This Panda Express Mushroom Chicken is definitely one of the lighter-fare options available at the popular Chinese-American fast food restaurant. The tender, bite sized chunks of chicken are wok fried with zucchini and mushrooms in a ginger and garlic soy sauce to make this tasty entree! It's a wonderfully flavorful dinner, and a quick meal to get on the table for the nights when your family is busy too!
If you're looking for some better than takeout Asian food recipes, try my Hibachi Steak and Shrimp! All of your favorite hibachi sides like hibachi fried noodles or hibachi vegetables are fun to make too!
I'm always a fan of quick stir fried dinners, and this copycat mushroom chicken recipe is at the top of my lists for quick and easy! Plus, zucchini is one of my favorites of all vegetables and I don't feel guilty feeding this wonderful chicken dinner to the family!
With only a few minutes of prep, this dinner is ready to make. It cooks just as quickly, and is ready to serve in only 25 minutes!
The menu version at Panda Express may only contain the zucchini and mushrooms, but there possibilities for adding in additional vegetables are endless! Add in your family favorites to make a spectacular stir fried dinner!
🥘 Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless - thin cut bite size chunks)
- Cornstarch
- Peanut Oil
- Sesame Seed Oil
- Zucchini (medium sized - cut in half lengthwise, then into small slices)
- White Button Mushrooms (or crimini mushrooms - washed and sliced)
- Garlic (minced, or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- Ginger (freshly grated, or use 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
- Soy Sauce
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Green Onion (sliced - optional garnish)
🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
- Prepare your chicken breast by slicing it into thin, bite sized chunks. Place the sliced chicken into a medium size mixing bowl with the cornstarch and toss the chicken until thoroughly coated.
- Heat your wok (large skillet, or frying pan) with both the peanut oil and sesame seed oil over medium high heat.
- Add the cornstarch coated chicken to your heated wok and cook for 4 minutes, turning to cook all sides of the chicken pieces.
- You should have lightly colored chicken when done, with no pink areas of raw chicken showing. Remove the cooked chicken from the wok and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
- Clear any debris from your cooking oil, then increase the temperature to high heat. Add the sliced zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms.
- Continue to stir fry your zucchini, with the mushrooms added, for about 2 - 3 more minutes. The vegetables should start to brown, and your zucchini should become tender. Cook longer if you like your zucchini really tender.
- Once the zucchini has reached your desired level of tenderness, add the minced garlic and ginger. Stir fry for an additional 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Return the cooked chicken to your wok, then add soy sauce, light brown sugar and rice wine vinegar. Toss to thoroughly coat all ingredients, and cook until the chicken is warmed through. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Garnish your Panda Express Mushroom Chicken with sliced green onions, if desired. Serve with some Instant Pot jasmine rice or tasty hibachi fried rice!
Looking for more fabulous Panda Express copycat recipes? I’ve made enough that it was time to add a dedicated Panda Express Recipes index page so that you can find all of your favorite entrees, sides, and appetizers quickly!
🐼 Panda Express Chicken Entrees
All my Panda Express Recipes
- Panda Express Orange Chicken
- Panda Express SweetFire Chicken Breast
- Panda Express String Bean Chicken
- Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken
📋 Recipe
Panda Express Mushroom Chicken {Copycat Recipe}
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts (boneless, skinless - thin cut bite size chunks)
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
- 2 zucchini (medium sized - cut in half lengthwise, then into small slices)
- 8 oz white mushrooms (or crimini mushrooms - washed and sliced)
- ½ tablespoon garlic (minced, or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- ½ tablespoon ginger (freshly grated, or use 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon brown sugar
- green onion (sliced - optional garnish)
Instructions
- In a medium size mixing bowl, add the sliced chicken and cornstarch. Coat the chicken pieces thoroughly with the corn starch.
- Heat your wok (or large skillet or frying pan) with the peanut oil and sesame seed oil over medium high heat. Add the cornstarch coated chicken and cook for 4 minutes, turning to cook all sides. You should have light colored chicken pieces, with no pink showing when done.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the wok, and set onto a paper towel lined plate.
- Skim any debris from your cooking oil, then increase the temperature to high heat. Add the zucchini and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, or as needed.
- Add the garlic and ginger once your vegetables are cooked and the zucchini is fork tender. Continue to stir fry for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Return the chicken to your wok, and add the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice wine vinegar. Toss to coat thoroughly. Cook until the chicken is warmed through again, then serve immediately. Garnish with optional green onions.
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
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