Pan-fried chicken with mushroom sauce
The same pan for the sauce as the chicken, and a cornstarch slurry for the gloss. Two techniques, one dish that looks like it came from a restaurant.
Chicken with mushroom sauce is one of those dishes that looks like restaurant food and is genuinely simple once you understand two things: you need the same pan for the sauce that you cooked the chicken in, and a cornstarch slurry is what gives the sauce that thick, glossy texture without any cream.
That's it. Those are the two moves. Everything else is just timing.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
- Half an onion, finely sliced
- 200g mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
- 50ml milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Olive oil, salt, and pepper
For the marinade: - Salt, pepper, a pinch of dried garlic, a pinch of paprika, a small splash of olive oil
How to make it
Put the chicken strips in a bowl with the marinade ingredients and mix well. Let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes. The oil helps the dry spices actually stick to the meat instead of falling off in the pan.
Heat a pan over high heat with a splash of olive oil. When it's hot, add the chicken strips in a single layer. Don't overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches if needed. You want them to sear, not steam. Once coloured on both sides and cooked through, remove and set aside on a plate.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion to the same pan without wiping it. All the browned bits at the bottom are flavour, and the onion will pick them up as it softens. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms. They'll release a lot of water at first; keep the heat at medium and let that cook off. Once the mushrooms look properly cooked and the pan is mostly dry again, you're ready for the sauce.
Give the cornstarch slurry a quick stir (it settles) and pour it into the pan. Stir immediately. The sauce will thicken fast. Add the milk and let it bubble for a minute. Taste for salt and pepper.
Add the chicken back in and coat it in the sauce. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter. It melts into the sauce and gives it a bit of shine.
Serve with home fries, rice, or mashed potato.
The things that actually matter
On the pan: Don't wash it between the chicken and the sauce. The fond (the browned bits stuck to the bottom) is where most of the flavour comes from. The onion and mushroom liquid will lift it all off naturally.
On the cornstarch: Mix it with cold water before adding it to the pan, never hot. And stir it again right before you pour, because it settles quickly. It thickens the sauce in about 30 seconds so have everything else ready before you add it.
On the chicken: Thin strips cook faster and more evenly than thick chunks. If the strips are uneven in thickness, the thicker ones will still be raw when the thin ones are overdone. Aim for roughly the same size.
On the butter: Adding it off the heat at the end is a classic sauce technique. The butter emulsifies into the sauce and gives it a glossy finish. If you add it while the pan is still hot, it splits.