This Steamed Chicken and Shiitake Bowl with a spicy coriander sauce is perfect for when you’ve had a long day and need something easy and comforting to make. Seasoned with lemongrass, garlic, and ginger, it's all made in one bowl that takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and results in the most delicious dish.
This steamed chicken dish is a great dish served with rice, noodles, or just on its own! The steaming method creates a load of aromatic juices from the chicken and the shiitake, resulting in a lovely juicy nutritious broth.
If you're looking for more chicken recipes, then you'll love my 20 minute honey ginger chicken or my scallion chicken recipe. For more of a meal, my lemon chicken ramen is always a go-to of mine when I can't be bothered to cook but want something comforting and tasty.
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Why you'll love this recipe
One bowl: this steamed chicken is all made in one bowl, so minimal washing up and low effort.
Quick: From start to finish this recipe takes around 20 minutes. 5 minutes to prep the ingredients and place them in the bowl, and 15 minutes to cook!
Nutritious: Steaming helps retain more vitamins and minerals in food compared to other cooking methods.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Chicken: I've used chicken thigh as its a super moist and tender cut of the chicken. Chicken breast can also work but it won't be as succulent. For a veggie option, extra firm tofu chopped into medium-sized cubes would be a great option.
Shiitake Mushrooms: rich and earthy in flavour, these are a great source of umami in a dish like this steamed chicken recipe. If you don't have shiitake mushrooms, then shimeji, chestnut, portobello, or oyster mushrooms would be great.
Ginger: fresh ginger is used for the steamed chicken and in the sauce. I wouldn't recommend using ground ginger, so if you don't have it available, then just skip this step.
Lemongrass: fresh lemongrass is one of my favourite ingredients and we'll be using it for both the steamed chicken and the sauce. It's zesty, fresh, and full of aroma.
Garlic: you'll want fresh garlic for the chicken and for the sauce. You can use garlic powder if you don't have fresh available.
Soy sauce: Light soy sauce is what you'll need. It's lower in sodium (salt) and lighter in colour, making it the perfect seasoning for our dish.
Chilli: a fresh red chilli. You can also use fresh chilli flakes if you like.
Spring onions: for garnish and in our sauce. If you don't have spring onions, chives are a great substitute.
Coriander: or cilantro, the perfect herb to add freshness to a dish. If you don't like coriander, I'd recommend just not making the sauce and enjoying the steamed chicken and its juices with rice or noodles.
Chicken broth: or chicken stock, this is for the coriander sauce. You could also use veggie stock.
Please find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card further down this blog.
Step by step instructions with photos
Step 1: Get yourself a deep flat bowl that will fit into your steaming pot and then add in your chopped chicken thighs, minced ginger, lemongrass, garlic, pinch of salt, grind of pepper, sugar, soy sauce, and olive oil. Give everything a really good mix.
Step 2: Put a circular rack or a small, heatproof bowl upside down at the bottom of a large saucepan or pot with a lid. Carefully pour boiling water into the pot until it reaches about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the rack or bowl. This setup will keep whatever you're steaming elevated above the water level.
Step 3: Place your chicken bowl into the pot on top of your steaming implement and add the lid onto your pot. Place on medium heat and steam for 15 minutes.
Step 4: Meanwhile, place all of your sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Step 5: After 15 minutes, carefully remove the steamed chicken from the pot, or you can leave it in there if it's too hot and serve from there.
Step 6: Ladle the steamed chicken juices out of the bowl and into a separate bowl. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the coriander sauce (more or less depending on your spice tolerance). Give it a mix and taste and adjust.
Step 7: Serve up your steamed chicken with rice and then pour over your coriander sauce. Top with spring onions and enjoy!
FAQs
Don't worry! Just grab a small bowl and place it upside down in a large pot or saucepan. Fill the surrounding space with boiling water about ¾ of the way up the bowl, providing a steaming platform for your chicken.
For sure! Replace the chicken with extra firm tofu (sliced into cubes), and use veggie broth instead of chicken broth for the coriander sauce.
Use a microwaveable, heat-proof bowl. I wouldn't recommend using wooden products.
More recipes you might enjoy!
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Steamed Chicken and Shiitake Bowl
Ingredients
For the steamed chicken
- 4 chicken thighs roughly chopped
- 150g shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ inch ginger minced
- 1 lemongrass stick, slice off top and stem, bash until broken to release aromas, finely chop
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon flaky salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the coriander sauce
- 1 red chilli
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ inch ginger
- 1 lemongrass slice off top and stem, bash to release aromas
- 1 spring onion topped and tailed
- 25g coriander
- 100ml chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon flaky sauce
- teaspoon sugar
What to serve with
- 2 portions rice
Instructions
- Get yourself a deep flat bowl that will fit into your steaming pot and then add in your chopped chicken thighs, minced ginger, lemongrass, garlic, pinch of salt, grind of pepper, sugar, soy sauce, and olive oil. Give everything a really good mix. It should smell very aromatic and delicious already!
- Put a circular rack or a small, heatproof bowl upside down at the bottom of a large saucepan or pot with a lid. Carefully pour boiling water into the pot until it reaches about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the rack or bowl. This setup will keep whatever you're steaming elevated above the water level.
- Place your chicken bowl into the pot on top of your steaming implement and add the lid onto your pot. Place on medium heat and steam for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place all of your sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and season accordingly.
- After 15 minutes, carefully remove the steamed chicken from the pot, or you can leave it in there if it's too hot and serve from there.
- Ladle the steamed chicken juices out of the bowl and into a separate bowl. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the coriander sauce (more or less depending on your spice tolerance). Give it a mix and taste and adjust.
- Serve up your steamed chicken with rice and then pour over your coriander sauce. Top with spring onions and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure you have at least 2 inches of water in the base of your pot when steaming, as you don't want the water to evaporate completely and then burn your pot!
- Choose a pot that is large enough to easily place your bowl into the pan and take it out - you'll want around 2 inches either side of each bowl so you can reach in with a kitchen towel and get it out without burning yourself.
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