Steamed Chicken with Mushrooms and Dried Lily Flowers is a combination of flavors guaranteed to take you back to your favorite family side dishes! It’s beautifully simple and you’ll only need to use ONE DISH. Just mix everything together, steam and enjoy plump moist chicken in a sauce made from pure meat juices.
Want to take the flavor to another level? Try braising it!
Dad’s Steamed Chicken with Mushrooms and Dried Lily Flowers is a terrific weeknight favorite. It’s one of those recipes you’ll LOVE having in your back pocket because getting it on the dinner table is just so easy. First season, then steam and voilà.
Plus, you’ll only need a single dish so there’s less washing up!
It’s a year-round winner of a recipe for two reasons: (1) you get comforting flavors from the simple seasoning which is perfect for Winter and (2) the lily buds’ light floral sweetness makes it a fantastic Spring meal.
But above all else, the chicken comes out silky smooth every time. Just like when you steam eggs, pork spare ribs or oysters, it’s reminiscent of eating velvet over rice.
No matter how many times we have this at home, it’s a dish we always love!
Why this recipe works
- Soaking the dried ingredients beforehand means they’ll be ready to use when you start cooking.
- The seasoning is kept simple so the taste of the mushrooms, flowers and chicken shines.
- Steaming until just cooked helps the meat to stay springy and moist.
What you’ll need
About the ingredients
We used chicken thigh for this recipe, but you can use whichever cut you like. Dad has used wings in the past and this dish will also work well with breast.
You can also lay slices of Chinese sausages on top to steam with everything.
Look for all the ingredients in Asian supermarkets. As for the dehydrated ingredients, make sure that they’re soaked in cool water for at least 20 minutes to soften.
How to make this recipe
Mix all the ingredients together in a steam-safe dish, except for the flowers.
Lay the dried lily flowers on top.
Set up the steamer and place the dish in to steam for 25 minutes or until the chicken’s just cooked.
Note: Make sure the lid is on the whole time.
When ready, serve hot as is!
Recipe FAQs
You can substitute the oyster sauce for a meatless option and replace the chicken with large mushrooms like king oyster or portobello.
No, just having a lid over the top will do. This also keeps the moisture circulating inside.
You sure can! I would suggest lowering the time to 3-4 minutes on the ‘high pressure’ setting, then a natural release for 10 minutes.
Tips for the best results
- Keep the pieces uniform. When cutting the meat, try to make them a similar size so they can cook evenly in the same amount of time.
- Opt for a fattier cut. While breast meat is leaner, you’ll get a juicer bite using thigh or wings.
- Use dehyrated rather than fresh mushrooms. Being dehydrated means the flavor becomes quite concentrated, so rehydrating them will make that potent umami shine.
If you love simple comfort food, try these classics
- Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (蠔油芥籣) – Enjoy this dim sum favorite at home and get some greens into your meals with just a few ingredients.
- Egg and Tomato Stir Fry (番茄炒蛋) – It’s a side dish that’s made often at our house because of its simplicity. It’s also super easy to get eggs and tomatoes!
- Bittermelon Stir Fry with Eggs – Whip this recipe up in just 30 minutes with a fruit that’s known to cool the body down.
- Winter Melon Stir Fry – Enjoy pops of flavor from dried shrimps stir fried with firm yet tender winter melon strips.
- Eggplant and Pork Mince Stir Fry – Bite into juicy eggplants that have soaked up every drop of flavor from the sauce, then pour it all generously over rice!
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Steamed Chicken with Mushrooms and Dried Lily Flowers
Equipment
- Steamer
Ingredients
- 600 g / 1.3 lb chicken thigh
- 20 g / 0.04 lb rehydrated shiitake mushrooms (sliced into 5mm/0.2" slices)
- 10 g / 0.02 rehydrated woodear mushrooms
- 7 g / 0.015 lb rehydrated lily flowers (hard tips cut off)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste)
- 1 1/4 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together in a steam-safe dish, except for the flowers.
- Lay the dried lily flowers on top.
- Set up the steamer and place the dish in to steam for 25 minutes or until the chicken's just cooked. Note: Make sure the lid is on the whole time.
- When ready, serve hot as is!
Notes
- Keep the pieces uniform. When cutting the meat, try to make them a similar size so they can cook evenly in the same amount of time.
- Opt for a fattier cut. While breast meat is leaner, you'll get a juicer bite using thigh or wings.
- Use dehyrated rather than fresh mushrooms. Being dehydrated means the flavor becomes quite concentrated, so rehydrating them will make that potent umami shine.
- You can find all the ingredients in Asian supermarkets.
- We used chicken thigh, but you can use whichever cut you like. Dad has used wings in the past and this dish will also work well with breast.
- You can also lay slices of Chinese sausages on top to steam with everything.
- All the dehydrated ingredients need to be soaked in cool water for at least 20 minutes to soften.
Simple, easy and flavourful. I made this with fish slices though (didn’t have chicken) and it was good! The kids ate it up, even the one that doesn’t like fish much.
That’s wonderful to hear, Anne! I’m glad you liked it and made it work for what you had on hand!
What a delicious dish! A great way to use chicken in a different way too. I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks, Dannii! Definitely great with chicken!
I have never cooked with lily flower before and am intrigued. Can’t wait to make a trip to the market so I can make this!
I hope you get to find it and make it soon, Danielle!
Lily flowers on chicken? Wow, what an interesting recipe and flavor combo. I have to give this a try. Lilies are my favorite flower. They smell beautifully.
They add a wonderful fragrance to the chicken!
So much flavour and cooked using only one dish! Never had lily flowers before but they really added to the dish.
That’s so wonderful to hear, Stacy! Glad it worked out!
This sounds very delicious and full of so much flavor! My family and I are going to love this for dinner soon. Excited to give this a try!
Thanks, Beth! Enjoy!
This is the first recipe that I tried from your site. It reminded me of a dish that my mom prepared when I was growing up. After cutting up the chicken and vegetables, I realized that I was out of oyster sauce so I substituted hoisin sauce and bottled black bean sauce and the results were delicious. The dish was wonderfully nostalgic and redolent with flavor. I will definitely make again and looking forward to the other recipes that you’ve created.