)
-1 tablespoon oil for cooking (I used vegetable oil bc it was a little hot and olive oil doesn’t do as well at high heat)
-optional: 1 cup carrots, cut into matchstick size pieces. You could add other veg too
-optional: 3 cloves chopped garlic (I really love garlic but there’s some in the sauce so up to you)
For sauce/marinade:
-2 tablespoons soy sauce
-1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (rice wine vinegar would be better but I used what I had)
-1 tablespoon sugar
-2 tablespoons garlic powder
-1 tsp black pepper
-1 tsp ginger powder
-½ tsp chili powder
Step 1:
Make sauce. Mix together the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic powder, ginger, pepper and chili powder.
Step 2:
Marinate. Put the chicken in a bowl or ziploc bag and cover with the sauce. Let it sit in the fridge for a few hours—I left mine overnight and cooked it the next day but even 30 mins should be ok.
Step 3:
Heat a large frying pan or skillet on high heat. You want the pan to be pretty hot. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to the pan.
Step 4: Once the oil is hot, use a spoon to add your chicken to the pan. Leave most of the sauce in the bowl if you can do the sugar doesn’t burn. Spread it in a thin layer and let it cook, stirring occasionally so the pieces cook on all sides.
Step 5:
Once the chicken looks almost cooked, add the mushrooms. Let them cook for about a minute, stirring. Then add the rest of the veggies you are using.
Step 6:
Pour in the rest of the sauce left over from marinating the chicken. Add chopped garlic now if you are using it. Stir everything until it is coated lightly with the sauce.
Step 7:
Cover the pan to help the veggies cook, check on it occasionally but maybe 3-5 minutes. Once the squash has started to soften remove the lid and cook uncovered for a minute or two until everything is cooked.
Step 8:
Serve over rice and enjoy!
This recipe is a little more work but it definitely felt worth it as a healthy alternative to fast food.
You can cut and prep everything the night before, or buy precut produce, then throw it together the next day in 15-20minutes.
I had the spices and things on hand, so I only spent ~$5 for the chicken and veg. Pretty cheap for 4 meals and it felt like a treat!
