Garlic Stem and Cloud Ear Mushroom Stir-Fried Chicken (Suan Xin Yun Er Chao Ji)

Why people make this dish

Garlic scapes — the slender green stems pulled from the center of a garlic plant — are a seasonal spring ingredient available at Chinese and Asian grocers. Unlike garlic cloves, they have a gentle, sweet flavor that does not leave any unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth after eating. Paired with the pleasantly chewy cloud ear mushroom (yun er) and tender chicken thigh, this is the kind of quick, uncomplicated weeknight dish that tastes like effort without requiring much. Cloud ear mushroom has a long tradition in Chinese food therapy for its support of blood circulation and its softening effect on blood vessels — making it a useful ingredient to include in everyday cooking regardless of any particular health concern.

Method

1. Remove the thin fibrous outer skin from each section of garlic scape. This takes a little patience but makes the texture noticeably more tender and crisp when cooked.
2. Soak the dried cloud ear mushroom in warm water for 20–30 minutes until fully soft. Drain and rinse.
3. Cut boneless chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces; marinate with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, a pinch of cornstarch, and sesame oil for about 15 minutes.
4. Heat a wok over high heat and add oil. Stir-fry the minced ginger until fragrant.
5. Add the marinated chicken pieces and stir-fry until the surface is lightly golden and nearly cooked through.
6. Add the cloud ear mushroom and garlic scapes; toss everything together over high heat for a minute or two.
7. Add a splash of cooking wine and season with soy sauce or salt to taste. Add a small splash of water if the wok gets too dry.
8. Stir-fry until the chicken is just cooked through and the garlic scapes are tender-crisp. Scatter over the sliced spring onion and serve immediately.

Nourilo’s Tips

The key to enjoying garlic scapes is removing that thin outer skin from each section — it takes a small knife to get started on each piece, then you can peel it off in a strip. It does take a few extra minutes, but the result is a much more pleasant, crisp texture in the finished dish. Cloud ear mushroom comes in several varieties; the small-piece “mouse ear” (shu er) variety is particularly thick-fleshed, has no stem nub, and softens quickly — look for it in better dried goods stores.