Moo goo gai pan is a delicious chicken and mushroom stir fry with a light, clear sauce. An easy chicken & vegetable stir fry ready in 20 minutes!
Moo goo gai pan is a tasty stir fry made with sliced chicken, mushrooms, and vegetables stir fried together in a light, clear Chinese sauce.
The direct translation for 'moo goo gai pan' means button mushrooms with sliced chicken. 'Moo goo' means button mushrooms and 'gai pan' means sliced chicken. That's why you'll always see sliced chicken and mushrooms in this dish, along with other vegetables.
Why this recipe works
- It's a delicious, healthy recipe that's made with lean, boneless, skinless chicken breast and an assortment of vegetables.
- A quick and easy weeknight meal that tastes even better than takeout and ready in 20 minutes!
- It's low carb friendly because the sauce isn't as sweet as other stir fry sauces and you can serve this with cauliflower rice.
- Versatile recipe - make this with any vegetables you have on hand. It's traditionally made with chicken but any protein would taste amazing! Try it with shrimp, pork, beef, or fish!
Ingredients you'll need
- Chicken - I used boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thinly. You can use any cut of chicken you'd like.
- Mushrooms - traditionally button mushrooms are used but I opted for shiitake mushrooms since they have more flavor. Use any mushrooms you like!
- Vegetables - about 4 cups for 4 servings. Use any combination of vegetables you have on hand. Broccoli, snow peas, carrots, and onions are excellent in this recipe.
- Water chestnuts - great for adding crunchy texture!
Moo Goo Gai Pan Sauce
The sauce is a light, clear sauce usually called Chinese white sauce. It's made from clear vegetable or chicken broth, flavored with garlic and ginger, and thickened with cornstarch.
The ingredients are clear chicken or vegetable stock, garlic, ginger, salt, sweetener (optional), sesame oil, and cornstarch.
Step by step instructions
- Start by marinate the chicken while prepping the other ingredients.
- Mix the ingredients for the white sauce sauce together in a medium size bowl.
- Cook the chicken in a pan or wok for 2 to 3 minutes and set it aside.
- Stir fry the mushrooms, broccoli, carrots for about 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken back into the pan along with the bamboo shoots and water chestnut. Continue cooking for 1 minute.
- Add the sauce into the pan and quickly toss everything together until the sauce thickens and becomes clear. This should take about 2 minutes.
- Once the white sauce turns clear and thickens up, it's ready to serve.
Sprinkle sesame seeds for garnish and serve immediately.
Variations & substitutions
- Substitute with any vegetables you have on hand. You want about 4 cups of vegetables for 4 servings.
- Vegetable options: cabbage, bok choy, celery, baby corn, sugar snap peas, and zucchini would all make great additions to this recipe!
- Protein options: This dish is traditionally made with chicken but you can substitute with any protein of your choice! Shrimp, pork, beef, or other seafood would delicious as well.
- If you want to make a spicy moo goo gai pan, I recommend any of the following to add a bit of heat: chili pepper flakes, lao gan ma, sriracha, Szechuan chili peppers.
Frequently asked questions
This is a popular Americanized Cantonese dish made with sliced chicken and button mushrooms.
'Moo goo gai pan' means button mushrooms with sliced chicken. 'Moo goo' translates to button mushrooms and 'gai pan' translates to sliced chicken. That's why you'll always see sliced chicken and mushrooms in this dish, along with other vegetables.
The sauce is a Chinese white sauce that's made of clear chicken or vegetable broth, garlic, and ginger. It's a light sauce that's thickened with cornstarch. The absence of soy sauce gives this a light color which is why it's called a white sauce.
This recipe has 326 calories per serving and is made with lean, skinless, boneless chicken breast. You can choose to use any vegetables you'd like but traditionally mushrooms are always included.
You can make this a part of a low carb meal by serving this with cauliflower rice and using low carb vegetables.
More chicken stir fry recipes:
- Chicken Chow Mein with Vegetables – Better than Takeout!
- The Best Chicken Lo Mein
- Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken Copycat
- Panda Express Mushroom Chicken Copycat
- Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry
- Panda Express String Bean Chicken Breast Copycat
- PF Chang’s Inspired Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Sweet & Tangy Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry
Recipe
Moo Goo Gai Pan
☑ Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast - - sliced thinly
- 1 ½ cups shiitake mushrooms - - sliced
- 2 cups broccoli - - cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup carrots - - sliced
- 1 cup snow peas
- ½ cup onions - - chopped
- 8 oz sliced water chestnut
- 8 oz bamboo shoots
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil - - for stir frying
- toasted white sesame seeds - - (optional) for garnish
Chicken Marinade
- 1 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Shaoxing wine - - substitute with white wine or mirin
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
Moo Goo Gai Pan Sauce
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ Tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ Tablespoon Shaoxing wine - - substitute with white wine or mirin
- 2 cloves garlic - - minced
- ½ teaspoon ginger - - grated
- ¼ teaspoon sugar - - (optional)
- salt to taste - - I added ½ teaspoon
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken while you prep the vegetables and prepare the sauce.
