Sesame Chicken Stew with Shitaki Mushrooms
The Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) (from Japanese 椎茸, シイタケ (Shiitake)) is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed in many Asian countries, as well as being dried and exported to many countries around the world.

This post is dedicated to my friend Nami from Just One Cookbook.
Sesame Chicken Stew with Shiitake Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 Tbs. Asian sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
- 1 tsp salt, plus more, to taste
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 8 to 10 fresh shiitake mushrooms, remove and discard the, thinly slice the caps
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 3 Tbsp. sesame seeds
- 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp. water
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, put the sesame oil. Add the chicken and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots, onion, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, and ginger, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the vegetables begin to soften 3-4 minutes.
Gradually pour in the broth, add the soy sauce, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Add the cornstarch mixture, and cook, stirring continuously, until the sauce thickens, about 30 seconds. Stir in the sesame seeds and chopped cilantro and serve hot.

7 Comments
Marina
November 9, 2012 at 8:22 pmThat is so sweet of you to dedicate a post to your blogger friend! Nami definitely deserves it. I somewhat dedicated my today's post to you, as you reminded some time ago about this simple pastry. 🙂 Thanks!
Yelena
November 9, 2012 at 8:50 pmYes, she does, Marina! Your post looks wonderful, "vatrushki" from the childhood -)))
Grubarazzi
November 10, 2012 at 12:05 amI adore Nami, and I absolutely adore this stew. I love this! Can't wait to try the recipe.
Yelena
November 10, 2012 at 2:18 amThank you Grubarazzi! Nice to see you here-))
Nami | Just One Cookbook
November 10, 2012 at 6:51 amOMG! It's for me!! Oh Yelena, thank you so much!! You made me smile and I just lost my words to describe my feelings!
While reading, I was smiling to see your Japanese ingredients (with Japanese words) and food styling, and your chopsticks are Japanese ones (the pointing tips are always Japanese). I was going to say this kind of dish is so hard to photograph and I was going to say here you did an amazing job. Then I saw your message!
I'm completely moved by your kind gesture, and thank you from bottom of my heart. xoxo
Sandra SECooking
November 10, 2012 at 7:17 amThis is very beautiful and delicious! Nami is one extremely sweet lady and I'm glad to see that your post is dedicated to her! Well done Yelena!
Debs @ The Spanish Wok
November 10, 2012 at 11:56 amOne of my favourite dishes, how sweet to dedicate it to Nami too.
Come check out The Monthly Blogger event over at The Spanish Wok, ALL bloggers are welcome. See here for details and current theme. You are also welcome to visit our FB page too here.