Shanghai Chicken Stir Fry

Shanghai chicken is a quick and easy stir fry featuring Chinese five spice and loads of garlic and ginger in a spicy, sweet and salty sauce.

When I say quick and easy, this recipe will take you around 15 minutes to prepare and less than 10 minutes to cook!

Quick and Easy Lightly Spiced Chicken Stir Fry

You really can’t beat a stir fry for a quick and easy meal! Sure the prep may seem onerous and it all needs to be done in advance, but 5-10 minutes of frantic cooking and dinner is ready is always awesome!

My site is littered with examples, from classics like beef in black bean sauce and Chinese chicken and mushroom stir fry to more esoteric offerings like my spam fried rice.

My latest recipe is Shanghai chicken, a gloriously simple lightly spiced, sweet and salty dish. I’ve tried to work out where this recipe came from, but like so many dishes that have the name of a place, it seems to be entirely unrelated.

Shanghainese chicken is the closest I can get to and it is nothing like this fairly popular dish.

Shaoxing rice wine, soy sauce and dark brown sugar do all of the heavy lifting for the sauce. Garlic, ginger, Chinese five spice and beautifully soft chicken are the main ingredients of the stir fry.

I like to add crispy chilli oil rather than fresh chillies to give this dish a little spice.

Then all you do is roll up your sleeves and get frying, don’t worry, it won’t take long because this recipe cooks in about 5 minutes!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you add bicarbonate of soda to the chicken?

Tenderising chicken with bicarbonate of soda is a well-trodden path, particularly with Chinese takeaway dishes. It leads to beautifully soft and tender meat.

If you are from the US, bicarbonate of soda is called baking soda in your neck of the woods!

What is Lao Gan Ma?

Lao gan ma is a popular brand of Chinese crispy chilli oil and as far as I am concerned it is magic! If I want spice in a Chinese dish, it is the first thing that I reach for.

You tend to need to go to a Chinese supermarket or store to find it. Lee Kum Kee, make something similar called Chiu Chow Chilli Oil, I don’t think it is as nice, but it works and it is commonly available in major British supermarkets.

Do I have to use the MSG?

Nope, feel free to omit it, but you will be missing out on a boatload of flavour!

What is Shaoxing wine?

It is a Chinese cooking wine made from fermented glutinous rice, I use it a lot.

If you cannot get Shaoxing wine you can substitute it with any rice wine. Dry sherry is often seen as a decent substitution for rice wine, although I think that a dry gin is better.

Can I make this in advance and reheat it?

I really wouldn’t bother with this, the cooking time is so incredibly short (5-6 minutes) you are saving almost no time!

Serving Suggestions

I’ve served this Shanghai chicken stir fry with an old favourite in the pictures on this page, egg fried rice.

It does take a little juggling to do this, I make the egg-fried rice in a 30cm (12″) frying pan, without adding the spring onions and sesame oil. When I add the sauce to this recipe I finish the fried rice and everything is ready at the same time.

You could serve it with a simple plain rice, there is plenty of flavour in this sauce to go round!

Noodles are another great option to serve as a side for this dish. It goes very well with a plain chow mein!

This is a meaty old stir fry with no veggies, and if you wanted to up your veggie intake, both my broccoli stir fry or stir-fried asparagus would work well as a side for this dish.

Equipment Used

I only mention brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Hob/Stovetop.
• Wok.
• Spoon for stir-frying.
• Kitchen knife.
• Chopping board.
• Spoon or other method to peel the ginger.
• Mixing bowls.
• Colander to drain the chicken.
• Kitchen paper.
• Mixing bowls.
• A combination of weighing scales and measuring spoons.

Shanghai Chicken Step-by-Step Photos

1. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the prepared chicken pieces and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
   
2. Mix the rice wine, light and dark soy sauces, brown sugar, crispy chilli oil and MSG in a mixing bowl and set aside.
   
3. Heat a wok over high-heat, when it is hot add the oil quickly followed by the longer spring onions and stir fry for 30 seconds.
   
4. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 15 seconds.
   
5. Throw in the rinsed chicken, sprinkle over the Chinese five spice and cook for 2 minutes.
   
6. Move the chicken to the side of the wok to create a space for the sauce. Pour the sauce into the space; once it begins to bubble, mix it with the chicken and cook for the final 2 minutes. Serve with spring onion and your favourite rice side dish.