- Mix together the ingredients for the sauce in a medium sized bowl and set it aside.
- Heat a pan or wok over medium high heat and add the oil. Once the pan is hot, add the sliced chicken to the pan and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove it from the pan and set it aside.
- Add the mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, and onions to the pan. Stir fry together for about 2 to 3 minutes and then add the snow peas and cook for another minute.
- Add the chicken back into the pan along with the water chestnut and bamboo shoots.
- Finally add the sauce to the pan and toss to combine everything together until the sauce thickens up and becomes clear. Keeping things moving in the pan so the sauce evenly coats the vegetables. This should take about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.
Laura
The sauce is really easy to prepare and delicious. I added broccoli, carrots, and zucchini. It was delicious and much lighter than takeout. Thank you!
Jamie
Thanks Laura! Yes, the sauce is great and goes with so many stir fries. So glad you liked it!
Marta
I lived on moo goo gai pan during college but never made it at home! This was such an easy dish to make, this took me back to those days.
Jamie
Thanks Marta! So glad you liked this!
Sara
Really easy and delicious! I added some cabbage and extra mushrooms and it was awesome!
Jamie
Thanks Sara! Great idea adding cabbage and extra mushrooms!
Amy
Delicious! I love how this is a healthy, easy to make stir fry dish that's full of vegetables. My family loved it.
Jamie
Thanks for trying it out Amy! So happy your family loved it.
Olivia
Hi Jamie,
Your recipe has been an amazing addition to our meal planning. My partner and I challenged ourselves this year to not eat out or order take away... for the whole year!!
We have missed some of our favourites from our local restaurant, but coming across your blog has been fantastic. This is our favourite - but we also love your Yaki Udon!
I have spied many other recipes I am excited to try. Next up is your Korean Fried Chicken, and I think the cucumber salad and pickled daikon will be perfect to serve alongside.
Thanks, and keep sharing your amazing recipes - we are huge fans!
Kind regards,
Olivia
Jamie
Thank you so much Olivia! Those are all wonderful recipes to try and some of my favorites! That's great you and your partner are trying to eat in more this year. We're trying to do the same. I'm so glad you enjoyed this moo goo gai pan recipe!
Veronica
I love making stir fries at home but my kids can't have spicy food so decided to try this for dinner last night. It was amazing! The moo goo gai pan sauce was incredible and my kids loved it! This is going to be a repeat recipe for sure!
Jamie
Thanks Veronica! You're right, this is a great, non-spicy stir fry dish for kids. I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed it!
Gunjan
This is an awesome recipe. I usually order this for takeout but now I won't need to because this recipe is so good. I had no idea it was so easy making moo goo gai pan at home!
Jamie
Thank Gunjan! It's a favorite takeout recipe for us too! 🙂
Sarah
So yummy and light tasting dish. A family favourite from now on! Thank you for such a great recipe. 🤤
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
This dish looks incredibly delicious. I have to make this tonight!
Jenny
I made this over the weekend and love how healthy and delicious this was. This recipe is really great, very detailed and easy to understand and it tasted just like the restaurant version.
Janelle
I actually made this a vegan moo goo gai pan by replacing the chicken with tofu and using vegetable stock in the sauce. It was soo good!
Amanda Mason
So amazing! Moo Goo Gai Pan was the first Chinese recipe I ever tried when I was about 10 yrs old. Made this recipe and it reminded me of my childhood! I added sliced water chestnuts - SO DELISH! Thanks for a fabulous recipe!
Jamie
Thank you so much Amanda! I'm so happy you liked it! 🙂
Anjali
This was super easy to make and so so flavorful thanks to the delicious sauce! Will definitely be making it again soon!
Jamie
Thanks Anjali! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Irina
This came out really yummy and looked exactly like yours! The shiitake mushrooms made a huge difference in flavor!
Jamie
Thanks for trying it out Irina! I love shiitake mushrooms in here too. 🙂
Monica
I love a good takeout fakeout recipe and this is one of them! It was easy and delicious! I've been cooking a lot more Asian-inspired dishes at home this year, just to change things up, and this is definitely going in the regular rotation!
Jamie
Thanks Monica! It's a regular meal at our house too!
Aline
Made this recipe tonight and we loved it!!! Definitely recommend and will be making it again this week!! Thank you!!
Jamie
Yay! Glad to hear that Aline!
Uma Srinivas
All the ingredients look good. Quick and easy dish is always winner! Pictures are beautiful and lovely share!
Betty
This recipe was used to make our very delicious dinner. The sauce is really good - we used veggie stock and white wine. The chicken cooked up nicely and the sauce added a really lovely, silky coating. I have had moo goo gai pan from my local restaurants and take away before, but this was so easy and delicious make! It made me realize homemade is so much better!
Jamie
Thank you so much Betty! Homemade is definitely better. So glad you enjoyed this!