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Chicken and Napa Cabbage in Egg Sauce
A classic Chinese dish in three parts: stir-fried napa cabbage, poached chicken, and savory egg sauce; a yummy dish that goes well with rice or flat rice noodles.
This chicken and napa cabbage in egg sauce is a Chinese dish that is very similar in taste and texture to wat tan hor fun. It is a very delicious dish that you can pair with a bowl of steamed rice to make for a complete meal.
The recipe may seem difficult from the outset, but the ingredients are easy to find. If you cook Chinese dishes at home, I am sure you already have all the ingredients in your pantry. And once you finish the prep work, the cooking steps themselves are a breeze.
Ingredients for chicken and napa cabbage in egg sauce
There are three parts to this dish: napa cabbage stir-fry, poached chicken, and egg sauce.
1. Napa cabbage stir-fry
The napa cabbage stir-fry is the easiest part of the dish, and it requires garlic, ginger, salt, and napa cabbage.
2. Poached chicken
We need boneless skinless chicken breast and a marinating sauce, a simple mix of light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, cornstarch, and white pepper.
3. Egg sauce
The final part of this dish is the egg sauce, and we need chicken stock, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, scallions, cornstarch, and eggs.
Marinate chicken and chop cabbage
Marinate chicken
Cut chicken breast into thin slices and place in a mixing bowl. Add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, cornstarch, and white pepper. Mix well and marinate for 15 minutes.
Chop cabbage
Wash and drain napa cabbage. Discard the core and chop into 2-inch squares.
I suggest separating the leaves from the stems. Cook the stems first for a couple of minutes before adding the leaves to ensure the same level of tenderness and crispiness.
Part 1: Stir fry cabbage
Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Once the wok is hot, add oil and swirl to coat. Sauté half of the garlic and half of the ginger until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Add the stems of napa cabbage and stir for 2 minutes. Add the leaves of napa cabbage and salt. Continue stir-frying for another 2 minutes. We want the cabbage to wilt but still retain its crispiness.
Remove the cabbage from the wok and arrange it in a large serving bowl. You can use a 9"x13" baking dish if you don’t have a large serving bowl.
Part 2: Poach chicken
Heat the wok again over medium-high heat. Once the wok is hot, add oil and swirl to coat. Sauté the remaining garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Add chicken stock, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper and bring to a boil.
Add marinated chicken breast and gently poach until tender, about 1 minute.
Remove poached chicken with a slotted spoon and arrange it on the serving bowl alongside napa cabbage.
Part 3: Egg sauce
Set the heat to medium, add scallions to the broth, add the cornstarch slurry and stir for 3 minutes until the sauce is thick.
Turn off the heat. Pour lightly beaten egg in a thin stream while gently stirring the sauce in a clockwise direction to create the egg drop soup effect.
Pour the sauce over napa cabbage and chicken, and garnish with fried shallots. Serve the dish immediately with steamed white rice.
Condiments for this dish
This dish is already great on its own, and it will be a satisfying meal even with just a bowl of steamed white rice.
If you have extra time, I highly suggest making some of these condiments to pair with the dish:
- fried shallots
- fried garlic, similar to fried shallots but using garlic instead of shallots
- garlic ginger chili sauce
- green chili pickle
If you are not in the mood for rice, you can boil flat rice noodles to serve with the chicken and napa cabbage in egg sauce. It will become a dish that is very similar to wat tan hor fun. :)
Chicken and Napa Cabbage in Egg Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pair of skinless boneless chicken breast (~ 450 gram / 1 lb)
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) napa cabbage
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 inch ginger, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 4 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 4 scallions, chop into 1 inch pieces
- cornstarch slurry (4 tablespoon cornstarch + 4 tablespoon water)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- Marinating sauce for chicken
- 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- Condiments (optional)
- fried shallots and/or garlic
- garlic ginger chili sauce
- green chili pickle
Instructions
- Marinate chicken: Cut chicken breast into thin slices and place in a mixing bowl. Add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, cornstarch, and white pepper. Mix well and marinate for 15 minutes.
- Chop cabbage: Wash and drain napa cabbage. Discard the core and chop into 2-inch squares. Separate the stems from the leaves.
- Stir fry cabbage: Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Once the wok is hot, add oil and swirl to coat. Sauté half of the garlic and half of the ginger until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add the stems of napa cabbage and stir for 2 minutes. Add the leaves of napa cabbage and salt. Continue stir-frying for another 2 minutes. We want the cabbage to wilt but still retain its crispiness.
- Remove the cabbage from the wok and arrange it in a large serving bowl. You can use a 9”x13” baking dish if you don’t have a large serving bowl.
- Poach chicken: Heat the wok again over medium-high heat. Once the wok is hot, add oil and swirl to coat. Sauté the remaining garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add chicken stock, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper and bring to a boil. Add marinated chicken breast and gently poach until tender, about 1 minute.
- Remove poached chicken with a slotted spoon and arrange it on the serving bowl alongside napa cabbage.
- Egg sauce: Set the heat to medium, add scallions to the broth, add the cornstarch slurry and stir for 3 minutes until the sauce is thick.
- Turn off the heat. Pour lightly beaten egg in a thin stream while gently stirring the sauce in a clockwise direction to create the egg drop soup effect.
- Serve: Pour the sauce over napa cabbage and chicken, and garnish with fried shallots. Serve the dish immediately with steamed white rice.
Comments
This recipe is so delicious!! The prepping was a little time consuming but I think now that I know how to make it, it won’t take as much time next time! It was very simple to prepare, and I do plan on making this again, perhaps with less oyster sauce next time! The flavors are great, though! Thanks!
I remember trying this dish at my friend's house... It was absolutely delicious. I bet this one is, too!
So delicious and so much healthier than getting take out.
This recipe is totally worth the effort!
Such a fantastic and comforting meal! I love all those flavors, especially paired with the egg sauce.
Served this for dinner last night and it did not disappoint! So hearty and flavorful; my whole family loved it!
This is delicious! Can it be made ahead and frozen?
You can make part 1 (stir-fried cabbage) and part 2 (poached chicken) ahead of time and freeze them. The egg sauce (part 3) will loose its thickness once frozen and thawed. If you must make the sauce ahead, I suggest saving the broth once you poach the chicken. You can freeze the broth since we haven't added any cornstarch yet. Once you are ready to serve, you can boil the frozen broth, then continue with the remaining steps for part 3 to make the thick egg sauce.
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