Proper cook times for mushrooms, onions, and peppers

Question

One of my favorite meals is poached chicken cut into strips and stir fried with mushrooms, onions, and peppers and a bit of oil-based salad dressing for flavor.

However, most of the time I get the timing wrong and end up with over or undercooked veggies by the time the chicken is done cooking.

How long should I cook the mushrooms, onions, and peppers for? It seems to work best to add the onions first so that they cook down a little bit but I'm always guessing when to add the peppers and mushrooms to the skillet.

Chris · Accepted Answer

I am going to make the assumption that you're stir-frying in a really hot pan. The onions and peppers are going to take around 5-8 minutes to get good color but retain their snap.

I would cook the mushrooms separately - they're going to take a little longer 8-10 minutes, because they give off a bit of moisture.

So as you're poaching the chicken I would

Fry the onions/peppers - remove and keep warm
Fry Mushrooms
When the mushrooms are done, add everything else to pan to meld flavors.

Brendan · Answer

You could also blanch the peppers in boiling water to the tenderness of your liking and use the stir-frying technique to finish them with a bit of coloring for flavor-sake. You should also specify what the "proper" texture your looking for in the dish, as this varies by taste. I prefer peppers and onions with a bit of snap. The last thing to note is the size of the vegetables, if you cut them thinly they will obviously cook more quickly.

Answered by Brendan on March 24, 2021

Bob · Answer

Why not just start the mushrooms then in 2-5 minutes throw in the onions & peppers? Then your chicken at the end to reheat it? Personally I start my onions first because I prefer them slightly carmelized.

Answered by Bob on March 24, 2021

Proper cook times for mushrooms, onions, and peppers

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