This Full GAPS Chinese chicken with wild mushroom gravy keeps the roasted chicken and stovetop sauce separate until serving. Bone-in skin-on chicken roasts in duck fat while fresh, wild, and dried mushrooms simmer with homemade chicken meat stock, ginger, garlic, coconut aminos, cider vinegar, and raw honey. Half of the mushroom mixture is blended back into the pan, making the gravy creamy without flour, starch, or dairy.
The finished chicken should have browned skin and fully cooked meat, while the gravy remains thick enough to cling to a spoon and loose enough to settle around the chicken. Sliced mushrooms stay visible in the sauce, and a measured amount of green onion finishes the bowl without hiding the mushroom flavor.
Why This Version Keeps the Chicken and Gravy Separate
With six kids, I appreciate a dinner that lets two parts cook at the same time. The chicken can roast while the dried mushrooms soften and the fresh mushrooms begin on the stovetop. Keeping the components separate also makes the final cues easier to read: the chicken reaches its endpoint in the oven, and the mushroom gravy reaches its own texture in the pan.
This version roasts the chicken separately. The baked casserole and gentle covered-stovetop methods are different recipes with different timing and handling. They belong in their own posts rather than being nested into this one.
Choose Bone-In Skin-On Chicken
Use two pounds of bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or whole legs. Pat the surface dry, then coat the chicken with two tablespoons duck fat and mineral salt. The skin protects the meat during the hour-long roast and contributes flavor to the pan.
A 10.25-inch Le Creuset Artichaut skillet holds the two-pound batch without crowding the pan. Keep every piece in contact with the pan rather than stacking the chicken. If the pieces do not fit in one layer, use a second appropriate oven-safe pan.
Why the Gravy Uses Three Mushroom Forms
Fresh crimini or shiitake mushrooms provide most of the sauce volume. Oyster mushrooms keep the measured wild-mushroom character visible without making the pan prohibitively expensive, and dried shiitake add concentrated depth after simmering and rinsing. Each form has a different texture, so keeping all three makes the finished gravy more interesting than a completely smooth puree.
Slice the common mushrooms to a similar thickness and tear or slice the oyster mushrooms into bite-size pieces. After the sauce is finished, the unblended half should still show recognizable mushrooms. Large leathery pieces or dry mushroom centers mean the sauté or covered simmer needs more time.
Rehydrate the Dried Shiitake First
Put three-quarter cup dried shiitake mushrooms in a small stainless saucepan with one and one-half cups water. Cover and simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes. Watch the final minutes so the water does not evaporate completely.
Drain the softened mushrooms, rinse them well, and let them cool enough to slice. The soaking water is not the meat stock in this recipe. The measured gravy liquid is homemade chicken meat stock added later.
Roast the Chicken While the Sauce Cooks
Heat the oven to 375°F. Warm two tablespoons duck fat in the oven-safe skillet over medium heat, then roll the chicken pieces through the fat. Turn off the burner, season with mineral salt, and turn the pieces again so the fat and salt cover them evenly.
Move the skillet to the oven and roast for about sixty minutes. The chicken is ready when the juices run clear when the thickest meat is pierced to the bone and an instant-read thermometer in the thickest meat away from the bone reads 165°F. The skin should look browned rather than pale or rubbery.
Build the Mushroom Base in Duck Fat
While the chicken roasts, melt the remaining two tablespoons duck fat in a second skillet over medium heat. Add four cups sliced crimini or fresh shiitake mushrooms, one cup fresh oyster mushrooms, the sliced rehydrated shiitake, grated ginger, garlic, and one-half teaspoon mineral salt.
Sauté for five minutes. The mushrooms will release moisture, darken, and begin to soften. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for five minutes more. At the end of this stage, the fresh mushrooms should be pliable and glossy, with no dry raw centers.
Use Chicken Meat Stock and Coconut Aminos
Add one and two-thirds cups homemade chicken meat stock, two tablespoons coconut aminos, one teaspoon raw honey, and one teaspoon apple-cider vinegar. Stir until the honey dissolves into the liquid.
This recipe uses Nutiva Organic Original Coconut Aminos, formerly Coconut Secret. Its current manufacturer ingredient list is organic coconut tree sap and sea salt. It does not use soy sauce, tamari, teriyaki sauce, or a flavored coconut-aminos blend.
Cover and simmer over low heat for thirty-five minutes, stirring about every ten minutes. The liquid should reduce gently without scorching around the edge. Keep the heat low enough for a quiet simmer rather than a hard boil.
Blend Half the Mushrooms for a Creamy Gravy
Spoon about half of the mushroom mixture into a heat-safe bowl and let it cool from hot to warm. Keep the remaining mushrooms covered over low heat. Do not seal very hot liquid in the blender.
Transfer the warm half-batch to a glass blender and puree on medium speed for about fifty seconds. The puree should be smooth and brown, without distinct mushroom slices. Stir it back into the covered skillet with the unblended mushrooms.
