This Chicken with Lobster Sauce recipe takes that silky, savory sauce from our beloved Shrimp with Lobster Sauce and gives it a new home — nestled around tender chunks of chicken instead of shrimp.
Growing up, I was not a seafood kid, which meant I spent many years watching everyone ELSE eat shrimp with lobster sauce. If you’ve ever been there — wanting the sauce, not the shrimp — this one’s for you!
A Quick Refresher: What Is Lobster Sauce?
In case you’re new here: lobster sauce contains no lobster. (Womp womp.) It’s actually the same sauce we use for Lobster Cantonese, a classic restaurant dish made with whole lobsters. That silky, translucent sauce — built from ground pork, egg, and a savory chicken stock base — is totally delicious, but lobster isn’t exactly takeout-friendly.
So Chinese takeout restaurants started using the sauce as the base for Shrimp with Lobster Sauce, and the name stuck!
It’s a little like ordering a Chicken Fried Steak and getting beef — a technique named for one protein, applied to another. The sauce is the star, regardless of what’s swimming in it.
Why Chicken?
Shrimp with Lobster Sauce is a dish my dad mastered from his years helping out at his parents’ Chinese restaurant. Over many years and a gradual warming up to seafood dishes of all kinds, I too have grown to love it.
But my inner child really just wanted that sauce — minus the seafood. I think it’s fair! Not everyone is a shrimp person. Chicken thighs turned out to be a natural fit here. They’re juicy, don’t dry out in a hot wok, and their mild flavor lets the sauce do the talking — which it absolutely does.
The ground pork adds savory depth, the egg folds in at the last moment into silky ribbons, and the whole thing comes together in a glossy, lightly thickened sauce that is genuinely one of the most comforting things you can spoon over a bowl of white rice.
We marinate the chicken briefly before cooking, which helps it stay tender and tasty. The sauce itself comes together in minutes. This is a weeknight-friendly dish if there ever was one.
Let’s make it!
Chicken with Lobster Sauce Recipe Instructions
In a medium bowl, mix the chicken pieces, water, cornstarch, neutral oil, and oyster sauce, until the chicken has absorbed all the liquid. Set aside for 20 minutes. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the chicken stock, salt, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper to make the sauce mixture.
Fill your wok ⅓ full with water and bring it to a boil. Stir in the ground pork. Break up any clumps and cook for about 1 minute, until the pork is no longer pink. Drain the pork in a mesh strainer and give it a quick rinse. This will give you a much clearer, cleaner sauce.
Wash your wok and place over medium-high heat until smoking. Add 2 tablespoons of neutral oil and the chicken in one layer. Stir-fry until it’s 70% cooked. Stir in the garlic and ground pork, and stir-fry for 15 seconds. Add the wine, and stir-fry for another 10 seconds. Add the sauce mixture and the peas.
Bring the mixture to a simmer, and combine the cornstarch and water into a slurry. Stir it into the sauce a little bit at a time. Let the mixture bubble and thicken. It should be able to coat a spoon, but it shouldn’t have a gloopy consistency. If it gets too thick, add a little more chicken stock. If it’s too thin, add more slurry.
Spread the slightly beaten egg and scallion across the mixture and let simmer for 5 seconds. Use your spatula to fold the egg into the sauce with a few strokes.
Serve over white rice!
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Recipe
Chicken with Lobster Sauce
Ingredients
For the chicken and marinade:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into chunks)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil (such as canola, vegetable, or avocado oil)
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
For the rest of the dish:
- 1½ cups low sodium chicken stock
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- 4 ounces ground pork
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or cooking sherry)
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 egg (beaten slightly)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix the chicken pieces, water, cornstarch, neutral oil, and oyster sauce, until the chicken has absorbed all the liquid. Set aside for 20 minutes. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the chicken stock, salt, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper to make the sauce mixture.
- Fill your wok ⅓ full with water and bring it to a boil. Stir in the ground pork. Break up any clumps and cook for about 1 minute, until the pork is no longer pink. Drain the pork in a mesh strainer and give it a quick rinse. This will give you a much clearer, cleaner sauce.
- Wash your wok and place over medium-high heat until smoking. Add 2 tablespoons of neutral oil and the chicken in one layer. Stir-fry until it’s 70% cooked. Stir in the garlic and ground pork, and stir-fry for 15 seconds. Add the wine, and stir-fry for another 10 seconds. Add the sauce mixture and the peas.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, and combine the cornstarch and water into a slurry. Stir it into the sauce a little bit at a time. Let the mixture bubble and thicken. It should be able to coat a spoon, but it shouldn’t have a gloopy consistency. If it gets too thick, add a little more chicken stock. If it’s too thin, add more slurry.
- Spread the slightly beaten egg and scallion across the mixture and let simmer for 5 seconds. Use your spatula to fold the egg into the sauce with a few strokes. Serve over white rice.