The finished gravy should coat the back of a spoon while still sliding slowly from it. If it looks thin, keep it at a low simmer briefly. If it is already thick and creamy, cover and keep it warm until the chicken is ready.
Keep the Gravy Smooth Without Starch
The blended mushrooms provide the thickening. Keep the stock measurement exact, simmer with the lid on as directed, and blend only the warm half-batch. A hard boil can reduce the sauce too quickly, while blending all of the mushrooms removes the sliced texture that distinguishes the gravy.
After the puree returns to the skillet, stir from the center to the edge until the color is even. The sauce may thicken slightly as it stands. Keep it covered over the lowest heat and stir before serving so the blended and sliced portions remain evenly distributed.
What the Finished Chicken and Gravy Should Look Like
Set the roasted chicken on a plate or shallow bowl and spoon the mushroom gravy over and around it. The sauce should cling to the chicken, with whole mushroom slices visible against the smooth blended base. Sprinkle the measured sliced green onions over the finished servings.
The aroma should lead with roasted chicken, mushroom, ginger, and garlic. Coconut aminos and raw honey round the vinegar without making the gravy taste sweet. The gravy should feel silky, not gummy, because its body comes from mushrooms rather than flour or starch.
Where It Fits on GAPS
This is a Full GAPS recipe after mushrooms, coconut aminos, cider vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic, and green onion are accepted. It is not an Introduction Diet recipe, and substituting meat stock for bone broth does not move the complete mushroom-and-coconut-aminos dish into an Intro stage.
The recipe contains no dairy, eggs, nuts, grains, starch, soy sauce, tamari, sesame oil, or commercial sweetener. Serve it with tolerated Full GAPS vegetables rather than rice or potatoes.
Serving and Storage
Serve the chicken and gravy hot. Roasted cauliflower, mashed cauliflower, or a simple green salad keep the plate within Full GAPS without turning a side dish into another recipe inside this post.
Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate them covered for up to five days. Reheat in a covered casserole at 300°F for about twenty-five minutes, until the chicken and gravy are hot through. Add a spoonful of meat stock before reheating only if the gravy has tightened considerably in the refrigerator.
Equipment for the Separate-Roast Method
You need an oven-safe skillet for the chicken, a small stainless saucepan for the dried mushrooms, a second skillet with a lid for the gravy, a colander, tongs, a heat-safe bowl, a glass blender, measuring cups and spoons, and an instant-read thermometer.
The chicken photo uses the registered Le Creuset Artichaut skillet. The dried mushrooms use the registered stainless saucepan. The gravy skillet must be large enough to hold the measured mushrooms in a layer that can sauté rather than steam immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Use Bone Broth?
Use homemade raw-meaty chicken stock for this Full GAPS recipe. Meat stock and long-cooked bare-bone broth are different preparations with different protocol timing.
Can I Use Soy Sauce or Tamari?
No. This recipe uses two tablespoons of the verified two-ingredient coconut aminos. Soy sauce and tamari are not substitutions here.
Can I Leave Out the Wild Mushrooms?
You may leave out the one-cup wild-mushroom portion, but this version includes fresh oyster mushrooms to keep the wild-mushroom flavor and texture.
Why Is Only Half the Sauce Blended?
Blending half creates a creamy gravy base while the unblended half keeps recognizable mushroom slices in the finished sauce.
Can I Double the Recipe?
Yes. Double every measured ingredient and use additional pans so the chicken and mushrooms do not crowd. Blend the warm gravy in batches within the blender’s safe capacity.
Chinese Chicken With Wild Mushroom Gravy Recipe
Chinese Chicken With Wild Mushroom Gravy for Full GAPS
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Put the dried shiitake mushrooms in the stainless saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, watching the final minutes so the water does not evaporate. Drain, rinse well, cool enough to handle, and slice.
- Melt 2 tablespoons duck fat in the oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Roll the chicken through the fat. Turn off the burner, season with mineral salt, and turn again to coat. Arrange in one layer.
- Roast the chicken for about 60 minutes, until the skin is browned, juices run clear when the thickest meat is pierced to the bone, and an instant-read thermometer away from the bone reads 165°F.
- While the chicken roasts, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons duck fat in the second skillet. Add the rehydrated shiitake, fresh mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sauté for 5 minutes, then cover and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, until glossy and pliable.
- Add the chicken meat stock, coconut aminos, raw honey, and apple-cider vinegar. Stir, cover, and simmer over low heat for 35 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes. Keep the simmer quiet.
- Spoon half the mushroom mixture into a heat-safe bowl and cool from hot to warm. Keep the rest covered and warm. Transfer the warm half to the blender and puree on medium for about 50 seconds, until smooth.
- Stir the puree back into the unblended mushrooms. Keep warm until the chicken is ready. Serve the roasted chicken with the gravy spooned over and around it and the green onions divided over the servings.
Notes
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For more measured, family-sized recipes built around meat stock and practical batch cooking, our planned Soups & Stews Cookbook is the most relevant resource for this dinner. Watch the WFLI shop as it is released.
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